In the Westonka school system, many factors are used to determine a student’s college and career readiness. These factors include academic performance, high school course selection and involvement with co-curricular activities. Through programs such as DECA, music and arts programs, robotics league and other academic co-curriculars, students can apply what they have learned in the classroom to authentic real-life experiences. 

Results: Westonka earns state and national recognitions

• Westonka Public Schools ranks 13th in the state in the 2021 Niche Best School Districts ranking.
• Westonka is ranked 12th out of 452 Minnesota districts for 2018-2019 by SchoolDigger.
• Mound Westonka High School was once again recognized as one of the Best High Schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report in 2020, earning a Silver Award.
• Both of Westonka's primary schools have been awarded National Blue Ribbon Awards by the U.S. Department of Education for "exemplary education."

Pre-ACT and ACT results are also used to determine student college and career readiness. The following goal was set to measure student college and career readiness: 

• The proficiency gap between our lowest student group, Free/Reduced Lunch and our highest student group, White, will decrease by .5 points from the 2018-2019 school year to the 2019-2020 school year, as measured by the 10th Grade Pre-ACT to the Grade 11 ACT assessments.

Results: 

2018-2019 Grade 10 Pre-ACT Composite Score

• Free/Reduced Lunch Student Group: 18.5
• White Student Group: 21.5
  • Gap: 3 percentage points

2019-2020 Grade 11 ACT Composite Score

• Free/Reduced Lunch Student Group: 21.3
• White Student Group: 23.3
  • Gap: 2 percentage points

The gap betweeen Free/Reduced Lunch and White student groups decreased by 1 point.

The district's long-term goal is that the graduation class each year will show at least 50% have met all four ACT College-Readiness benchmarks in English, Algebra, Social Science and Biology.

Results:
For the Mound Westonka High School graduating class of 2020, 34% of students met all four ACT College-Readiness benchmarks in English, Algebra, Social Science and Biology.

The Mound Westonka High School 2020 ACT composite score was 22.4—exceeds the 21.3 state average and 20.6 national average.

*MWHS has offered the ACT to all students since 2016

For the 2019-20 school year, Mound Westonka High School students earned 52 AP Scholar Awards for exceptional achievement on 2020 AP Exams. Sixty-four percent of students taking AP Exams in 2020 scored a 3 or higher (typically the minimum to earn college credit).

AP Scholars: 34
AP Scholars with Honor: 7
AP Scholars with Distinction: 11
National AP Scholar: 1

A rigorous class schedule and student mastery of 21st century skills are critical for entrance into colleges and universities. To address these demands, Westonka offers a wide variety of academic choices for students. These include an elementary gifted and talented program; and middle school STEM classes, advanced language arts and accelerated math options. At the high school level, students can take honors-level courses, choose from 14 Advanced Placement courses, two College-in-the-Schools Spanish courses, four Project Lead the Way engineering courses and post-secondary enrollment options, where students earn college credit while continuing with high school.

Westonka offers a competitive DECA program, a leadership network that prepares students for careers in finance, hospitality, marketing and management. Through real-world experiences and classroom curriculum, DECA gives students a competitive edge for college and career success.

In addition, Mound Westonka High School is the host of a growing FIRST Robotics League, where students who have a passion for engineering, computer programming and math work together to create a robot that competes in regional robotics competitions. Participating in a FIRST Robotics league is noticed favorably by college and university admissions departments.