Enrollment
55
Elementary
DISTRICT 343 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·TAHOE-TRUCKEE UNIFIED·NCES 063877006512
Donner Trail Elementary
52755 Donner Pass Rd., Kingvale, CA 96161 · (530) 582-2720 · Nevada County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL55 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of California public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
4 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.0:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
5%
3 students
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 65%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 9 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 6 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 5 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 13 | 24% |
| Grade 4 | 7 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 15 | 27% |
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
83.3%
CA avg 49.1% . +6.3pp since 2014
Math
91.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +44.7pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 83 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 92 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 6 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 45 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 55.6% | 27.8% | 11.1% | 5.6% |
| Math | 63.9% | 27.8% | 2.8% | 5.6% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 83.3% | 91.7% |
| 2023-24 | 83.3% | 88.9% |
| 2022-23 | 69.7% | 69.7% |
| 2021-22 | 83.8% | 89.2% |
| 2020-21 | 93.5% | 87.1% |
| 2018-19 | 96.8% | 80.7% |
| 2017-18 | 91.4% | 77.1% |
| 2016-17 | 72.2% | 62.2% |
| 2015-16 | 74.0% | 63.0% |
| 2014-15 | 77.0% | 47.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
84.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
76.3%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 85% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 76% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Donner Trail Elementary
Donner Trail Elementary's state test result (84.8% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donner Trail Elementary this school | 55 | 5.5% | 84.8% |
| Lagunitas Elementary San Geronimo | 68 | 13.2% | 61.6% |
| Liberty Primary Petaluma | 56 | 16.1% | N/A |
| Happy Valley Elementary Santa Cruz | 106 | 7.5% | 80.4% |
| Lakeside Elementary Los Gatos | 64 | 10.9% | 65.0% |
| Ballard Elementary Solvang | 113 | 10.6% | 73.6% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Donner Trail Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Nevada County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 55 | #5,752 of 5,915 | #18 of 20 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
55
-3 (-5%) vs 2020
+224% since 1990-91, when it was 17
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
was 14.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 55 | 4 | 13.8:1 | 5% (3) |
| 2023-24 | 57 | 4 | 14.3:1 | 7% (4) |
| 2022-23 | 55 | 3 | 18.3:1 | 5% (3) |
| 2020-21 | 58 | 4 | 14.5:1 | 12% (7) |
| 2017-18 | 66 | 3 | 22.0:1 | 11% (7) |
| 2015-16 | 64 | 3 | 21.3:1 | 14% (9) |
| 2010-11 | 76 | N/A | N/A | 9% (7) |
| 2000-01 | 60 | 3 | 20.0:1 | 3% (2) |
| 1990-91 | 17 | 1 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Donner Trail Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 17% (66 to 55); teachers up 33% (3 to 4).
About Donner Trail Elementary
Donner Trail Elementary is a small elementary school with its address in Kingvale, California. School enrollment was 55 students in 2024-25, in kindergarten through 5. The average among elementary schools in California is roughly 465 students; this school is 88% smaller than that.
Tahoe-Truckee Unified enrolls 3,959 students, and its 11 schools include Donner Trail Elementary.
White students make up 95% of enrollment at Donner Trail Elementary. The remaining shares are 4% Hispanic. Census estimates put the White share of Nevada County's population at about 84%. Pick two students at random and there is a 10% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
A ratio of 13.8:1 comes from the school's 4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is 8.5 students per teacher below the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 5% in 2024-25. Among public schools in Nevada County, the average eligibility rate is 43%.
Donner Trail Elementary is graded A by allk12, scoring above 87% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
After adjusting for student poverty, Donner Trail Elementary lands between the top and bottom 10% of California schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 84.8%; the prediction is 76.3%.
Census Bureau estimates for Nevada County show that the median household income is $89,882, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 42%, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Donner Trail Elementary is one of 46 public schools in the county.
Nearby, Truckee Elementary is about 12.6 miles away. Local comparison: Donner Trail Elementary ranks 1st of 5 nearby schools, at 84.8% versus a 57.3% average.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Distant.
The school enrolled 55 students in 2024-25, 3 fewer than the 58 it had in 2020-21.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Nevada County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
102,481
Census ACS
Median income
$89,882
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
42%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
46
13,561 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Tahoe-Truckee Unified
- Tahoe Truckee HighHigh · 907 students
- Alder Creek MiddleMiddle · 535 students
- Truckee ElementaryElementary · 515 students
- Glenshire ElementaryElementary · 499 students
- North Tahoe HighHigh · 468 students
- Kings Beach ElementaryElementary · 362 students
Nearby schools
- Truckee Elementary12.6 mi · 515
- Tahoe Truckee High12.8 mi · 907
- Sierra High (Continuation)13.0 mi · 24
- Sierra Expeditionary Learning13.2 mi · 216
- Creekside Charter14.1 mi · 233
- Alder Creek Middle15.0 mi · 535
Frequently asked questions
About Donner Trail ElementaryHow large is Donner Trail Elementary?
Donner Trail Elementary enrolls approximately 55 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Donner Trail Elementary serve?
Donner Trail Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
How many teachers does Donner Trail Elementary have?
Donner Trail Elementary employs 4 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Donner Trail Elementary?
Student demographics at Donner Trail Elementary are roughly 95% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Donner Trail Elementary?
Donner Trail Elementary is overseen by Tahoe-Truckee Unified in Nevada County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.