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How has Dakota Meadows Middle School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
852
Middle
DISTRICT 870 · STATE 495
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 271878002046
Dakota Meadows Middle School
1900 HOWARD DR, NORTH MANKATO, MN 56001 · (507) 387-5077 · Nicollet County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL852 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 68% 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.
- BBeats 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
19.1:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.5:1 · STATE 17.5:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
257 students
DISTRICT 45% · 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 | 279 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 306 | 36% |
| Grade 8 | 267 | 31% |
Student demographics
41%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · 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
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
54.4%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
48.6%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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
47.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Dakota Meadows Middle School
Dakota Meadows Middle School's state test result (47.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakota Meadows Middle School this school | 852 | 30.2% | 47.0% |
| Monticello Middle MONTICELLO | 860 | 28.8% | 44.3% |
| Sauk Rapids-Rice Middle School SAUK RAPIDS | 1,055 | 32.8% | 33.4% |
| Anthony Middle MINNEAPOLIS | 727 | 24.9% | 59.5% |
| Discovery Middle School ALEXANDRIA | 898 | 28.1% | 48.8% |
| Hastings Middle School HASTINGS | 1,183 | 27.6% | 37.5% |
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 Dakota Meadows Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #76 of 245 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 48.6% | #81 of 245 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.4% | #85 of 245 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 852 | #68 of 306 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.1:1 | #169 of 210 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.7% | #129 of 216 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 30.2% | #156 of 252 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.1% | #83 of 129 |
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
852
-81 (-9%) vs 2020
+51% since 1990-91, when it was 565
Student : Teacher
19.1:1
was 19.4:1
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 | 852 | 44.5 | 19.1:1 | 30% (257) |
| 2023-24 | 886 | 46.9 | 18.9:1 | 33% (288) |
| 2022-23 | 878 | 48.7 | 18.0:1 | 35% (303) |
| 2020-21 | 933 | 48 | 19.4:1 | 26% (240) |
| 2017-18 | 937 | 46.4 | 20.2:1 | 30% (281) |
| 2015-16 | 888 | 37 | 24.0:1 | 33% (289) |
| 2010-11 | 610 | 32 | 19.1:1 | 32% (194) |
| 2000-01 | 562 | 32 | 17.6:1 | 17% (96) |
| 1990-91 | 565 | 30 | 18.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dakota Meadows Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (937 to 852); teachers down 4% (46.4 to 44.5).
About Dakota Meadows Middle School
Dakota Meadows Middle School serves students in NORTH MANKATO, Minnesota, as a large middle school. It enrolled 852 students in grades 6 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Statewide, middle schools in Minnesota average about 495 students each.
Dakota Meadows Middle School is among 22 schools run by MANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, which serves 8,219 students.
White students are the majority at Dakota Meadows Middle School, with 76% of enrollment. It is also 9% Black, 8% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. Nicollet County's residents are about 87% White, 11 points above the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 41% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
At Dakota Meadows Middle School, 44.5 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 19.1:1. On average, middle schools in Minnesota have 17.5:1, compared with 19.1:1 here. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 30% of enrollment.
The allk12 Grade for Dakota Meadows Middle School is B+. Compared with Minnesota public middle schools, the school scored higher than 68% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Dakota Meadows Middle School would score about 48.9%. It scores 47.0%, 1.9 points below that figure.
County data help place the school in context: in Nicollet County, the median household income is $79,756, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 3% of residents are in poverty. In all, Nicollet County has 25 public schools and roughly 4,447 students.
Futures Sun is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.6 miles away. The five-mile area around Dakota Meadows Middle School holds at least 8 other public schools. Dakota Meadows Middle School ranks 6th of 6 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 47.0% against a local average of 56.1%.
The school's locale code, Suburb: Small, means it is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population under 100,000.
Enrollment is down 9% from 2020-21, when Dakota Meadows Middle School had 933 students, to 2024-25, when it had 852.
To ask about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Nicollet County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
34,411
Census ACS
Median income
$79,756
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
3%
Below federal line
Schools in county
25
4,447 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT
- MANKATO EAST SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,302 students
- MANKATO WEST SENIOR HIGHHigh · 1,232 students
- Prairie Winds Middle SchoolMiddle · 887 students
- HOOVER ELEMENTARYElementary · 461 students
- Rosa Parks ElementaryElementary · 425 students
- FRANKLIN ELEMENTARYElementary · 388 students
Other schools in NORTH MANKATO
- HOOVER ELEMENTARYElementary · 461 students
- MONROE ELEMENTARYElementary · 367 students
- BRIDGES COMMUNITY ELEMENTARYElementary · 251 students
- FUTURES PROGRAMCombined · 33 students
- Futures SunCombined · 21 students
- Socrates OnlineCombined
Nearby schools
- Futures Sun0.6 mi · 21
- FUTURES PROGRAM0.9 mi · 33
- HOOVER ELEMENTARY1.1 mi · 461
- MONROE ELEMENTARY1.8 mi · 367
- BRIDGES COMMUNITY ELEMENTARY2.0 mi · 251
- ROOSEVELT ELEMENTARY2.3 mi · 302
Frequently asked questions
About Dakota Meadows Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Dakota Meadows Middle School?
Dakota Meadows Middle School enrolls approximately 852 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Dakota Meadows Middle School serve?
Dakota Meadows Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Dakota Meadows Middle School?
Approximately 19.1:1 students per teacher at Dakota Meadows Middle School.
How diverse is Dakota Meadows Middle School?
Dakota Meadows Middle School reports a student body of 76% White, 6% Hispanic, 9% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Who oversees Dakota Meadows Middle School?
Dakota Meadows Middle School is overseen by MANKATO PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT in Nicollet County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.