Summary
Shadow Lake Elementary is a PK–5 school in Maple Valley, Washington, serving 479 students in the Tahoma School District, a suburban area known for strong schools and family-oriented neighborhoods. The school ranks in the 75th percentile statewide and 285th among Washington elementary schools for 2025–26, making it a solid school overall, although it ranks below its nearby district peers.
Shadow Lake’s 2025–26 proficiency rates were 61.45% in English Language Arts, 57.43% in math, and 69.51% in science. Math is the clearest area for improvement, especially in third grade, where only 47.44% of students were proficient; third-grade ELA was also relatively low at 46.15%. Results improved considerably by fifth grade, reaching 71.95% in ELA and 65.85% in math. Science is a relative strength and rebounded sharply from the prior year. Compared with nearby Cedar River Elementary, Shadow Lake trailed by 17.27 points in ELA, 21.81 points in math, and 15.27 points in science. Other nearby schools, including Glacier Park Elementary, Tahoma Elementary, Rock Creek Elementary, and Lake Wilderness Elementary, also currently rank higher statewide.
Shadow Lake serves a higher-need population than its closest Tahoma-area comparison schools, with 35.49% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, versus roughly 15%–21% at those nearby schools. That context is important when comparing test results. The school also has a favorable 15.6-to-1 student-teacher ratio and spends $20,734 per student, above the nearby-school average. Its subgroup rankings indicate strong effectiveness for low-income students, English language learners, and students receiving special education services. For an additional comparison, similarly situated Grass Lake Elementary School had higher ELA and math results, while Maple Hills Elementary outperformed Shadow Lake in all three subjects but serves a substantially lower-need population. Overall, Shadow Lake appears strongest in science and later-grade achievement, with early-grade math and ELA as its most important improvement priorities.
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