Enrollment
305
Elementary
DISTRICT 384 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BURKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370048000175
Forest Hill Elementary
304 Ann Street, Morganton, NC 28655 · (828) 437-5906 · Burke County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL305 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 22% 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.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
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
15.9:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
302 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 48 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 49 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 39 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 43 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 43 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 40 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 43 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (49) is 14% larger than its 5th grade class (43).
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
37.8%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
41.7%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 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
43.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% 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 Forest Hill Elementary
Forest Hill Elementary's state test result (43.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Hill Elementary this school | 305 | 99.0% | 43.1% |
| Hargrove Elementary Faison | 361 | 99.2% | 65.9% |
| Donna L Loflin Elementary Asheboro | 300 | 99.0% | 41.1% |
| Emma Elementary Asheville | 277 | 98.2% | 37.6% |
| Robbins Elementary Robbins | 378 | 96.8% | 48.5% |
| North Kannapolis Elementary Kannapolis | 296 | 99.0% | 46.1% |
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 Forest Hill Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Burke County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.1% | #1,020 of 1,297 | #14 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.7% | #1,107 of 1,296 | #13 of 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 37.8% | #1,020 of 1,300 | #12 of 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 305 | #1,166 of 1,485 | #10 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.9:1 | #983 of 1,377 | #11 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.4% | #724 of 1,379 | #2 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.0% | #636 of 1,414 | #4 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.2% | #78 of 937 | #2 of 10 |
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
305
+40 (+15%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 423
Student : Teacher
15.9:1
was 15.6:1
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 | 305 | 19.2 | 15.9:1 | 99% (302) |
| 2023-24 | 291 | 20.5 | 14.2:1 | 99% (288) |
| 2022-23 | 269 | 18.2 | 14.8:1 | 99% (266) |
| 2020-21 | 265 | 17 | 15.6:1 | 72% (192) |
| 2017-18 | 443 | 27 | 16.4:1 | 74% (330) |
| 2015-16 | 422 | 29 | 14.6:1 | 77% (325) |
| 2010-11 | 464 | 30 | 15.5:1 | 48% (224) |
| 2000-01 | 436 | 29 | 15.0:1 | 38% (166) |
| 1990-91 | 423 | 23 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Forest Hill Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 31% (443 to 305); teachers down 29% (27 to 19.2).
About Forest Hill Elementary
Forest Hill Elementary is a small elementary school located in Morganton, North Carolina. The school enrolls 305 students in pre-K through 5. Elementary schools in North Carolina average about 467 students, which makes this school 35% below average.
Forest Hill Elementary is part of Burke County Schools, where 26 schools serve 11,667 students.
At Forest Hill Elementary, 57% of students are Hispanic. It is also 26% White, 8% Black, 7% multiracial, and 2% Asian. For comparison, the population of Burke County is roughly 9% Hispanic. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Forest Hill Elementary scores 59%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 15.9:1. The school has 19.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in North Carolina is 14.9:1. In all, 99% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
On the allk12 Grade, Forest Hill Elementary lands at C-, ahead of 22% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Forest Hill Elementary would be expected to post about 48.6%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 43.1%.
In Burke County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $58,592, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 12%. The county has 30 public schools and about 12,360 students.
NC School for the Deaf is about 0.6 miles from Forest Hill Elementary, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, Forest Hill Elementary ranks 4th on average proficiency.
Forest Hill Elementary is coded as City: Small in federal locale data.
From 265 students in 2020-21, enrollment rose to 305 by 2024-25.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Burke County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
87,795
Census ACS
Median income
$58,592
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
30
12,360 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Burke County Schools
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- East Burke HighHigh · 874 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- Draughn High SchoolHigh · 661 students
- East Burke MiddleMiddle · 630 students
Other schools in Morganton
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- New DimensionsElementary · 569 students
- Drexel ElementaryElementary · 477 students
- Salem ElementaryElementary · 476 students
Other Forest Hill Elementary schools
7 other US public schools in 8 states are named Forest Hill Elementary. Forest Hill Elementary is the 8th largest of the 8.
- FOREST HILL ELEMENTARY SCHOOLWEST PALM BEACH, FL · 953 students
- Forest Hill Elementary SchoolGermantown, TN · 698 students
- Forest Hill ElementarySan Jose, CA · 506 students
- Forest Hill Elementary SchoolAMARILLO, TX · 484 students
- Forest Hill Elementary SchoolShreveport, LA · 479 students
Nearby schools
- NC School for the Deaf0.6 mi · 64
- NC School for the Deaf0.6 mi · 60
- Burke Middle College0.9 mi · 130
- Freedom High1.4 mi · 1,299
- Mountain View Elementary1.5 mi · 762
- Hillcrest Elementary2.1 mi · 254
Frequently asked questions
About Forest Hill ElementaryHow many students attend Forest Hill Elementary?
Forest Hill Elementary enrolls approximately 305 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Forest Hill Elementary serve?
Forest Hill Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Forest Hill Elementary?
Approximately 15.9:1 students per teacher at Forest Hill Elementary.
How diverse is Forest Hill Elementary?
Forest Hill Elementary reports a student body of 26% White, 57% Hispanic, 8% Black, 2% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Forest Hill Elementary in?
Forest Hill Elementary is part of Burke County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.