The top reported proficiency rate is 72% in Math. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Turtle Lake Elementary
Turtle Lake Elementary is a regular public school in the Mounds View Public School District, serving students in first through fifth grade. It is located in Shoreview, a second-ring suburb north of Saint Paul set within a landscape of lakes, parks, and trails. The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary building, and it is one of several elementaries in a district that also includes a kindergarten center and other grade-level schools across the city. The community is primarily residential with corporate office campuses, and the school sits in a car-oriented suburban environment where most families drive to and from school.
Academically, Turtle Lake stands out among its peers. State assessment results from the 2024-2025 school year show that student proficiency in reading and mathematics was well above typical levels, with particularly strong performance in third-grade math and fifth-grade reading. In science, the fifth-grade cohort posted a lower proficiency rate, and a parent may want to ask the school how the science curriculum aligns with state expectations, especially since the state assessment changed that year. The school’s overall proficiency index, which combines results across subjects and grades, places it in the top quartile relative to districts across Ramsey County. That is a strong signal for a school of this size. Trend data is limited to a single year, so it is not yet possible to see whether performance is improving or declining over time.
The student body is predominantly White, with smaller but notable shares of Asian students and students identifying as two or more races. A relatively low proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the higher-income character of the surrounding community. Data on students receiving special education services or English learner support was not available in the source materials. The school does not have a reported chronic absenteeism rate, which is common for elementary buildings where attendance patterns tend to be better than in older grades.
The Mounds View district, which operates Turtle Lake, has seen several recent developments that may matter to families considering the school. In November 2024, voters passed two operating levy questions. The first renewed an existing levy without a tax increase. The second added new revenue designated for social-emotional support, academic support, and maintaining class sizes, with a modest tax increase on a median-value home. At the same time, the district made budget reductions for the 2024-2025 school year, cutting staffing, professional development, and operational costs, citing inflation and inadequate state funding. The district has also opened limited nonresident K-5 enrollment options for families outside district boundaries who wish to attend Turtle Lake or other elementaries, though the rest of the district remains closed to open enrollment due to high resident enrollment.
Shoreview itself is a stable, affluent suburb that has grown slowly since the rapid expansion of the 1960s through 1980s. Home values and rents are moderately high compared to national benchmarks, and the city has extensive park and trail amenities. The school’s neighborhood is set within that context: families with school-age children are a significant part of the residential base, and housing turnover tends to reflect that demographic. There is no traditional downtown, and most commercial activity is along highway corridors.
For a family looking at Turtle Lake, the picture is one of a consistently high-performing elementary school in a well-resourced district, set in a suburban community with strong civic infrastructure. The main soft spot in the academic data is the fifth-grade science result, which is notably lower than the school’s reading and math scores and may merit a follow-up conversation with the principal about instructional focus in upper elementary science. The school does not serve grades beyond fifth, so there are no graduation or college readiness metrics to review, and the academic record is strictly elementary. The district’s recent financial decisions—new levy support alongside budget cuts—suggest that the district is managing competing pressures, and long-term families may want to track how those trade-offs affect programming as students move into the middle and high school levels. Overall, Turtle Lake offers a strong academic foundation in a stable, family-oriented setting.
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