The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in Math. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Chisago Lakes Middle
Chisago Lakes Middle School serves grades six through eight in Lindström, a primarily residential small town about a 45-minute drive northeast of the Twin Cities. The school is part of the Chisago Lakes School District, which also includes an elementary and a high school spread across multiple communities. Lindström’s identity is rooted in its Swedish immigrant heritage, and the town is car-dependent with a compact downtown core, while the school sits on a separate campus outside that core. Housing values in the area have risen substantially over the past two decades, and the typical home carries a monthly mortgage that is moderately higher than the national median rent, reflecting a market that has grown significantly.
The middle school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students, and a modest share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This demographic profile is typical for the broader district and surrounding area. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and it does not appear to have Title I status, though the data on that point was not specified.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, student performance varied by subject and grade. In math, proficiency rates were moderately above the midpoint across grades six through eight. Reading proficiency was broadly similar, with a slightly wider spread between grades: seventh-grade reading was lower than sixth and eighth, and a family might ask the school about supports for that cohort specifically. Science testing occurs only in eighth grade, and that result was notably lower than the math and reading figures. Because Minnesota changed the science assessment and its cut scores, the 2025 result cannot be directly compared to prior years, but the single-year data point is a softer spot that a parent may want to look into further with the school.
When compared to other districts in Chisago County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile, placing it among the stronger performers in the county. The comparison set includes seven districts, and the school’s composite index exceeds the county median, though it is not the highest. There is no multi-year trend data available beyond the single 2024-25 snapshot, so it is not possible to say whether performance is improving or declining.
As a middle school, Chisago Lakes does not have a graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism data was not reported in the information provided. The school’s offerings in advanced coursework, career pathways, or extracurricular programs were also not part of the available data, so a family interested in those areas would need to check directly with the school.
In the fall of 2023, district voters renewed the expiring operating levy, which provides ongoing per-pupil revenue for the district’s general operations. A separate technology funding question was defeated, meaning the district lacks a dedicated technology revenue stream that the administration had sought. This is relevant context for families who care about technology infrastructure and device access in the middle school.
The town continues to grow, with population and home values rising, and the district serves a region where many residents commute to employment centers elsewhere. For a family looking at this school, the academic picture is one of solid math and reading performance relative to surrounding districts, with a notable gap in science that warrants a conversation with school staff. The setting is a mid-sized middle school in a growing, car-dependent small town whose schools are part of a larger district serving several communities. The levy renewal provides a measure of fiscal stability, though the failed technology question leaves a gap worth understanding.
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