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What's one thing Pearsontown Elementary gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
765
Elementary
DISTRICT 450 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370126000548
Pearsontown Elementary
4915 Barbee Road, Durham, NC 27713 · (919) 560-3964 · Durham County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL765 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 95% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+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
13.6:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
762 students
DISTRICT 98% · 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 | 19 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 136 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 126 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 117 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 124 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 118 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 125 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (136) is 9% larger than its 5th grade class (125).
Student demographics
71%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
69.4%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
71.3%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
72.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+24.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 24 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 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 Pearsontown Elementary
Pearsontown Elementary's state test result (72.6% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pearsontown Elementary this school | 765 | 99.6% | 72.6% |
| Meadow Lane Elementary Goldsboro | 674 | 98.8% | 60.9% |
| Rockfish Elementary Hope Mills | 682 | 98.8% | 64.6% |
| Red Oak Elementary Red Oak | 696 | 99.6% | 58.6% |
| Alderman Road Elementary Fayetteville | 655 | 96.2% | 55.9% |
| Gallberry Farm Elementary Hope Mills | 883 | 99.7% | 60.6% |
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 Pearsontown Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Durham County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.6% | #171 of 1,297 | #3 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.3% | #301 of 1,296 | #4 of 32 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.4% | #142 of 1,300 | #3 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 765 | #115 of 1,485 | #1 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #358 of 1,377 | #21 of 41 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.9% | #149 of 1,379 | #7 of 41 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #42 of 1,414 | #1 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.3% | #695 of 937 | #24 of 32 |
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
765
-10 (-1%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 860
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 13.8:1
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 | 765 | 56.4 | 13.6:1 | 100% (762) |
| 2023-24 | 740 | 51.2 | 14.4:1 | 32% (236) |
| 2022-23 | 726 | 48.5 | 15.0:1 | 27% (196) |
| 2020-21 | 775 | 56 | 13.8:1 | 20% (157) |
| 2017-18 | 825 | 50 | 16.5:1 | 29% (240) |
| 2015-16 | 824 | 46 | 17.9:1 | 31% (258) |
| 2010-11 | 878 | 48 | 18.3:1 | 32% (278) |
| 2000-01 | 807 | 62 | 13.0:1 | 31% (254) |
| 1990-91 | 860 | 52 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pearsontown Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (825 to 765); teachers up 13% (50 to 56.4).
About Pearsontown Elementary
Pearsontown Elementary sits in Durham, North Carolina, and is classified as an elementary school. A federal count lists 765 students at the school, in pre-K through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467, so this school runs 64% larger than that.
Federal data list 55 schools in Durham Public Schools, with 31,797 students enrolled.
No single group makes up more than half of enrollment at Pearsontown Elementary. The largest is White students, at 36%. Next come 36% Black, 15% Hispanic, 11% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Pearsontown Elementary's diversity index is 71%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school reported 56.4 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 13.6:1. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. Eligible students account for 100% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Pearsontown Elementary receives an A+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Pearsontown Elementary is in the top 10% of North Carolina schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.4%. The school's actual rate is 72.6%, 24.2 points higher.
According to the American Community Survey, in Durham County, the median household income is $82,316, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 55% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. There are 74 public schools in Durham County, enrolling about 46,109 students in all.
Southwest Elementary is the public school closest to Pearsontown Elementary, about 0.9 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. On average proficiency, Pearsontown Elementary is 1st of 7 nearby schools with test data.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Large. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
The school's size has been steady, with 775 students in 2020-21 and 765 in 2024-25.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Durham County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
332,353
Census ACS
Median income
$82,316
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
74
46,109 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Durham Public Schools
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Durham School of the ArtsHigh · 1,764 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
- Southern School of Energy and SustainabiHigh · 1,384 students
- Northern HighHigh · 1,281 students
Other schools in Durham
- NC Virtual AcademyCombined · 3,482 students
- North Carolina Cyber AcademyCombined · 2,461 students
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Durham School of the ArtsHigh · 1,764 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
Nearby schools
- Southwest Elementary0.9 mi · 639
- Murray-Massenburg Elementary1.4 mi · 517
- North Carolina Cyber Academy1.4 mi · 2,461
- Durham School of Technology1.4 mi · 219
- Hillside High1.5 mi · 1,433
- NC Virtual Academy1.5 mi · 3,482
Frequently asked questions
About Pearsontown ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Pearsontown Elementary?
Pearsontown Elementary enrolls approximately 765 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Pearsontown Elementary serve?
Pearsontown Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pearsontown Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pearsontown Elementary is approximately 13.6:1 (56 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Pearsontown Elementary?
Student demographics at Pearsontown Elementary are roughly 36% White, 15% Hispanic, 36% Black, 2% Asian, 11% Two or more.
What district is Pearsontown Elementary in?
Pearsontown Elementary is part of Durham Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.