Lake Forest Elementary, El Dorado Hills CA

Original Research by School Decision on Lake Forest Elementary

Lake Forest Elementary is a regular public school in the Rescue Union Elementary District, serving kindergarten through fifth grade in the upscale, fast-growing community of El Dorado Hills in the Sierra Nevada foothills east of the Sacramento area.

The school enrolls a small population for its grade band, drawn largely from surrounding residential neighborhoods. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic population and smaller Asian representation; a modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Data on the percentage of students in special education or learning English was not available.

On California's 2024-25 state assessments, Lake Forest's students showed mixed performance across math and English language arts. In the tested upper elementary grades, math proficiency ranged across the span of three-fifths to three-quarters of students, with fourth grade performing strongest. English language arts proficiency was more variable, running from about three-fifths in third grade to roughly three-quarters in fifth grade. Fifth-grade science proficiency sat around three-fifths. When proficiency rates across all tested subjects and grades are averaged together, Lake Forest ranks in the top quartile among schools in its county on overall test performance, a meaningful position that reflects strength especially in upper-elementary ELA.

El Dorado Hills itself is a planned community organized as named residential villages north of Highway 50, with commercial and business districts to the south. The area is known for gated subdivisions, large-lot homes, golf courses, and extensive parks and open space, and it is one of the region's fastest-growing and most expensive communities. Housing values there are substantially above state and national medians. The Town Center serves as the civic and retail hub, with a traditional downtown feel including walkable streets and public gathering spaces, though the surrounding residential neighborhoods are car-oriented. Growth is ongoing and concentrated in large new master-planned communities such as Blackstone and East Ridge Village, which are adding considerable housing inventory.

The Rescue Union district serves the central portions of El Dorado Hills and neighboring Rescue with three elementary schools and one middle school; students transition to the El Dorado Union High School District for secondary education. Information on recent district-level changes or strategic priorities was limited. Lake Forest sits among the district's elementary options and serves a neighborhood-based enrollment.

The school's location on Sailsbury Drive places it within one of the residential villages typical of the area's character: family-oriented, suburban, and oriented toward outdoor recreation and community parks. Parents considering Lake Forest are choosing a neighborhood elementary school in a growing, upscale foothill community with strong per-capita resources and a student population reflective of that economic and demographic profile.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 74% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 72% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 65% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 70% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 71% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 76% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 58% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

This schoolRescue 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.