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Welcome to the Murphy Elementary community. What's one thing that would make Murphy Elementary even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
467
Elementary
DISTRICT 273 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370078000322
Murphy Elementary
315 Valley River Avenue, Murphy, NC 28906 · (828) 837-2424 · Cherokee County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL467 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- BTest 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
11.9:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
464 students
DISTRICT 97% · 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 | 32 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 85 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 79 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 70 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (66) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (69).
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · 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
53.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
56.3%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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
57.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% 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 Murphy Elementary
Murphy Elementary's state test result (57.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murphy Elementary this school | 467 | 99.4% | 57.5% |
| Sternberger Elementary Greensboro | 469 | 99.4% | 85.8% |
| Dudley Shoals Elementary Granite Falls | 433 | 99.3% | 55.7% |
| Glenwood Elementary School Marion | 435 | 99.3% | 46.9% |
| Rockwell Elementary Rockwell | 502 | 99.4% | 55.4% |
| Robbinsville Elementary Robbinsville | 521 | 99.4% | 41.4% |
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 Murphy Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.5% | #583 of 1,297 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.3% | #719 of 1,296 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.0% | #513 of 1,300 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 467 | #703 of 1,485 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.9:1 | #85 of 1,377 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.6% | #1,280 of 1,379 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #327 of 1,414 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.7% | #797 of 937 |
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
467
+81 (+21%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 573
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
was 9.9:1
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 | 467 | 39.1 | 11.9:1 | 99% (464) |
| 2023-24 | 516 | 40 | 12.9:1 | 99% (513) |
| 2022-23 | 536 | 42.4 | 12.6:1 | 99% (533) |
| 2020-21 | 386 | 39 | 9.9:1 | 99% (383) |
| 2017-18 | 490 | 36.8 | 13.3:1 | 99% (487) |
| 2015-16 | 491 | 34 | 14.4:1 | 99% (486) |
| 2010-11 | 470 | 32 | 14.7:1 | 63% (298) |
| 2000-01 | 497 | 37 | 13.4:1 | 57% (284) |
| 1990-91 | 573 | 37 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Murphy Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (490 to 467); teachers up 6% (36.8 to 39.1).
About Murphy Elementary
The public elementary school Murphy Elementary is located in Murphy, North Carolina. School enrollment was 467 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5.
Cherokee County Schools oversees Murphy Elementary and 12 other schools, with 2,992 students in total.
White students are the large majority at Murphy Elementary, with 83% of enrollment. The remaining shares are 9% multiracial, 4% Hispanic, and 2% Black. By the diversity index, Murphy Elementary comes in at 31%.
The count of teachers at Murphy Elementary is 39.1 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 11.9:1. Among elementary schools in North Carolina, the typical ratio is 14.9:1. The school counts 464 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 99%. Across public schools in Cherokee County, the average is about the same, 98%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Murphy Elementary receives a B. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 48.5% at Murphy Elementary; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 57.5%.
Among Cherokee County residents, median household income is about $53,628, about 24% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. Murphy Elementary is one of 13 public schools in Cherokee County, which together enroll about 2,992 students.
The closest public school to Murphy Elementary is Murphy High, about 1.1 miles away. Murphy Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with 6 others within five miles. Murphy Elementary ranks 5th of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 57.5% against a local average of 61.1%.
NCES describes the area around Murphy Elementary as Rural: Remote, meaning in rural territory far from an urban area.
Federal counts put enrollment at 386 in 2020-21 and 467 in 2024-25, a 21% increase. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 9.9:1 to 11.9:1.
If you have questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Murphy Elementary, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Cherokee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
29,562
Census ACS
Median income
$53,628
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
13
2,992 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cherokee County Schools
- Murphy HighHigh · 424 students
- Murphy MiddleMiddle · 353 students
- Andrews ElementaryElementary · 330 students
- Ranger ElementaryElementary · 264 students
- Andrews HighHigh · 229 students
- Andrews MiddleMiddle · 167 students
Other schools in Murphy
- Murphy HighHigh · 424 students
- Murphy MiddleMiddle · 353 students
- Ranger ElementaryElementary · 264 students
- Peachtree ElementaryElementary · 166 students
- Tri-County Early College HighHigh · 153 students
- Hiwassee Dam HighHigh · 137 students
Other Murphy Elementary schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Murphy Elementary. Murphy Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 5.
- Murphy Elementary SchoolChicago, IL · 514 students
- Murphy ElementaryEl Sobrante, CA · 460 students
- MURPHY ELEM.HIGH RIDGE, MO · 433 students
- Murphy Elementary SchoolHASLETT, MI · 386 students
Nearby schools
- Murphy High1.1 mi · 424
- Murphy Middle1.1 mi · 353
- The Oaks Academy3.9 mi · 43
- Tri-County Early College High3.9 mi · 153
- Peachtree Elementary4.8 mi · 166
- Martins Creek Elementary4.9 mi · 137
Frequently asked questions
About Murphy ElementaryHow many students attend Murphy Elementary?
Murphy Elementary enrolls approximately 467 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Murphy Elementary serve?
Murphy Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Murphy Elementary?
Approximately 11.9:1 students per teacher at Murphy Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Murphy Elementary?
Student demographics at Murphy Elementary are roughly 83% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 9% Two or more.
What district is Murphy Elementary in?
Murphy Elementary is part of Cherokee County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.