The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in Science. The lowest is 30% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Big Lake Elementary
Big Lake Elementary sits at Mile 4.5 South Big Lake Road in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. It is a traditional public school, not a charter or magnet, and it draws from a community that is spread out, lake-oriented, and deeply tied to outdoor recreation.
The setting shapes what this school is. Big Lake is a census-designated place rather than an incorporated town, with no traditional downtown or walkable commercial core. Homes, cabins, and subdivisions are dispersed along roads and around the namesake lake, which has an extensive shoreline and several state recreation sites. Boating, fishing, snowmachining, dog mushing, and cross-country skiing are central to local life, and the community's civic anchors, a public library, a recreation center, and parks, are scattered along the South Big Lake Road corridor rather than clustered in a center. Many residents commute to Wasilla or Anchorage for work. The area has grown steadily over decades, with a large seasonal cabin inventory reflected in vacant housing stock, though one tracking source suggests the population may currently be edging down. A parent considering this school should understand that the environment is rural, car-dependent, and recreation-first. That is neither a selling point nor a drawback on its own; it is simply the character of the place, and it tends to appeal to families who want space, lake access, and a quieter pace.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary of this grade band. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which tells you the community has real economic need and that the school is serving a population where income insecurity is common. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful portion identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native and another meaningful group identifying as two or more races. Smaller numbers of Hispanic, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and Black students round out the enrollment. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available, so those figures cannot be characterized here.
On state assessments, the picture is mixed and worth a parent's attention. Math proficiency sits below half of tested students, and English language arts proficiency is lower still, with fewer than a third of students reaching proficient or above. Science results are stronger, with nearly half of tested students proficient, though the science test covers a narrower grade band and fewer students. Participation rates were high across the board, which means the results reflect most eligible students rather than a skewed subset. These proficiency levels are a soft spot a parent may want to look into further with the school, asking how reading and math instruction is structured and what interventions are in place for students working below grade level.
Because the school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate or high school course data to report, and no career or dual-credit pathways to describe. The data provided does not include program offerings, staffing details, discipline information, attendance patterns, or Title I status, so those aspects cannot be characterized. The district brief did not surface specific parent-relevant changes such as referenda, curriculum overhauls, or tax shifts in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District, so there is nothing to relay on that front.
What a family gets at Big Lake Elementary is a small-town elementary in a recreation community, serving an economically mixed population with demonstrated economic need, where state test results in reading and math are below what most parents would hope for and science is comparatively steadier. The peer environment reflects the rural, outdoors-oriented character of Big Lake itself. Families drawn to the area for lake life and space, and who are prepared to engage closely with the school on academic progress, are the natural fit here.
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