Enrollment
257
Elementary
DISTRICT 249 · STATE 344
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MOUNTAIN LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 272301001134
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY
450 12TH ST N, MOUNTAIN LAKE, MN 56159 · (507) 427-2325 · Cottonwood County
GRADES PK–06ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL257 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 36% of Minnesota public elementary schools
- CTest 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 13.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
63%
162 students
DISTRICT 60% · STATE 48%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 26 | 10% |
| Kindergarten | 32 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 32 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 21 | 8% |
| Grade 3 | 31 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 45 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 27 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 43 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (32) is 26% smaller than its 6th grade class (43).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY→MOUNTAIN LAKE SECONDARY
Based on grade levels within MOUNTAIN LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
MCA 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds StandardsEnglish Language Arts
39.6%
MN avg 49.7%
Math
37.2%
MN avg 45.3%
What this means: On the MCA, Minnesota's statewide test, about 40 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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
34.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.2%
based on MN schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY's state test result (34.8% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY this school | 257 | 63.0% | 34.8% |
| RAMSEY ELEMENTARY MONTEVIDEO | 260 | 62.7% | N/A |
| CANNON RIVER STEM SCHOOL FARIBAULT | 224 | 58.5% | 22.4% |
| Sanford Elementary School MONTEVIDEO | 277 | 54.9% | 46.0% |
| WILSON ELEMENTARY OWATONNA | 454 | 58.8% | 33.0% |
| Halverson Elementary ALBERT LEA | 360 | 69.7% | 37.2% |
Matched among Minnesota elementary 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 MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Minnesota |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.8% | #613 of 844 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.2% | #615 of 844 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.6% | #584 of 844 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 257 | #707 of 1,130 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #190 of 769 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.1% | #254 of 796 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 63.0% | #202 of 942 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.9% | #377 of 499 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
257
0 (0%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 295
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 12.8:1
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 | 257 | 21.3 | 12.1:1 | 63% (162) |
| 2023-24 | 269 | 22.3 | 12.1:1 | 62% (166) |
| 2022-23 | 257 | 23.7 | 10.8:1 | 66% (170) |
| 2020-21 | 257 | 20 | 12.8:1 | 57% (146) |
| 2017-18 | 276 | 21.3 | 13.0:1 | 57% (157) |
| 2015-16 | 258 | 21 | 12.3:1 | 55% (141) |
| 2010-11 | 264 | 23 | 11.5:1 | 56% (148) |
| 2000-01 | 267 | 20 | 13.3:1 | 55% (147) |
| 1990-91 | 295 | 22 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (276 to 257); teachers unchanged (21.3 to 21.3).
About MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is a small elementary school located in MOUNTAIN LAKE, Minnesota. Enrollment totals 257 students across pre-K through 6. The school is 25% below the average for elementary schools in Minnesota.
A total of 2 schools make up MOUNTAIN LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS, with 498 students enrolled.
About 51% of the student body at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is White. Other groups make up 33% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, and 4% Asian. County-wide, 81% of Cottonwood County residents are White. A diversity index of 62% means there is a 62% chance two randomly chosen students at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY are from different groups.
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY reports a ratio of 12.1 students per teacher, from 21.3 full-time-equivalent teachers. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Minnesota is 13.7:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY, 63% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 10 points above the 53% average for public schools in Cottonwood County.
On the allk12 Grade, MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY lands at C+, ahead of 36% of Minnesota public elementary schools.
The model predicts 31.2% for a school in Minnesota with MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY's free or reduced-price lunch share. MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY posts 34.8%.
The school's county is Cottonwood County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $72,941, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 24%, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. There are 14 public schools in the county, enrolling about 1,966, MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY among them.
Less than a tenth of a mile separates MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY from the closest public school, MOUNTAIN LAKE SECONDARY. The ten-mile area around MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY holds 3 other public schools. Local comparison: MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY ranks 3rd of 6 nearby schools, at 34.8% versus a 33.7% average.
The NCES locale for MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is Rural: Remote, which covers schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
Over 4 years, enrollment stayed close to where it was, going from 257 to 257.
On allk12, people connected to MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY can post about pickup and drop-off, after-school programs, and teacher feedback. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Cottonwood County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
11,458
Census ACS
Median income
$72,941
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
1,966 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in MOUNTAIN LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
- MOUNTAIN LAKE SECONDARYHigh · 241 students
Nearby schools
- MOUNTAIN LAKE SECONDARY0.1 mi · 241
- BUTTERFIELD SECONDARY6.8 mi · 103
- BUTTERFIELD ELEMENTARY6.8 mi · 110
- Early Childhood Learning Center10.5 mi · 8
- SWWC ELC - Windom10.9 mi · 42
- SWWC ALC - Windom10.9 mi · 41
Frequently asked questions
About MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARYWhat is the total enrollment at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY?
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY enrolls approximately 257 students in grades PK-06.
Is MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY an elementary, middle, or high school?
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is an elementary school covering grades PK-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY?
The student-to-teacher ratio at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is approximately 12.1:1 (21 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY?
At MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY, the student body is approximately 51% White, 33% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Is MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY public or private?
MOUNTAIN LAKE ELEMENTARY is a public K-12 school, overseen by MOUNTAIN LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.