Earlier this week, the state Department of Education released new school ratings under what's known as the Multiple Measurement Rating system (MMR).

Much attention was focused on schools that accept federal poverty aid. That's because those schools are the only one to receive a designation from the state: Reward, Priority, Focus, and Celebration Eligible.

Priority and Focus schools have to come up with a plan to shape up, and must set aside some of their federal aid until that happens. For them, there are some pretty serious strings attached to those designations.

But every school in Minnesota gets an MMR score. And some schools did phenomenally well under the system which factors in student proficiency, academic growth, graduation rate, and how well a school is closing the achievement gap.

Take Mahtomedi High School. It had the highest MMR score in the state, just edging out White Bear Lake Area High School South Campus.

Superintendent Mark Larson chalked up the school's strong showing the school's staff, a group of people he called "exceptional."

"The are why we get good results," he said.

Centennial High School had the third highest score. They were followed by Shirley Hills Elementary in Mound. That school had the highest score among all elementary schools in Minnesota.

Other top finishers include: Withrow Elementary in Stillwater, Eastview Senior High in Apple Valley, Bayview Elementary in Waconia, Atheneum Elementary in Inver Grove Heights, and Andover High School