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What do you wish you knew before starting at Costner Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
430
Elementary
DISTRICT 457 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370162000678
Costner Elementary
353 Old 277 Loop Hwy, Dallas, NC 28034 · (704) 922-3522 · Gaston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL430 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- C+Test 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.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
427 students
DISTRICT 88% · STATE 82%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 17 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 62 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 56 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 78 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 76 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 77 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 64 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (62) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (64).
Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 71% · 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
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
46.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
53.5%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 54 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. 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
52.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina 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 North Carolina'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 Costner Elementary
Costner Elementary's state test result (52.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Costner Elementary this school | 430 | 99.3% | 52.0% |
| West Pine Elementary West End | 383 | 99.2% | 70.5% |
| Pleasant Garden Elementary Pleasant Garden | 453 | 99.3% | 68.7% |
| Bridgeton Elementary New Bern | 415 | 95.2% | 50.5% |
| Stoneville Elementary Stoneville | 413 | 99.3% | 48.4% |
| Pine Valley Elementary Wilmington | 465 | 99.4% | 64.1% |
Matched among North Carolina 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 Costner Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Gaston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 52.0% | #757 of 1,297 | #13 of 27 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 53.5% | #803 of 1,296 | #14 of 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.9% | #733 of 1,300 | #12 of 27 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 430 | #811 of 1,485 | #15 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #514 of 1,377 | #7 of 29 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 53.1% | #929 of 1,379 | #23 of 29 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #398 of 1,414 | #11 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -1.6% | #891 of 937 | #22 of 22 |
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
430
+38 (+10%) vs 2020
+1% since 1990-91, when it was 427
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
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 | 430 | 30.4 | 14.1:1 | 99% (427) |
| 2023-24 | 453 | 29.5 | 15.4:1 | 99% (450) |
| 2022-23 | 485 | 28.2 | 17.2:1 | 63% (304) |
| 2020-21 | 392 | 27 | 14.5:1 | 43% (168) |
| 2017-18 | 437 | 26 | 16.8:1 | 49% (212) |
| 2015-16 | 569 | 31 | 18.4:1 | 53% (304) |
| 2010-11 | 649 | 35 | 18.5:1 | 49% (318) |
| 2000-01 | 502 | 18 | 27.9:1 | 31% (157) |
| 1990-91 | 427 | 23 | 18.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Costner Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (437 to 430); teachers up 17% (26 to 30.4).
About Costner Elementary
A medium-sized elementary school in Dallas, North Carolina, Costner Elementary is part of Gaston County Schools. The school counts 430 students across pre-K through 5.
Costner Elementary is run by Gaston County Schools, whose 56 schools enroll 30,995 students.
By race and ethnicity, Costner Elementary is 65% White. It is also 15% Black, 15% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. For comparison, Gaston County is about 68% White. By the diversity index, Costner Elementary comes in at 53%.
Costner Elementary counts 30.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 14.1 students for each one. Among elementary schools in North Carolina, the typical ratio is 14.9:1. About 99% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. The average for public schools in Gaston County is 85%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Costner Elementary receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Costner Elementary is 3.5 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 52.0% actual, 48.5% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in North Carolina.
According to the American Community Survey, in Gaston County, median household income is about $67,478, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 27% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Costner Elementary is one of 61 public schools in Gaston County, which together enroll about 35,898 students.
Nearest public school: Gaston Early College High School, about 2.3 miles away. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. On average proficiency, Costner Elementary is 1st of 6 nearby schools with test data.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Fringe.
Federal counts put enrollment at 392 in 2020-21 and 430 in 2024-25, a 10% increase.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Costner Elementary covering things like enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Gaston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,881
Census ACS
Median income
$67,478
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
35,898 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Gaston County Schools
- Ashbrook HighHigh · 1,386 students
- Hunter Huss HighHigh · 1,165 students
- Forestview HighHigh · 1,133 students
- North Gaston HighHigh · 1,061 students
- South Point HighHigh · 989 students
- Cramerton MiddleMiddle · 959 students
Other schools in Dallas
- North Gaston HighHigh · 1,061 students
- Carr ElementaryElementary · 665 students
- W C Friday Middle SchoolMiddle · 618 students
- Gaston Early College High SchoolHigh · 235 students
- Gaston Early College of Medical SciencesHigh · 174 students
Nearby schools
- Gaston Early College High School2.3 mi · 235
- Gaston Early College of Medical Sciences2.4 mi · 174
- W C Friday Middle School2.5 mi · 618
- Carr Elementary2.7 mi · 665
- North Gaston High2.8 mi · 1,061
- Bessemer City Central Elem3.3 mi · 392
Frequently asked questions
About Costner ElementaryHow large is Costner Elementary?
Costner Elementary enrolls approximately 430 students in grades PK-05.
Is Costner Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Costner Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Costner Elementary have?
Costner Elementary employs 30 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.1:1.
What is the student diversity at Costner Elementary?
Student demographics at Costner Elementary are roughly 65% White, 15% Hispanic, 15% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Costner Elementary in?
Costner Elementary is part of Gaston County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.