Enrollment
47
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data High school (grades 9-12) NCES 271227003355
Step — Forest Lake, MN
Federal NCES profile for Step, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 57/100.
👥 Class size 74
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 91
📋 Attendance 79
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)
7.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6.4:1
vs 15.9:1 Minnesota avg
-60% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
48.9%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+14% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Step 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
Step reports 47 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 7.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 6.4:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 60% below the Minnesota state mean of 15.9:1, signalling more teacher attention per pupil than the state benchmark. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 60% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 48.9% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 14% above the Minnesota average and 6% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 47 students per counselor, meeting the American School Counselor Association recommendation of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 8.5% 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 57/100 (C), 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 Step 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 | 6.4:1 | ▼ 60% | 15.9:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 48.9% | ▲ 14% | 42.8% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 47 | top 19% | — | — |
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
48.9%
free-lunch eligible
— 14% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold — federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
6.4:1
students per teacher
— 60% below state mean
Top 8% in Minnesota — lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
8.5%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Below 10% — strong attendance relative to the post-pandemic national landscape.
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
Counselors1.0 FTE
Per 47 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 47 Top 19% in Minnesota — larger than 81% of 2,391 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 7.0
Students per teacher 6.4:1 -60% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 48.9% +14% vs state
NCES ID 271227003355
Student demographics
White 85.1%
African American 4.3%
Hispanic or Latino 4.3%
Asian 4.3%
Two or More 2.1%
Largest group: White at 85.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
AP program Not offered
Counselors (FTE) 1.0
Students per counselor 47:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 8.5%
In-school suspensions 0
Out-of-school suspensions 0
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Forest Lake Public School District, which includes Step.
$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
- 1,805
- Students per teacher
- 23.7:1
- 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
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 Step
How many students attend Step?
Step has 47 students enrolled. It is a high school in FOREST LAKE, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Step?
The student-teacher ratio at Step is 6.4:1, which is 60% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.9:1 and 60% lower than the national average of 15.9:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Step?
48.9% of students at Step are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Step?
The largest demographic group at Step is White at 85.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in FOREST LAKE, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Step?
Step has a Resource Investment Index of 57/100 (C) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.