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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
632
Middle
DISTRICT 532 · STATE 495
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIG LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 270546002462
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL
601 MINNESOTA AVE, BIG LAKE, MN 55309 · (763) 262-2567 · Sherburne County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNREGULAR SCHOOL632 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of Minnesota public middle schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Minnesota public middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 39.9:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
35%
221 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 48%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 217 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 198 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 217 | 34% |
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 40% · STATE 60% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL→BIG LAKE SENIOR HIGH
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within BIG LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
55.3%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
47.7%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 48 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Minnesota schools, those numbers are about 50 and 45.
Source: MCA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
46.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.3%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% typical for Minnesota schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Minnesota's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL's state test result (46.3% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL this school | 632 | 35.0% | 46.3% |
| PRAIRIE WIND MIDDLE PERHAM | 526 | 34.2% | 44.1% |
| DILWORTH-GLYNDON-FELTON MIDDLE SCH GLYNDON | 508 | 33.1% | 41.2% |
| DETROIT LAKES MIDDLE DETROIT LAKES | 617 | 33.2% | 38.8% |
| Cambridge Middle School CAMBRIDGE | 607 | 32.5% | 50.9% |
| Litchfield Middle School LITCHFIELD | 494 | 35.0% | 44.6% |
Matched among Minnesota middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota | In Sherburne County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.3% | #79 of 245 | #3 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 47.7% | #90 of 245 | #4 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 55.3% | #73 of 245 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 632 | #115 of 306 | #3 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.1:1 | #51 of 210 | #1 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.3% | #124 of 216 | #2 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.0% | #125 of 252 | #1 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.9% | #53 of 129 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
632
-101 (-14%) vs 2020
+8% since 2000-01, when it was 585
Student : Teacher
15.1:1
was 33.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 632 | 41.9 | 15.1:1 | 35% (221) |
| 2023-24 | 645 | 41.2 | 15.7:1 | 38% (247) |
| 2022-23 | 686 | 24.1 | 28.5:1 | 40% (274) |
| 2020-21 | 733 | 22 | 33.3:1 | 20% (143) |
| 2017-18 | 734 | 38.8 | 18.9:1 | 23% (172) |
| 2015-16 | 728 | 36 | 20.2:1 | 27% (200) |
| 2010-11 | 848 | 40 | 21.2:1 | 30% (256) |
| 2000-01 | 585 | 35 | 16.7:1 | 17% (98) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (734 to 632); teachers up 8% (38.8 to 41.9).
About BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL
In BIG LAKE, Minnesota, part of Sherburne County, BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL is a middle school. Its enrollment is 632 students, spread over grades 6 through 8. On average, middle schools in Minnesota enroll around 495, and this school is 28% bigger than that mark.
BIG LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT counts 6 schools and 3,190 students, including BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL.
White students are 75% of those enrolled at BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL. The rest of enrollment is 8% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, 5% Black, and 3% Asian. Census estimates put the White share of Sherburne County's population at about 87%. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 42%.
Its staff includes 41.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, for about 15.1 students per teacher. The average for middle schools in Minnesota, 17.5:1, is higher. BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 35%.
On the allk12 Grade, BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL lands at A-, ahead of 76% of Minnesota public middle schools.
In Minnesota, BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 46.3% actual against a predicted 46.3%.
Sherburne County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $105,466 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 30% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 3%. BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL shares Sherburne County with 44 other public schools.
INDEPENDENCE ELEMENTARY, about 0.1 miles away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 4 closest schools with test data, this one included, BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks 1st on average proficiency.
By NCES locale, the school is Town: Fringe, or in a town close to an urbanized area.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 632, down from 733 in 2020-21. By 2024-25, the school had 15.1 students per teacher, compared with 33.3 in 2020-21.
People who know BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Sherburne County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,560
Census ACS
Median income
$105,466
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
30%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
45
16,306 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in BIG LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- BIG LAKE SENIOR HIGHHigh · 902 students
- INDEPENDENCE ELEMENTARYElementary · 758 students
- LIBERTY ELEMENTARYElementary · 756 students
- Big Lake Online 6-12High · 118 students
- Big Lake Online K-5Elementary · 24 students
Other schools in BIG LAKE
- BIG LAKE SENIOR HIGHHigh · 902 students
- INDEPENDENCE ELEMENTARYElementary · 758 students
- LIBERTY ELEMENTARYElementary · 756 students
- Big Lake Online 6-12High · 118 students
- Big Lake Online K-5Elementary · 24 students
Nearby schools
- INDEPENDENCE ELEMENTARY0.1 mi · 758
- Big Lake Online K-50.2 mi · 24
- BIG LAKE SENIOR HIGH0.2 mi · 902
- Big Lake Online 6-120.2 mi · 118
- LIBERTY ELEMENTARY0.7 mi · 756
- Monticello Middle3.3 mi · 860
Frequently asked questions
About BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOLHow many students attend BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL?
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL enrolls approximately 632 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL serve?
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many teachers does BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL have?
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.1:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL?
At BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL, the student body is approximately 75% White, 8% Hispanic, 5% Black, 3% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL in?
BIG LAKE MIDDLE SCHOOL is part of BIG LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.