Mark Twain Elementary, Angels Camp CA

Original Research by School Decision on Mark Twain Elementary

Mark Twain Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Angels Camp, a small Gold Rush-era foothill town that is the only incorporated city in Calaveras County. The school sits on Stanislaus Avenue within walking distance of the historic downtown, where the Mark Twain statue stands in Utica Park and Main Street retains its brick buildings, shops, galleries, and restaurants from the town's founding era.

The school enrolls students from Angels Camp and surrounding foothill communities. About two-thirds of the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is majority White, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller numbers of students from other backgrounds. The school's special populations data was not available, so information on students receiving special education services or identified as English learners is not included here.

State assessment results from the most recent year show proficiency rates that are below where most families would hope to see them. In English Language Arts, students in grades three and four cluster around the same proficiency level, while sixth and seventh graders show somewhat lower rates and eighth graders show improvement. Math proficiency is considerably lower across all tested grades, with fifth grade showing particularly low attainment and grades six through eight hovering in the mid-range. Science proficiency in grades five and eight is also low. The school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint when compared to other districts in Calaveras County. It is worth noting that the district recently adopted the K-5 Collaborative Literacy curriculum and publicly reported a substantial one-year improvement in ELA scores district-wide following that implementation, so the trajectory may be moving.

Housing in Angels Camp and the surrounding area is moderately priced relative to California as a whole, though still significant for many households. The local economy centers on tourism tied to the Mark Twain legacy and the Jumping Frog Jubilee, historic downtown retail and dining, healthcare, and agriculture including vineyards and ranches. The area retains a rural character beyond the downtown core, with many homes situated on larger lots. A significant affordable housing development called Eureka Oaks, a Habitat for Humanity project, is under way on the north side of town and is expected to bring new housing to the community starting in the coming year.

The district faced two funding setbacks: a parcel tax measure (Measure A) for math, reading, and school safety programs failed to pass in the spring of 2025, falling short of the two-thirds supermajority required, and a bond measure failed in 2022. These defeats mean that facility improvements and program-enhancement funding the district sought were not secured. A parent may want to look into further detail with the district about how it is addressing its budget and program needs in light of these outcomes. The district did launch the Altaville School for Independent Study, a tuition-free alternative program limited to a small enrollment, offering a blended learning model for families seeking a different educational pathway within the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 35% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 31% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 6% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 12% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 16% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 37% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 38% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 25% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 25% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 38%

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 19% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 11 pts above state median

This schoolMark Twain Union Elementary, 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-income32%Higher-income31%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income24%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income39%Higher-income38%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income43%Higher-income42%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income12%Higher-income31%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income29%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income15%Higher-income17%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income19%5 pp gap