Best Public Schools in Forest Lake, MN

Summary:

The city of Forest Lake, Minnesota is home to a diverse set of 13 schools, including 5 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 5 high schools, serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The schools in this area demonstrate a wide range of academic performance, with some standout institutions like LILA Upper School, a public charter high school that ranks #77 statewide and has a 92.4% 4-year graduation rate, as well as Columbus Elementary, a top-performing public elementary school in the Forest Lake Public School District.

The data reveals a significant gap in performance between the highest-performing and lowest-performing schools in the area. For example, in 11th grade reading, LILA Upper School has 69.33% of students proficient or better, while Forest Lake Area Community School has only 13.04% proficient or better. This disparity is also reflected in graduation rates, with LILA Upper School boasting a 92.4% 4-year graduation rate compared to just 41.6% at Forest Lake Area Community School.

The public charter schools in the area, such as LILA Upper School and Lakes International Language Academy, generally outperform the traditional public schools in the Forest Lake Public School District on academic measures like test scores and graduation rates. Additionally, the smaller alternative and charter schools tend to have lower student-teacher ratios, which may contribute to their stronger academic results.

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
North Lakes Academy Upper School	Public, Charter	9-12	308 15th St SW	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 982-2688	159	11	14.4	35.8%	133 (83.6%)	8 (5.0%)	8 (5.0%)	4 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.8%)	71.6	130^th of 480 public high schools	72.9%		75.6	95^th of 476 public high schools	80.0%	35							24.3	24.3							53.1	53.1			61.0	61.0	$11,926
LILA Lower School	Public, Charter	1-5	246 SE 11th Ave	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 464-0771	581	41	14.1	21.9%	442 (76.1%)	18 (3.1%)	63 (10.8%)	29 (5.0%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.3%)	52.4	462^nd of 881 public elementary schools	47.6%		52.2	455^th of 845 public elementary schools	46.2%	7	50.8	59.4	53.4					54.3	37.5	44.4	63.5					47.7	37.5			37.5	$9,418
LILA Kinder Center	Public, Charter	PK-K	121 SE 11th Ave	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 464-0771	127	7	18.8	23.6%	98 (77.2%)	4 (3.1%)	16 (12.6%)	4 (3.1%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.1%)								(n/a)																					$8,646
Forest Lake Area Middle School	Public	7-8	21395 Goodview Ave N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-3000	853	46	18.6	30.5%	687 (80.5%)	24 (2.8%)	43 (5.0%)	63 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (4.2%)	76.7	92^nd of 545 public middle schools	83.1%		72.2	110^th of 529 public middle schools	79.2%	18					54.0	58.7		56.3					45.0	50.4		47.6		35.9		35.9	$11,297
Forest Lake Elementary	Public	4-6	408 SW 4th St	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 982-3200	333	23	14.6	45.9%	238 (71.5%)	12 (3.6%)	35 (10.5%)	28 (8.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.7%)								(n/a)		38.1	36.5	32.6				35.9		40.7	55.7	55.4				50.2	46.7			46.7	$12,033
Forest Lake Area High School	Public	9-12	6101 Scandia Tr N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-8401	1,876	80	23.5	24.4%	1,545 (82.4%)	57 (3.0%)	77 (4.1%)	116 (6.2%)	6 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	75 (4.0%)	59.8	210^th of 480 public high schools	56.3%		72.9	107^th of 476 public high schools	77.5%	103							31.6	31.6							44.2	44.2			50.1	50.1	$11,600
Forest View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-3	620 SW 4th St	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 982-8200	360	29	12.4	49.7%	246 (68.3%)	15 (4.2%)	35 (9.7%)	30 (8.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (8.6%)								(n/a)	40.0							40.0	25.9							25.9					$13,799
Forest Lake Area Community School	Public	6-12	943 SW 9th Avenue	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-3171	176	12	14.9	54.0%	130 (73.9%)	11 (6.3%)	14 (8.0%)	7 (4.0%)	3 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (6.3%)	4.4	471^st of 480 public high schools	1.9%		6.2	452^nd of 476 public high schools	5.0%	19					2.3	13.6	0.0	4.2					2.3	18.2	13.0	9.1		9.5	3.5	6.0	$22,701
Step	Public	10-12	200 SW 4th Street	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-8129	45	7	6.0	51.1%	40 (88.9%)	1 (2.2%)	1 (2.2%)	1 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.4%)								(n/a)																					$30,569
Ranger Online	Public, Virtual	9-12	943 SW 9th Ave	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	Yes	No	(651) 982-8350	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Community School Credit Recovery	Public	9-12	943 9th Ave SW	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(651) 982-3175	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
North Lakes Academy Middle School	Public, Charter	6-8	4576 232nd St N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 982-2688	157	13	11.9	37.6%	132 (84.1%)	6 (3.8%)	11 (7.0%)	4 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.5%)	34.4	362^nd of 545 public middle schools	33.6%		55.2	224^th of 529 public middle schools	57.7%	138				19.2	18.4	22.2		19.9				48.1	42.6	40.9		44.1		12.2		12.2	$12,961
Columbus Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	17345 Notre Dame St	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-8900	432	26	16.9	22.9%	348 (80.6%)	4 (0.9%)	14 (3.2%)	52 (12.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.0%)	78.4	156^th of 881 public elementary schools	82.3%		71.8	230^th of 845 public elementary schools	72.8%	74	77.1	71.4	67.2	62.2				70.3	52.9	58.7	67.2	54.6				58.3	55.2			55.2	$11,912
Online Learning Program	Public, Virtual, Charter	6-12	19850 Fenway Ave N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(651) 464-8989	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
LILA Upper School	Public, Charter	6-12	19850 Fenway Avenue N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 464-8989	593	35	17.0	15.5%	446 (75.2%)	11 (1.9%)	84 (14.2%)	15 (2.5%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.3%)	32 (5.4%)	79.7	77^th of 480 public high schools	84.0%		88	39^th of 476 public high schools	91.8%	38				34.3	26.1	38.0	32.1	33.0				38.9	53.4	59.4	69.3	54.0		37.6	52.9	42.8	$11,480
North Lakes Academy Elementary	Public, Charter	K-5	4576 232nd St N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 797-6266	283	11	26.1	37.5%	243 (85.9%)	2 (0.7%)	12 (4.2%)	11 (3.9%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.9%)	48.7	506^th of 881 public elementary schools	42.6%		44.7	533^rd of 845 public elementary schools	36.9%	27	70.3	42.6	42.5					50.4	51.4	33.3	50.0					43.5	47.4			47.4

Cities Near Forest Lake

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Wyoming	3.15 mi	2	166^th
Hugo	6.98 mi	4	128^th
Chisago City	7.69 mi	8	245^th
Lino Lakes	7.87 mi	11	49^th
Centerville	8.35 mi	1	23^rd

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.