Summary:
Big Lake Public School District in Minnesota serves about 3,190 students across six schools: three elementary schools, one middle school, and two high schools — although two of those are online. The district is ranked 188th of 458 in Minnesota, placing it in the 59th percentile with 3 stars. Most students attend the traditional brick-and-mortar schools; the two online schools together enroll only 142 students, about 4.5% of the total.
The academic standout is Big Lake Middle School, which reached the 76th percentile with 4 stars in 2024–2025 and posted strong 8th-grade results: 54.9% in math versus the state's 42.3%, and 60.8% in reading versus the state's 50.0%. Independence Elementary is the math bright spot, at 51.1% all-grade math (above the district's 45.1% and the state's 44.9%), though its reading trails the state at every tested grade. Big Lake Senior High shows a contrast: its 96.2% graduation rate and 2.3% dropout rate beat the state, but its 29.0% math proficiency is far below the district and state. Big Lake Online 6-12 has the largest gap, with 8.3% math and 31.6% reading, alongside a 140.4 student/teacher ratio that reflects online staffing rather than a classroom. Big Lake Online K-5 is tiny, just 24 students, with 50.0% reading and 20.0% math.
Science is the district-wide pressure point: 22.0% versus the state's 25.5% in 2025–2026 and 25.33% versus 26.15% the prior year. Liberty Elementary, which serves PK–2, has no current test records; its standout is the lowest traditional student/teacher ratio, 13.1. Some online-school results are suppressed by the state and should be treated as unknown, not as zero.
Thank you for your feedback!