Best Public Schools in Cottage Grove, MN

Summary:

The city of Cottage Grove, Minnesota is home to 12 schools that are part of the South Washington County Schools district, which is ranked 135 out of 463 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating. The schools include 6 elementary, 2 middle, and 4 high schools, with no alternative schools.

Among the standout schools in Cottage Grove are Cottage Grove Elementary, which consistently ranks as one of the top elementary schools in Minnesota, and Grey Cloud Elementary, another high-performing elementary school. At the high school level, Park High School stands out with a 91.0% four-year graduation rate, which is higher than the state average, and a diverse student population.

While the district as a whole performs well, there are disparities in academic performance between the elementary/middle schools and the high schools, suggesting a need for targeted interventions to support student achievement at the high school level. The district also has alternative and transition programs, such as South Washington Alternative High School and Next Step Transition Program, which indicate efforts to support students with unique needs, though their lower performance and graduation rates suggest room for improvement.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2024)				Ranking (2023)				MCA-III Math (2024)								MCA-III Reading (2024)								MCA-III Science (2024)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Statewide Rank (2023)	State Percentile (2023)	Rank Change from Previous Year	MCA-III Math 3rd Grade	MCA-III Math 4th Grade	MCA-III Math 5th Grade	MCA-III Math 6th Grade	MCA-III Math 7th Grade	MCA-III Math 8th Grade	MCA-III Math 11th Grade	MCA-III Math All Grades	MCA-III Reading 3rd Grade	MCA-III Reading 4th Grade	MCA-III Reading 5th Grade	MCA-III Reading 6th Grade	MCA-III Reading 7th Grade	MCA-III Reading 8th Grade	MCA-III Reading 10th Grade	MCA-III Reading All Grades	MCA-III Science 5th Grade	MCA-III Science 8th Grade	MCA-III Science End of Course	MCA-III Science All Grades	Total
Armstrong Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8855 Inwood Ave S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-4101	308	29	10.5	40.3%	170 (55.2%)	30 (9.7%)	38 (12.3%)	39 (12.7%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (9.4%)	53.6	451^st of 881 public elementary schools	48.8%		45.4	526^th of 845 public elementary schools	37.8%	75	68.6	58.7	34.6					53.7	42.3	40.0	52.8					45.3	50.0			50.0	$15,934
Crestview Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7830 80th St S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 425-3801	418	36	11.6	49.5%	234 (56.0%)	48 (11.5%)	53 (12.7%)	44 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (9.3%)	37.5	598^th of 881 public elementary schools	32.1%		45.8	522^nd of 845 public elementary schools	38.2%	76	40.3	45.2	47.5					44.3	32.3	33.9	52.5					39.5	36.1			36.1	$14,724
Hillside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	8177 Hillside Tr S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-4001	424	35	12.2	36.1%	262 (61.8%)	33 (7.8%)	45 (10.6%)	43 (10.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (9.4%)	61.3	363^rd of 881 public elementary schools	58.8%		50.8	473^rd of 845 public elementary schools	44.0%	110	56.7	60.3	49.3					55.6	47.8	37.0	67.2					50.2	58.2			58.2	$13,590
Oltman Middle School	Public	6-8	6625 Goodview Avenue	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-3509	1,002	51	19.5	32.7%	584 (58.3%)	94 (9.4%)	102 (10.2%)	136 (13.6%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	81 (8.1%)	53.6	244^th of 545 public middle schools	55.2%		52.6	244^th of 529 public middle schools	53.9%					40.5	40.0	38.2		39.5				52.2	40.7	34.8		42.3		26.6		26.6	$11,351
Park High School	Public	9-12	8040 80th St S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-3702	1,957	91	21.5	30.8%	1,180 (60.3%)	177 (9.0%)	253 (12.9%)	196 (10.0%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	147 (7.5%)	51.6	248^th of 480 public high schools	48.3%		54.7	227^th of 476 public high schools	52.3%	21							30.2	30.2							47.5	47.5			33.9	33.9	$11,998
Pine Hill Elementary	Public	K-5	9015 Hadley Ave S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-3901	521	36	14.6	31.5%	304 (58.3%)	54 (10.4%)	56 (10.7%)	71 (13.6%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	31 (6.0%)	37.5	596^th of 881 public elementary schools	32.3%		43.3	547^th of 845 public elementary schools	35.3%	49	42.4	51.7	32.9					42.5	37.6	34.5	51.2					40.8	37.8			37.8	$13,370
South Washington Alternative High School	Public	7-12	8400 E Point Douglas Rd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-7001	92	12	7.4	58.7%	35 (38.0%)	20 (21.7%)	19 (20.7%)	7 (7.6%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (10.9%)								(n/a)							0.0	0.0													$24,479
Ages 3-5 Early Childhood Special Educational	Public	PK	8400 E Point Douglas Rd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-6121	561	11	49.6	27.5%	312 (55.6%)	64 (11.4%)	55 (9.8%)	70 (12.5%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (9.8%)								(n/a)																					$41,652
Access	Public	10-12	8400 E Point Douglas Rd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-2341	10	0			3 (30.0%)	1 (10.0%)	3 (30.0%)	1 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (20.0%)								(n/a)																					$8,857
Grey Cloud Elementary	Public	K-5	9525 Indian Blvd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-4201	774	51	15.1	17.6%	529 (68.3%)	66 (8.5%)	53 (6.8%)	77 (9.9%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (5.8%)	68.9	266^th of 881 public elementary schools	69.8%		61.8	349^th of 845 public elementary schools	58.7%	83	67.0	67.5	50.0					61.4	58.8	51.6	58.7					56.3	49.2			49.2	$12,798
Cottage Grove Middle School	Public	6-8	9775 Indian Blvd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-6804	972	59	16.4	30.9%	600 (61.7%)	87 (9.0%)	107 (11.0%)	92 (9.5%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	83 (8.5%)	53.3	247^th of 545 public middle schools	54.7%		54.3	231^st of 529 public middle schools	56.3%	16				36.6	41.2	32.2		36.6				47.4	51.8	40.4		46.5		22.3		22.3	$13,834
Cottage Grove Elementary	Public	K-5	7447 65th St S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-5801	421	30	13.9	26.6%	235 (55.8%)	59 (14.0%)	14 (3.3%)	76 (18.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.8%)	74.9	202^nd of 881 public elementary schools	77.1%		79.1	153^rd of 845 public elementary schools	81.9%	49	72.0	84.4	54.6					70.3	53.3	61.0	61.0					58.5	48.1			48.1	$14,065
Next Step Transition Program	Public	12	7155 80th St S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	No	No	No	(651) 425-5104	95	3	31.6	45.3%	63 (66.3%)	10 (10.5%)	7 (7.4%)	7 (7.4%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (7.4%)								(n/a)																					$23,298
SoWashCo Online K-5	Public	K-5	7362 E Point Douglas Rd S	Cottage Grove	55016	Washington County	South Washington County Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 425-6300	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Cottage Grove

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Woodbury	3.68 mi	20	118^th
Saint Paul Park	4.27 mi	2	320^th
Newport	5.5 mi	1	233^rd
Inver Grove Heights	6.31 mi	11	313^th
Hastings	6.46 mi	14	122^nd

See the top MN Minnesota cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Minnesota Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.