Scandia Elementary, Scandia MN - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Scandia Elementary

Scandia Elementary serves prekindergarten through sixth grade and is part of the Forest Lake Public School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter, and sits in the small, predominantly rural community of Scandia in northern Washington County. Scandia itself is a low-density town of rolling hills, lakes, and farmland, roughly a half-hour's drive northeast of Saint Paul. Its historic village area, around Oakhill Road and Olinda Trail, is the community hub, but there is no dense downtown and no public school building within Scandia proper; Scandia Elementary is located within the town on Scandia Trail. The community values its rural character, and the city’s incorporation history was driven partly by a desire to avoid annexation by the larger nearby city of Forest Lake.

The district has experienced significant recent financial pressure. Voters rejected operating levy referendums in 2022 and 2023, and the school board approved a multi-million-dollar budget reduction plan for the 2024-25 school year that included closing one elementary school, redrawing attendance boundaries for all elementary schools, and making staffing cuts. The district is planning another referendum attempt in 2025. For families living in Scandia, these district-level budget dynamics matter directly, as boundary changes and school closures can affect which building a child attends and what resources are available.

Academically, the data available covers state testing in math, English language arts, and science for the 2024-25 school year, though it represents only a single year, so trends cannot yet be assessed. In math, student proficiency rates ranged from above the majority of students meeting standards in third grade to a lower share in fourth grade, with fifth and sixth graders falling between those points. In English language arts, the pattern shifted by grade, with the lowest share proficient in third grade and a noticeably higher share in sixth grade. Science testing, administered only in fifth grade, showed a lower rate of proficiency. Compared to other districts in Washington County, Scandia Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits in the top quartile. That is a strong relative position in a county with a wide range of performance among its districts.

The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of students identifying as Hispanic, two or more races, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Black. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the share of students with individualized education programs or who are English learners was not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of special education and language support available.

Housing values in Scandia are high, well above the state benchmark, and homes in the zip code have seen a modest year-over-year increase. Renting is less common than owning, and the cost of renting relative to a mortgage suggests buying may be the more attainable path for many. The community’s housing supply is tight, with very low vacancy rates, and new development appears limited, consistent with a preference for preserving the rural landscape. The closest public library and many commercial services are in Forest Lake, about a ten-minute drive south.

Scandia Elementary does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school is a straightforward neighborhood elementary serving a small, rural community within a district that is actively restructuring its finances and elementary footprint. For a family drawn to a low-density, semi-rural setting in the northern metro, and comfortable with the uncertainty that comes with a district navigating budget shortfalls and potential future referendums, this school offers solid academic performance relative to its regional peers.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 63% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 56% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 568%

School 68% · District 47% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 48% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 49% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 45% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 59% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 60% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 26% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

This schoolFOREST LAKE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income56%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income81%41 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income60%10 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income71%21 pp gap