Nextgeneration Steam Academy, Lathrop CA

Original Research by School Decision on Nextgeneration Steam Academy

NextGeneration STEAM Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Lathrop, a rapidly growing industrial and residential hub in San Joaquin County. The school enrolls students across all nine grade levels, with the majority of the student body drawn from Lathrop's expanding neighborhoods.

The school's academic performance shows uneven results across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency improves significantly from the earlier elementary grades into the middle years. Third-grade students showed lower proficiency, while fourth through eighth grades demonstrate stronger performance, with seventh and eighth graders reaching higher proficiency rates. Mathematics proficiency is more variable and generally lower than ELA. Third grade showed moderate performance, fourth grade was slightly stronger, and fifth and sixth grades dipped again, before a substantial jump in seventh grade and a decline in eighth grade. Science testing, administered in fifth and eighth grades only, shows notably lower proficiency rates in both years. Overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint among the county's tested entities.

The school's enrollment reflects Lathrop's demographic character. A substantial majority of students identify as Asian, followed by a significant Hispanic enrollment and smaller shares of White, Black, and multiracial students. Slightly less than half of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate economic diversity but also a meaningful portion of families with limited means. The school does not report data on special education enrollment or English learner rates, so a parent may want to contact the school directly to understand how it serves students with disabilities or students still acquiring English.

Lathrop itself is a car-dependent suburban and industrial community along the I-5 corridor, home to major employers including Tesla's Northern California manufacturing cluster, along with longstanding fertilizer production and auto glass manufacturing. The city is experiencing rapid residential growth, driven primarily by the River Islands master-planned community now under construction west of I-5, which will eventually add substantial housing alongside schools, parks, and trails. Housing values and rents in the area reflect this growth, with home values recently declining modestly year-over-year but still tracking well above the national benchmark. The area's economy is relatively stable, with unemployment rates in line with national trends.

The school's STEAM focus aligns with its charter model, though specific program details were not available in the data provided. It sits within its own district entity, NextGeneration STEAM Academy District, which appears to be organized around this single school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · district not reported

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

Grade 452%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · district not reported

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

Grade 643%

School 43% · district not reported

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 761%

School 61% · district not reported

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 567%

School 67% · district not reported

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 655%

School 55% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 764%

School 64% · district not reported

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

Grade 861%

School 61% · district not reported

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · district not reported

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

Grade 835%

School 35% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, 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 3Lower-income34%Higher-income48%14 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income61%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income75%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income75%40 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income50%Higher-income78%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income67%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income34%Higher-income56%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income65%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income52%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income54%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income47%Higher-income77%30 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income58%17 pp gap