Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
1 / 25#25. Intensive Interagency Program
- School type: Public School
- Location: Lake Agassiz Special Ed. Cooperative, MN
- Enrollment: 14 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: unavailable
Best high schools in the Fargo metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Fargo metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Lakes Country Youth Education Services
- School type: Public School
- Location: Region 4-Lakes Country Service Cooperative, MN
- Enrollment: 40 (10:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: unavailable
Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
3 / 25#23. WEST FARGO COMMUNITY HIGH SCHOOL
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 54 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: unavailable
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4 / 25#22. Moorhead Alternative Learning Center
- School type: Public School
- Location: Moorhead Public School District, MN
- Enrollment: 179 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: unavailable
Tyler Olson // Shutterstock
5 / 25#21. Dakota High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 109 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: C+
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6 / 25#20. Ulen-Hitterdal Secondary School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ulen-Hitterdal Public School District, MN
- Enrollment: 126 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
LBeddoe // Shutterstock
7 / 25#19. Central Cass High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Central Cass School District No. 17, ND
- Enrollment: 312 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
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8 / 25#18. Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton School District, MN
- Enrollment: 449 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B minus
Joyseulay // Shutterstock
9 / 25#17. Horace High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 456 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
ImageFlow // Shutterstock
10 / 25#16. West Fargo High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 1,423 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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11 / 25#15. Kindred High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kindred Public School District, ND
- Enrollment: 396 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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12 / 25#14. West Fargo Sheyenne High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: West Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 1,473 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
maroke // Shutterstock
13 / 25#13. Barnesville Secondary School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Barnesville Public School District, MN
- Enrollment: 408 (18:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
DenisProduction.com // Shutterstock
14 / 25#12. Richland Junior/Senior High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Richland School District No. 44, ND
- Enrollment: 113 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
GagliardiPhotography // Shutterstock
15 / 25#11. Hillsboro High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hillsboro Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 241 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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Monkey Business Images // Shutterstock
16 / 25#10. Hawley Secondary School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Hawley Public School District, MN
- Enrollment: 414 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
17 / 25#9. Moorhead High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Moorhead Public School District, MN
- Enrollment: 1,937 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
18 / 25#8. Park Christian School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Moorhead, MN
- Enrollment: 633 (16:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
Ground Picture // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Northern Cass High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Northern Cass School District No. 97, ND
- Enrollment: 189 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
LightField Studios // Shutterstock
20 / 25#6. South High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 961 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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21 / 25#5. Ada-Borup Secondary School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Ada, MN
- Enrollment: 343 (14:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
SEALANDSKYPHOTO // Shutterstock
22 / 25#4. North High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 1,083 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
maroke // Shutterstock
23 / 25#3. Shanley High School & Sacred Heart Middle School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fargo, ND
- Enrollment: 575 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
LStockStudio // Shutterstock
24 / 25#2. Fargo Davies High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fargo Public Schools, ND
- Enrollment: 1,363 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
panitanphoto // Shutterstock
25 / 25#1. Oak Grove Lutheran School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fargo, ND
- Enrollment: 722 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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