The top reported proficiency rate is 83% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ted Hunsberger Elementary
Ted Hunsberger Elementary sits in the southwest corner of Reno, in a zip code where home values run well above both state and national norms. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the Washoe County School District, and it draws from a neighborhood where housing costs are steep relative to incomes. For a family weighing this area, the housing market is a defining factor. The typical home value here sits far above the Nevada baseline, and monthly mortgage costs substantially exceed rents, which tells you most families in this attendance zone are owners rather than renters.
Academically, the school posts strong numbers on Nevada's SBAC assessments. In English language arts, a large majority of tested students reached proficiency, and math results were similarly high. These are among the better elementary-level results you will see in the region, and they suggest a school where core instruction in literacy and numerology is landing well. Participation was near full, so the results reflect nearly the entire tested population rather than a self-selected slice.
Science results tell a different story. Proficiency on the state science assessment was more modest, with fewer than half of tested fifth graders reaching the proficient threshold. This is not unusual for elementary science, which often receives less instructional time than reading and math, but a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how science is taught and whether the school is working to strengthen it.
The student body is sizable for an elementary school and predominantly white. Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students each make up a small share, and the Black student population is quite small. Economic disadvantage is low here. Only a sliver of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which places this school among the more affluent elementary populations in the district. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported, so we cannot characterize those populations either way.
Reno itself is a mid-sized city that has shifted from its casino-and-tourism identity into something more mixed. Publicly reported sources note large-scale investments from companies like Tesla, Amazon, Panasonic, Microsoft, Apple, and Google, which have established the metro as a technology and logistics center. The University of Nevada, Reno adds an academic and institutional presence. Downtown has a walkable core along the Truckee River corridor, but the broader city is sprawling and car-dependent outside that center. Annual events like the Reno Rodeo, Hot August Nights, and the Great Reno Balloon Races contribute to civic life, and proximity to Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada shapes the outdoor-recreation culture.
We looked for district-level curriculum changes or strategic initiatives that might affect this school and found little in the available research, so we left that out rather than guess. Program offerings, staffing details, and discipline data for Hunsberger specifically were not available in the materials provided. Title I status was also not reported, though the very low free-or-reduced-price rate suggests the school likely does not operate as a Title I school.
For a parent, the picture is fairly clear. This is a well-performing elementary school in an affluent, owner-heavy corner of Reno, with strong reading and math outcomes and a peer group that is relatively homogeneous and economically advantaged. The housing cost to access it is high. Science is the one academic area that stands out as softer than the others, and it is worth asking about. Beyond that, the available data describes a stable, academically solid elementary option within a fast-growing metro area.
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