Spring Lake Elementary, Woodland CA

Original Research by School Decision on Spring Lake Elementary

Spring Lake Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Woodland, a Central Valley city and county seat about a short drive from Sacramento. The school sits in the newer Spring Lake planned residential area on the city's southern edge, a development that emerged over the past two decades with parks, schools, and public transit access built into its fabric.

The school's student body reflects the area's demographic character. White students make up the largest racial group, with a substantial share of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a moderate range of family income levels in the catchment area. The enrollment is stable and relatively small for its grade band.

On state assessments, Spring Lake's proficiency results are mixed. In English language arts, the school shows an uneven profile across grades. Third and fourth graders reach mid-range proficiency, while fifth graders perform better, and sixth graders show notably stronger results. In math, proficiency is similarly inconsistent, sitting around the middle range in grades three through five and rising in sixth grade. The overall proficiency across both tested subjects lands the school in the top quartile among Yolo County districts on a composite index. Science assessment data was available only for fifth grade, where proficiency fell below the midpoint. A parent may want to look into whether the school has strategies in place to strengthen science instruction across the elementary grades and to examine the specific math and reading approaches used at each grade level.

The school is part of Woodland Joint Unified, a district of about two dozen schools. The district has implemented an ethnic studies curriculum and requirement for high school graduation since the 2022-2023 school year, an interdisciplinary program centered on race, ethnicity, and indigeneity that families would want to understand as their children progress. In 2020, voters approved a facilities bond that funded vocational facilities expansion, technology upgrades, and major repairs across district schools. A more recent bond measure was rejected by voters in November 2024, leaving facility improvements and modernization dependent on existing resources going forward.

Woodland itself is anchored by a walkable historic downtown with the Opera House, restaurants, and galleries concentrated on Main Street. Public transit via Yolobus connects residents to Davis, Sacramento, and UC Davis, with stops near the library and hospital. The housing market sits just above the national median, with a median home value around typical for suburban California and rents reflecting similar affordability challenges. Employment is led by trade, warehousing and distribution, healthcare, and the school district itself. The Spring Lake area where the school sits was built as mixed-income family housing, including a notable affordable development for agricultural workers recognized with a UN-affiliated award for sustainability.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 33% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 461%

School 61% · District 32% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 24% · ▲ 39 pts above district

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

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 25% · ▲ 45 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 30% · ▲ 31 pts above district

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

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 34% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 566%

School 66% · District 37% · ▲ 29 pts above district

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

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 40% · ▲ 40 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 23% · ▲ 27 pts above district

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

This schoolWoodland Joint Unified, 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-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income81%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income52%Higher-income74%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income77%Higher-income82%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income44%Higher-income70%27 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income40%Higher-income78%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income74%29 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income53%Higher-income79%26 pp gap