Original Research by School Decision on Andover High School
Andover High School is a large public high school in Anoka County, serving grades nine through twelve as part of the Anoka-Hennepin School District. The school sits in Andover, a primarily residential suburb of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area that residents and outside descriptions characterize as having a rural feel, with most families owning their homes and a substantial share of households including children. The city has grown steadily since its incorporation and continues to see suburban expansion, though its commercial development remains limited relative to housing, making it very much a bedroom community. Streets are laid out for cars—there is no traditional walkable downtown or main street, and schools including Andover High sit on separate campuses rather than clustered together.
Academically, the most recent state testing results show that a moderate share of students meet state standards in English language arts, while a somewhat smaller share do so in mathematics. These numbers represent a single year of data, so there is no trend available to show whether performance is rising or falling. The school’s graduation rate was not reported in the data we reviewed, nor were chronic absenteeism figures or detailed discipline records. A family considering Andover High may want to follow up with the school directly on those points, as they are common indicators of student support and school climate. Similarly, information on advanced coursework, career and technical education pathways, and specific program offerings was not provided in our source material, so we cannot speak to the breadth of academic options beyond the core curriculum.
The student body is large and predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who are Black, Hispanic, Asian, or of two or more races. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is lower than the national average and suggests a relatively economically stable community. Special population data, such as the proportion of students with individualized education plans or English learners, was not available.
Andover’s housing market leans toward the higher end relative to national benchmarks, reflecting its desirability as a suburban community with good access to the broader Twin Cities job market. Home values and rents have seen moderate increases, and the cost of buying versus renting favors ownership in this area. Most residents commute by car to employment centers elsewhere in the metro, and the city’s parks and recreational amenities include Crooked Lake and Sunshine Park, with city government and civic life centered around a dispersed set of buildings rather than a compact downtown.
The Anoka-Hennepin School District is a large suburban system serving multiple communities in the northern Twin Cities region. Our search found no recent major changes or referenda that were well-documented enough to summarize, so parents should check directly with the district for updates on budgets, curriculum, or enrollment shifts. The school itself operates as a regular public high school with no charter or magnet status, and it did not receive Title I funding in the available data.
Andover High School fits a family looking for a large suburban high school in a stable, car-dependent residential community where most students come from middle- to higher-income households. The academic proficiency figures are solid but not standout, and the lack of published data on graduation rates, program breadth, and discipline means that a thorough visit or conversation with school staff would be wise before forming a final judgment. For those who value a quiet suburban setting with good access to the Twin Cities and a school that reflects that community’s demographics, Andover High is a familiar and well-established option.
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