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Sierra Elementary

Q: Is Sierra Elementary a good school?

Sierra Elementary ranks 1714 th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

1714^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 5,857 California Elementary Schools

Better than 71% of California elementary schools

Summary

Sierra Elementary is a consistently high-performing K-5 public school serving 402 students in the Placerville Union Elementary district, ranking in the top 30% of all California elementary schools.

The school stands out for its strong academic results, especially for students facing economic challenges, and its excellent management of student attendance. Academically, Sierra significantly outperforms both its district and the state, with nearly 60% of students proficient in English and over 43% in math. Perhaps its most notable achievement is its success with economically disadvantaged students, ranking in the top 15% of schools for this group. Furthermore, the school has made a remarkable recovery in attendance, reducing chronic absenteeism from 29% to just 11.9% since the pandemic, a rate much better than neighboring schools.

When compared to nearby schools, Sierra's effectiveness is clear. It dramatically outperforms its closest district peer, Louisiana Schnell Elementary, in all subjects despite receiving less funding per student. It also achieves better results than schools with similar student demographics, such as Gold Oak Elementary. While some local charter schools like the California Montessori Project-Shingle Springs Campus post slightly higher test scores, they serve a much more affluent population, making Sierra's accomplishments with its student body particularly impressive. This consistent, high-value performance makes Sierra Elementary a standout choice in the region.

402

Students ?

23.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,970

Per pupil spending ?

50.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1100 Thompson Way
Placerville, CA 95667-5726

(530) 622-0814

District: Placerville Union Elementary

Students who attend Sierra Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Edwin Markham Middle
High:	El Dorado High

Racial breakdown:

White:

64.7%

Hispanic:

24.4%

Two or more races:

9.5%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Sierra Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 75th percentile in 2015 → 71st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the California average (51% vs 41% meeting standards)

✓Above the California median (71st percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Large classes — about 24 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school51%

District avg38%

California avg41%

1,714^th of 5,857

California public elementary schools ?

Top 29%▼ down 4 pts since 2015

From top 25% (2015) to top 29% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of California Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2Elementary Schools in the Placerville Union Elementary

816^th of 1,543Placerville Union Elementary among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	67.4	1714 of 5857	70.7%	★★★★☆
2024	68.5	1661 of 5869	71.7%	★★★★☆
2023	72.4	1480 of 5859	74.7%	★★★★☆
2022	62.6	1908 of 5883	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	63.3	469 of 1417	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	69.2	1633 of 5789	71.8%	★★★★☆
2018	73.9	1403 of 5662	75.2%	★★★★☆
2017	72.5	1446 of 5692	74.6%	★★★★☆
2016	72.8	1401 of 5614	75.0%	★★★★☆
2015	71.9	1425 of 5611	74.6%	★★★★☆
2013	78.4	1138 of 5530	79.4%	★★★★☆
2012	81.0	975 of 5390	81.9%	★★★★☆
2011	75.7	1222 of 5377	77.3%	★★★★☆
2010	79.6	1025 of 5314	80.7%	★★★★☆
2009	75.1	1202 of 5193	76.9%	★★★★☆
2008	85.0	749 of 5113	85.4%	★★★★☆
2007	72.7	1257 of 5113	75.4%	★★★★☆
2006	60.6	1717 of 4818	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2005	62.6	1637 of 4822	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2004	74.9	1119 of 4809	76.7%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	48.6	840 of 2227	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	85.1	29 of 293	90.1%	★★★★★
2019	53.1	896 of 2585	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.4	815 of 2128	61.7%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	63.7	1793 of 5597	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.7	1779 of 5612	68.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	74.8	1296 of 5609	76.9%	★★★★☆
2022	59.9	1938 of 5635	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	59.7	452 of 1267	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	73.1	1371 of 5492	75.0%	★★★★☆
2018	72.8	1379 of 5413	74.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	45.6	2599 of 5107	49.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	71.0	1139 of 5107	77.7%	★★★★☆
2023	50.9	2184 of 5087	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	43.8	2604 of 5084	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	53.9	2046 of 4963	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.1	1483 of 4830	69.3%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	78.3	853 of 5460	84.4%	★★★★☆
2024	80.6	801 of 5517	85.5%	★★★★☆
2023	78.6	826 of 5363	84.6%	★★★★☆
2022	65.1	1413 of 5264	73.2%	★★★★☆
2021	64.0	314 of 1110	71.7%	★★★★☆
2019	59.9	1786 of 5173	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.8	1403 of 5084	72.4%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	68.3	1591 of 5628	71.7%	★★★★☆
2024	70.0	1508 of 5643	73.3%	★★★★☆
2023	68.0	1589 of 5638	71.8%	★★★★☆
2022	63.8	1789 of 5663	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.3	409 of 1272	67.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	61.5	1889 of 5510	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	72.3	1386 of 5431	74.5%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	33.9	1774 of 2847	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.4	1591 of 2635	39.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2025	49.4	1420 of 2598	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	46.0	1546 of 2651	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	56.1	1256 of 2661	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.9	1613 of 2726	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	47.3	1643 of 2834	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	56.6	1313 of 2737	52.0%	★★★☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)84th percentile+14 vs school

Male (2025)72nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)68th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2022)62nd percentile-5 vs school

Hispanic (2025)49th percentile-22 vs school

White (2025)45th percentile-25 vs school

Special Education (2025)38th percentile-33 vs school

By subject vs California (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy60%+11 vs state

Science46%+14 vs state

Mathematics44%+6 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, March 21, 2017

An excellent school community. My child goes to Sierra and has flourished there so far! Close Quote

Schools Near Sierra Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CSA Spanish Overall (2025)				CSA Spanish Listening (2025)				CSA Spanish Writing (2025)				CSA Spanish Reading (2025)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CSA Spanish Overall 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Overall All Grades	CSA Spanish Listening 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Listening All Grades	CSA Spanish Writing 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Writing All Grades	CSA Spanish Reading 3rd Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 4th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading 5th Grade	CSA Spanish Reading All Grades	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Sierra Elementary	Public	K-5	1100 Thompson Way	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Placerville Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 622-0814	402	17	23.6	50.5%	260 (64.7%)	2 (0.5%)	98 (24.4%)	2 (0.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (9.5%)	67.4	1714^th of 5857 public elementary schools	70.7%		68.5	1661^st of 5869 public elementary schools	71.7%	53																	46.2		46.2	62.9	56.5	60.0				59.9	46.5	46.8	37.9				43.7	94.2	95.7			94.2		$21,970	$21,064	$906
Louisiana Schnell Elementary	Public	K-5	2871 Schnell School Rd.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Placerville Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 622-6244	370	16	23.1	69.7%	164 (44.3%)	2 (0.5%)	162 (43.8%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (10.5%)	18.6	4959^th of 5857 public elementary schools	15.3%		14.9	5315^th of 5869 public elementary schools	9.4%	356	0.0	5.6	8.3	4.6	13.0	5.6	37.5	20.0	4.4	16.7	12.5	10.8	0.0	5.6	0.0	1.5	17.0		17.0	20.0	24.1	34.0				25.9	16.4	15.4	26.4				19.4	95.4	96.9		96.9			$18,524	$17,530	$994
Charles F. Brown Elementary	Public	2-6	6520 Oak Dell Rd.	El Dorado	95623	El Dorado County	Mother Lode Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 642-6996	85	5	17.0	61.2%	51 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (36.5%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	42.5	3040^th of 5857 public elementary schools	48.1%		32.3	3754^th of 5869 public elementary schools	36.0%	714																	38.9		38.9	28.6	41.2	55.6	43.8			43.1	28.6	29.4	33.3	25.0			29.2							$28,484	$28,376	$108
Charter Home Study Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	6520 Oak Dell Rd.	El Dorado	95623	El Dorado County	El Dorado County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 622-6984	295	17	17.6	33.2%	181 (61.4%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (11.2%)	3 (1.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (26.1%)	60.7	2030^th of 5857 public elementary schools	65.3%		52.3	2439^th of 5869 public elementary schools	58.4%	409																	43.3	65.5	58.0	64.7	57.1	50.0	22.2	52.8	60.4	50.2	52.9	57.1	43.3	46.0	37.7	31.3	41.8							$30,635	$30,594	$41
Indian Creek Elementary	Public	K-4	6701 Green Valley Rd.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Mother Lode Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 626-0765	392	19	20.6	51.3%	224 (57.1%)	0 (0.0%)	136 (34.7%)	6 (1.5%)	7 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	37.4	3384^th of 5857 public elementary schools	42.2%		32.3	3756^th of 5869 public elementary schools	36.0%	372																				42.2	35.7					38.8	40.6	28.6					34.3							$21,209	$20,612	$597
Gold Oak Elementary	Public	K-5	3171 Pleasant Valley Rd.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Gold Oak Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 626-3160	270	14	19.2	39.6%	207 (76.7%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (20.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.6%)	34	3653^rd of 5857 public elementary schools	37.6%		38.1	3304^th of 5869 public elementary schools	43.7%	349																	39.5		39.5	33.3	34.2	44.7				36.9	26.0	29.3	21.1				25.6	95.0			95.0		95.0	$20,296	$18,788	$1,508
Camino Polytechnic	Public, Charter	K-8	3060 Snows Rd.	Camino	95709	El Dorado County	Camino Polytechnic District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 644-4552	31	2	17.2	64.5%	26 (83.9%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (16.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)																										77.8							11.8
Camino Elementary	Public	K-8	3060 Snows Rd.	Camino	95709	El Dorado County	Camino Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 644-4552	375	22	16.8	56.0%	258 (68.8%)	2 (0.5%)	94 (25.1%)	4 (1.1%)	9 (2.4%)	2 (0.5%)	6 (1.6%)	60.6	2032^nd of 5857 public elementary schools	65.3%		54.4	2325^th of 5869 public elementary schools	60.4%	293																	42.9	39.4	41.3	63.2	44.7	45.2	50.0	46.8	65.6	51.9	63.2	56.4	26.2	34.2	15.2	37.5	37.9	93.3			93.3	93.3	93.3	$17,555	$15,544	$2,011
California Montessori Project-Shingle Springs Campus	Public, Charter	K-8	4645 Buckeye Rd.	Shingle Springs	95682	El Dorado County	CA Montessori Project-Shingle Springs Campus District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 672-3095	543	23	23.5	16.8%	401 (73.8%)	1 (0.2%)	73 (13.4%)	17 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (9.4%)	68	1690^th of 5857 public elementary schools	71.1%		76.5	1316^th of 5869 public elementary schools	77.6%	374																	36.4	66.7	50.0	65.6	63.6	45.5	45.3	70.4	75.6	60.7	65.6	58.2	34.6	48.2	61.1	60.0	54.6	91.9	96.8	93.6	95.2	93.6	95.2
Sutters Mill	Public	K-3	4801 Luneman Rd.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Gold Trail Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 626-2591	201	10	20.1	39.8%	140 (69.7%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (21.9%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.0%)								(n/a)																				55.0						55.0	51.2						51.2							$20,745	$19,602	$1,143

Frequently Asked Questions about Sierra Elementary

How many students attend Sierra Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 402 students attended Sierra Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Sierra Elementary attend?

Students who attend Sierra Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Edwin Markham Middle
High : El Dorado High

What district is Sierra Elementary in?

Placerville Union Elementary

Is Sierra Elementary a good school?

Sierra Elementary ranks 1714^th of 5857 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Sierra Elementary?

Students at Sierra Elementary are 65% White, 24% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races.

Rate Sierra Elementary!

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Latest California data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

2024–25 attendance dataMar 13, 2026

2024–25 CSA Spanish test scoresDec 22, 2025

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 14, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.