High Schools in Lake Tahoe Unified

The two high schools in Lake Tahoe Unified serve grades 9–12: South Tahoe High enrolls 1,076 students and Mt. Tallac High enrolls 50. In 2025–2026, both schools were below California’s proficiency rates in English language arts (ELA) and math, but results differed substantially between them. The most important takeaway is that the area’s results are uneven: South Tahoe came close to the state in ELA, while Mt. Tallac fell far below the state in both subjects.

South Tahoe led in both subjects, with 47% proficient in ELA and 23% in math, compared with 10% and 0% at Mt. Tallac. The schools’ results differed by 37 percentage points in ELA and 23 points in math. South Tahoe was 2 points below California in ELA and 15 points below in math; Mt. Tallac was 40 points below the state in ELA and 38 points below in math. Graduation and dropout figures are more favorable than the state’s at both schools: South Tahoe’s graduation rate was 94% and dropout rate 2%, while Mt. Tallac’s were 90% and 6%; statewide rates were 88% and 8%. Attendance is a concern, especially at Mt. Tallac: chronic absenteeism was 25% at South Tahoe and 86% at Mt. Tallac, versus 18% statewide.

ELA proficiency improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 at both schools—by 5 percentage points at South Tahoe and 5 at Mt. Tallac—while math fell 4 points at South Tahoe and stayed at 0% at Mt. Tallac. SchoolDigger gives South Tahoe a 2-star rating and places it in the 49th percentile statewide; Mt. Tallac has 0 stars and ranks in the 4th percentile. In 2024–2025, South Tahoe’s student–teacher ratio was 19.6 and Mt. Tallac’s was 16.9; their reported per-student spending was $21,739 and $34,612, respectively. Both report free/reduced lunch eligible figures for 2024–2025: 47% at South Tahoe and 70% at Mt. Tallac. Science results are suppressed for both schools, so they cannot be compared.