Tahoe Lake Elementary: Scores climb 5.1 points from grade 3 to grade 5. But the zoned next school scores lower.
Tahoe Lake holds its own. Scores drop at the schools it feeds into. Ask where its graduates actually enrol, and whether families stay on the zoned path.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 60 | 27% | 57% | +5.1 | 16.9% | 0.8% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Tahoe Lake Elementary scores 60 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 82nd percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🚀 Growth Engine — Ask how the school tracks each kid's growth year to year, and what happens when a kid stalls instead of gaining.
Most rating sites would stop at “57% proficient” and call it done. Tahoe Lake deserves a closer read. The school sits in Tahoe City, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Tahoe Lake's low-income kids hit 51.6% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 82nd percentile since 2022.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 74% | 44% | 52% | 40% | 51% |
| Grade 4 | 71% | 53% | 44% | 49% | 46% |
| Grade 5 | — | 66% | 55% | 59% | 64% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 59% | 47% | 59% | 44% | 64% |
| Grade 4 | 65% | 49% | 50% | 47% | 57% |
| Grade 5 | — | 63% | 55% | 49% | 61% |
The story this school is actually telling
separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
the zoned path continues to North Tahoe Middle, which scores 15 points lower — worth asking about on a tour.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding rises 10.8pp across grades; the floor rises 12.5pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Tahoe Lake's most underrated number
51.6% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
How every group of students does here
At Tahoe Lake Elementary in Tahoe City, 51.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 38.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Tahoe Lake Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 13.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (47.6% Math proficient); White students (63.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 7.6 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 31 students tested.
7 of 13 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Low-income student math proficiency rises by 13.6pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +0.7pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The zoned path continues to North Tahoe Middle, which scores 15 points lower than this school — worth weighing alongside everything above. Families here often look at charter or magnet options for middle school.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 57% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Tahoe Lake Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Tahoe Lake Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Tahoe Lake Elementary rank in California?
Is Tahoe Lake Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Tahoe Lake Elementary?
How does Tahoe Lake Elementary compare to other schools in Tahoe City?
How does Tahoe Lake Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 43 | 23% | 28% | 30% | 19% | 51% | +8 |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 17% | 28% | 30% | 24% | 46% | +1 |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 34% | 30% | 25% | 11% | 64% | +16 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 44 | 30% | 34% | 18% | 18% | 64% | +18 |
| Grade 4 | 46 | 15% | 41% | 26% | 17% | 57% | +15 |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 43% | 18% | 27% | 11% | 61% | +26 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 44 | 27% | 30% | 34% | 9% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 31 | 51.6% | +13 | +13 |
| White | 88 | 63.6% | −13 | +2 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 25 | 32.0% | −3 | −7 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tahoe Lake Elementary ← | — | 60 | 27.1% | 57.0% | +5.1 | 0.8% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 56 | 84 | #928 | 25.4% | 53.6% | 19.7% | 0.6% | +19.2pp |
| 2023 | 47 | 68 | #1804 | 22.6% | 52.7% | 36.1% | 0.7% | -0.4pp |
| 2024 | 51 | 70 | #1748 | 21.4% | 47.7% | 14.7% | 0.2% | +12.3pp |
| 2025 | 60 | 82 | #1027 | 27.1% | 57.0% | 16.9% | 0.8% | +5.1pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 12.2% | 13.3% | +1.1pp |
| Male | 7.4% | 20.6% | +13.2pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.5% | 26.7% | +17.2pp |
| Two or More Races | 25.0% | 6.7% | -18.3pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 12.8% | 27.5% | +14.7pp |
| English Learners | 5.5% | 29.7% | +24.2pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 9.0% | 26.6% | +17.6pp |
| All Students | 9.7% | 16.8% | +7.1pp |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction