Enrollment
1,805
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 271227000595
Forest Lake Area High School — Forest Lake, MN
Federal NCES profile for Forest Lake Area High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 35/100.
👥 Class size 5
📚 AP courses 100
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 40
📋 Attendance 0
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Forest Lake Public School District · Minnesota
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
79.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
23.7:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
+49% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
18.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
-58% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Forest Lake Area High School compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Forest Lake Area High School reports 1,805 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 79.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 23.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 49% above the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 49% higher, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 18.0% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 58% below the Minnesota average and 65% below the national baseline. The school offers 29 Advanced Placement courses, a stronger academic pipeline indicator than enrollment alone. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 301 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 44.0% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Forest Lake Public School District spends $17,719 per pupil district-wide, below the Minnesota average of $21,113 and below the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 33.9% from local sources (property taxes), 56.4% from the state, and 9.7% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F), calculated from 5 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Forest Lake Area High School compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Minnesota state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 23.7:1 | ▲ 49% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 18.0% | ▼ 58% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 1,805 | top 98% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
18.0%
free-lunch eligible
— 58% below the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
23.7:1
students per teacher
— 49% above state mean
Top 92% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 8% of state schools
Above 20:1 — larger class loads than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is stretched relative to enrollment.
Engagement
44.0%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Chronic absenteeism at or above 20% — the CDC threshold for "high" — signals significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$17,719
per pupil, district-wide
— below Minnesota avg of $21,113
Below the U.S. average per-pupil spend — funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors6.0 FTE
Per 301 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
5
in-school suspensions + 125 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.3 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 7.2 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 1,805 Top 98% in Minnesota — larger than 2% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 79.0
Students per teacher 23.7:1 +49% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 18.0% -58% vs state
NCES ID 271227000595
Student demographics
White 78.7%
Asian 7.5%
Hispanic or Latino 5.2%
Two or More 4.9%
African American 3.4%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: White at 78.7% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP courses offered 29
Counselors (FTE) 6.0
Students per counselor 301:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 44.0%
In-school suspensions 5
Out-of-school suspensions 125
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Forest Lake Public School District, which includes Forest Lake Area High School.
$17,719
Per student
-16%
vs Minnesota
Avg $21,113
-9%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 33.9%
State 56.4%
Federal 9.7%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 916
- Students per teacher
- 19:1
- Enrollment
- 501
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Enrollment
- 447
- Students per teacher
- 15.7:1
- Enrollment
- 441
- Students per teacher
- 17.3:1
- Enrollment
- 400
- Students per teacher
- 18.4:1
Similar high schools in Forest Lake
2 comparable high schools (grades 9-12) serving the same city.
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Forest Lake Area High School
How many students attend Forest Lake Area High School?
Forest Lake Area High School has 1,805 students enrolled. It is a high school in FOREST LAKE, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Forest Lake Area High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Forest Lake Area High School is 23.7:1, which is 49% higher than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 49% higher than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Forest Lake Area High School?
18.0% of students at Forest Lake Area High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Forest Lake Area High School?
The largest demographic group at Forest Lake Area High School is White at 78.7%. The school serves a diverse student body in FOREST LAKE, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Forest Lake Area High School?
Forest Lake Area High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (F) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, AP course offerings, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.