Summary:
Mountain Lake Public Schools is a two-school Minnesota district serving 498 students: Mountain Lake Elementary (grades PK–6, 257 students) and Mountain Lake Secondary (grades 7–12, 241 students). The district overall is ranked 168 of 458, in the 63rd percentile with 3 stars — but that district average masks two buildings heading in very different directions.
Mountain Lake Secondary is the district's clear standout, ranked 78 of 473 (84th percentile, 4 stars) in 2025–2026, up sharply from 224 of 480 in 2023–2024. Its graduation rate is 95.3% against the state's 84.9%, and its dropout rate is 2.3% against 4.2%. Grade-level results are strong in 11th grade math (55.2% vs. 35.3%), 10th grade reading (47.6% vs. 42.5%), and End of Course science (42.9% vs. 35.0%). The weak spots are in the middle grades: 8th grade science is 6.7% vs. 16.7%, and 8th grade math is 33.3% vs. 42.3%.
Mountain Lake Elementary ranks 519 of 869 (40th percentile, 2 stars). Reading is its bright spot at 49.6% overall, above both the district (48.2%) and the state (48.6%), with 4th grade reading at 55.2% vs. 48.8%. Science is the biggest concern at 10.5%, well below the district's 20.0% and the state's 25.5%, and 5th grade math is 23.7% vs. 41.9%. Both schools trail the state in overall math, and both posted large year-over-year reading gains. Families comparing the two should also note the differences in free/reduced lunch (63.04% elementary, 56.02% secondary) and student-teacher ratio (12.0 vs. 13.8), which reflect different building populations in this Mountain Lake Public Schools district.
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