The top reported proficiency rate is 80% in Math. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Gleason Lake Elementary
Gleason Lake Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Plymouth, part of Wayzata Public Schools. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.
This is a school where core academic results are strong by any standard. Across the tested grades, proficiency rates in math and reading cluster well above the midpoint for the county and in line with the highest-performing schools in the area. In math, third and fourth graders both posted proficiency figures that would be high in virtually any context. Fifth-grade math, while still at a solid level, dipped below those highs, a pattern that might warrant a conversation with the school about what the transition to upper elementary math looks like. Reading proficiency was consistent across third through fifth grade, with all three years clustering around the same strong range. Fifth-grade science, assessed by a state test that was new or revised in the year the data comes from, came in at a lower level than the school’s own math and reading results. The change in the science assessment that year means the number may not be directly comparable to prior years, so it is worth asking the school how their current fifth graders are faring on the established version of the test.
The school’s overall proficiency index, a composite of all tested subjects and grades, places it in the top quartile among Hennepin County elementary schools. That is a genuinely strong position. It means families can expect a high-performing academic environment relative to the schools around it.
The student body is predominantly white, with the largest minority groups being Asian, two or more races, Hispanic, and Black, each making up a modest share. The share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch is small. English learner and special education head counts were not available in the data used here, so a family with a child who has an Individualized Education Program or is an English learner should confirm with the school directly what services and staffing levels are in place.
Plymouth is a large, mature suburb about ten miles west of downtown Minneapolis. It has a car-dependent character, with cul-de-sac subdivisions and commercial strips along major highways, and it lacks a traditional walkable downtown. Several corporate headquarters are in the city, and it is served by five school districts in total, though Wayzata is the primary one for most of the city. Housing values are elevated, well above national medians, and rents are high. The local labor market is stable, with an unemployment rate near the national average and a large employer base spanning insurance, medical devices, banking, and education.
The school sits within Wayzata Public Schools, a district that as of 2023 enrolled roughly a large student body across multiple elementary schools, several middle schools, and one high school. Voters in 2023 approved an operating levy renewal for a ten-year span, providing stable funding for class sizes and programs. The district has also added an elementary school and restructured some attendance zones in response to enrollment growth. A full-time online high school option, Wayzata Online, was established as a permanent alternative. None of these district-level changes directly affect an elementary building, but they signal an institution that is growing and investing in programmatic breadth.
Gleason Lake Elementary does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was not available. The school offers no special designations such as magnet or Title I programs, and no data on course access or staffing levels were provided. A family evaluating this school will find a straightforward, high-performing academic setting in a high-cost, family-oriented suburb. The school’s strongest signal is its consistent reading and math proficiency, and its main question mark is the low fifth-grade science result, which the district and school can speak to directly.
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