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Best Public Schools in Forest Lake, MN

Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Minnesota Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Minnesota Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

At a glance

Schools

5,356

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedLILA Upper School28^th of 450 Minnesota high schools

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Biggest riser

LILA Upper School up 49 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Forest Lake Area Community School 11 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

0★

7 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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Summary:

The city of Forest Lake, Minnesota is home to 15 schools, including 6 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 6 high schools, serving students from pre-K through 12th grade. The schools in this area show a wide range of academic performance, with some standout institutions like LILA Upper School, a public charter high school that ranks among the top 30 in the state, and Columbus Elementary, a public school that ranks in the top 20% of Minnesota elementary schools. However, other schools, such as Forest Lake Area Community School, struggle with proficiency rates well below the district and state averages.

The high schools in Forest Lake have similar 4-year graduation rates, around 84%, which is close to the state average, but slightly higher dropout rates, around 4.4%, compared to the state. The schools also vary in their percentage of free and reduced-price lunch recipients, from around 15% at LILA Upper School to over 50% at Forest Lake Area Community School and Step, suggesting a range of socioeconomic backgrounds among the student populations.

The performance of the public charter schools in the area is mixed, with LILA Upper School being a standout, but the other North Lakes Academy schools performing below the district and state averages. The variation in student-teacher ratios across the schools, ranging from around 12:1 at LILA Upper School to 28:1 at Forest Lake Area High School, may be a factor in their academic performance.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				MCA-III Math (2025)								MCA-III Reading (2025)								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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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	Total
North Lakes Academy 7-12 Campus	Public, Charter	7-12	308 15th St SW	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(651) 982-2688	245	17	14.5	37.6%	200 (81.6%)	5 (2.0%)	21 (8.6%)	7 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.9%)	35.4	316^th of 450 public high schools	29.8%		71.6	130^th of 480 public high schools	72.9%	186					18.9	15.6	15.2	16.5					27.0	24.4	42.9	31.5	$11,926
North Lakes Academy Elementary	Public, Charter	K-6	4576 232nd St N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	North Lakes Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(651) 982-2773	220	16	13.6	46.4%	181 (82.3%)	4 (1.8%)	12 (5.5%)	8 (3.6%)	5 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.5%)	42	551^st of 872 public elementary schools	36.8%		48.7	506^th of 881 public elementary schools	42.6%	45	66.7	42.9	24.4	45.2				42.0	44.4	25.7	40.9	56.3				41.3
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	607	41	14.8	20.8%	436 (71.8%)	22 (3.6%)	84 (13.8%)	34 (5.6%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.0%)	42.8	542^nd of 872 public elementary schools	37.8%		52.4	462^nd of 881 public elementary schools	47.6%	80	44.0	49.6	50.5					47.9	27.2	37.2	60.0					40.5	$9,418
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	579	43	13.6	15.4%	444 (76.7%)	12 (2.1%)	68 (11.7%)	21 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (5.7%)	89.6	28^th of 450 public high schools	93.8%		79.7	77^th of 480 public high schools	84.0%	49				35.7	37.9	32.1	46.8	37.4				62.1	47.1	56.8	73.3	59.0	$11,480
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	0	7	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																	$8,646
Online Learning Program	Public, Charter	6-12	19850 Fenway Ave N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Lakes International Language Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 464-8989	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Forest Lake Area Middle School	Public	6-8	21395 Goodview Ave N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-3000	916	48	19.2	26.1%	721 (78.7%)	21 (2.3%)	50 (5.5%)	74 (8.1%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (5.0%)	72.1	127^th of 519 public middle schools	75.5%		76.7	92^nd of 545 public middle schools	83.1%	35					57.8	49.2		53.2					48.7	43.4		45.9	$11,297
Columbus Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	17345 Notre Dame St	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	No	(651) 982-8900	441	22	20.1	18.4%	356 (80.7%)	4 (0.9%)	14 (3.2%)	51 (11.6%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.2%)	80.4	145^th of 872 public elementary schools	83.4%		78.4	156^th of 881 public elementary schools	82.3%	11	73.3	71.4	53.9	61.0				65.4	54.7	52.9	69.2	74.6				62.1	$11,912
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	1,805	74	24.4	22.5%	1,420 (78.7%)	62 (3.4%)	94 (5.2%)	135 (7.5%)	5 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	89 (4.9%)	59.8	203^rd of 450 public high schools	54.9%		59.8	210^th of 480 public high schools	56.3%	7							33.9	33.9							48.8	48.8	$11,600
Forest View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	620 SW 4th St	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	No	No	Yes	(651) 982-8200	345	22	15.6	51.0%	216 (62.6%)	12 (3.5%)	45 (13.0%)	38 (11.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (9.6%)								(n/a)	44.3							44.3	35.8							35.8	$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	113	10	11.0	48.7%	80 (70.8%)	5 (4.4%)	13 (11.5%)	5 (4.4%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.1%)	7.7	430^th of 450 public high schools	4.4%		4.4	471^st of 480 public high schools	1.9%	41					5.3	16.7	2.7	7.5					21.1	30.4	16.7	22.7	$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	47	3	16.6	29.8%	40 (85.1%)	2 (4.3%)	2 (4.3%)	2 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.1%)								(n/a)																	$30,569
Community School Credit Recovery	Public	9-12	943 9th Ave SW	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 982-3175	34	0		52.9%	27 (79.4%)	1 (2.9%)	2 (5.9%)	2 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.9%)								(n/a)
Forest Lake Therapeutic Education	Public	7-12	943 9th Ave SW	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 982-3175	4	0			3 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (25.0%)								(n/a)
Out-of-State Care and Treatment	Public, Alternative	K-12	6100 210th St N	Forest Lake	55025	Washington County	Forest Lake Public School District	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(651) 982-8129	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Forest Lake

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Wyoming	3.15 mi	2	138^th
Hugo	6.98 mi	4	211^th
Chisago City	7.69 mi	7	312^th
Lino Lakes	7.87 mi	10	58^th
Centerville	8.35 mi	1	33^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.