Enrollment
325
Elementary
DISTRICT 375 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CRAVEN COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION·NCES 370331002211
James W Smith Elementary
150 Koonce Town Road, Cove City, NC 28523 · (252) 514-6466 · Craven County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL325 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 50% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
314 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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 | 36 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 53 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 44 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 48 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (51) is 6% larger than its 5th grade class (48).
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
51.1%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
55.3%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 51 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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
54.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.3%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% 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 James W Smith Elementary
James W Smith Elementary's state test result (54.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| James W Smith Elementary this school | 325 | 96.6% | 54.9% |
| West Rockingham Elementary Rockingham | 314 | 98.4% | 33.2% |
| Stovall-Shaw Elementary Stovall | 336 | 99.1% | 48.3% |
| Weeksville Elementary Elizabeth City | 304 | 99.0% | 70.8% |
| Frederick Douglass Elementary Wilson | 339 | 98.5% | 63.8% |
| Alma O Easom Elementary Fayetteville | 301 | 99.0% | N/A |
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 James W Smith Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Craven County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 54.9% | #670 of 1,297 | #7 of 15 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.3% | #746 of 1,296 | #8 of 15 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 51.1% | #577 of 1,300 | #7 of 15 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 325 | #1,133 of 1,485 | #12 of 16 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #491 of 1,377 | #6 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 69.0% | #254 of 1,379 | #6 of 16 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.6% | #1,013 of 1,414 | #5 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -30.6% | #90 of 937 | #2 of 13 |
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
325
-41 (-11%) vs 2020
-48% since 1990-91, when it was 628
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 325 | 23.1 | 14.1:1 | 97% (314) |
| 2023-24 | 330 | 26 | 12.7:1 | 99% (327) |
| 2022-23 | 342 | 21.2 | 16.1:1 | 99% (339) |
| 2020-21 | 366 | 27 | 13.6:1 | 99% (363) |
| 2017-18 | 468 | 31.8 | 14.7:1 | 71% (334) |
| 2015-16 | 477 | 31 | 15.4:1 | 72% (345) |
| 2010-11 | 541 | 35 | 15.5:1 | 73% (394) |
| 2000-01 | 655 | 41 | 16.0:1 | 66% (435) |
| 1990-91 | 628 | 42 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for James W Smith Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 31% (468 to 325); teachers down 27% (31.8 to 23.1).
About James W Smith Elementary
James W Smith Elementary sits in Cove City, North Carolina, and is classified as an elementary school. It offers pre-K through 5 and has 325 students enrolled. That is 30% below the average of about 467 students for elementary schools in North Carolina.
District-wide, Craven County Board of Education has 26 schools and 12,152 students.
The largest racial or ethnic group at James W Smith Elementary is White, with 38% of students. Next come 35% Black, 18% Hispanic, and 9% multiracial. The county population is about 66% White. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, James W Smith Elementary scores 69%.
James W Smith Elementary has 23.1 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff and a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.1:1. The gap from the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina is 0.8 students per teacher. At James W Smith Elementary, 97% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. Compared with the 74% average for public schools in Craven County, the school's rate is higher.
James W Smith Elementary holds a B- allk12 Grade, placing it above 50% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Compared with North Carolina schools that have similar shares of low-income students, James W Smith Elementary's results are 5.5 points above predicted: 54.9% against 49.3%.
The school's county is Craven County. According to Census Bureau estimates, median household income comes to about $65,873, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 28%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Craven County's 27 public schools enroll about 12,526 students and include James W Smith Elementary.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, West Craven Middle, is about 8.2 miles. Other public schools within ten miles: 3. On average proficiency, James W Smith Elementary is 1st of 9 nearby schools with test data.
The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Rural: Distant: in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment figures show a decline of 41 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25.
James W Smith Elementary has a community page on allk12 for topics such as athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Craven County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
102,612
Census ACS
Median income
$65,873
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
28%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
27
12,526 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Craven County Board of Education
- New Bern HighHigh · 1,637 students
- Havelock HighHigh · 1,014 students
- West Craven HighHigh · 751 students
- H J MacDonald MiddleMiddle · 632 students
- West Craven MiddleMiddle · 614 students
- Grover C Fields MiddleMiddle · 542 students
Nearby schools
- West Craven Middle8.2 mi · 614
- West Craven High8.6 mi · 751
- Vanceboro-Farm Life Elementary9.0 mi · 494
- Grifton11.7 mi · 395
- Contentnea-Savannah School13.9 mi · 789
- H J MacDonald Middle14.2 mi · 632
Frequently asked questions
About James W Smith ElementaryHow many students attend James W Smith Elementary?
James W Smith Elementary enrolls approximately 325 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does James W Smith Elementary serve?
James W Smith Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at James W Smith Elementary?
Approximately 14.1:1 students per teacher at James W Smith Elementary.
How diverse is James W Smith Elementary?
James W Smith Elementary reports a student body of 38% White, 18% Hispanic, 35% Black, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees James W Smith Elementary?
James W Smith Elementary is overseen by Craven County Board of Education in Craven County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.