Enrollment
289
Elementary
DISTRICT 334 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCDOWELL COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370294001183
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School
100 John Roach Drive, Marion, NC 28752 · (828) 724-4422 · McDowell County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL289 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% 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
13.5:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
286 students
DISTRICT 96% · 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 | 19 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 45 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 49 | 17% |
| Grade 2 | 45 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 41 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 49 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (45) is 8% smaller than its 5th grade class (49).
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
52.8%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
51.2%
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 51 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
55.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.7pp
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 Pleasant Gardens Elementary School
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School's state test result (55.4% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Gardens Elementary School this school | 289 | 99.0% | 55.4% |
| Sylvan Elementary Snow Camp | 298 | 99.0% | 40.3% |
| Wittenburg Elementary Taylorsville | 294 | 99.0% | 48.5% |
| Pilot Elementary Thomasville | 321 | 98.8% | 58.2% |
| Tabernacle Elementary School Asheboro | 333 | 96.7% | 57.6% |
| Westmoore Elementary Seagrove | 268 | 98.9% | 62.1% |
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 Pleasant Gardens Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In McDowell County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.4% | #651 of 1,297 | #4 of 8 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.2% | #869 of 1,296 | #5 of 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 52.8% | #523 of 1,300 | #3 of 8 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 289 | #1,206 of 1,485 | #6 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.5:1 | #337 of 1,377 | #2 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.0% | #1,143 of 1,379 | #3 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.0% | #669 of 1,414 | #5 of 8 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.2% | #503 of 937 | #2 of 6 |
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
289
+7 (+2%) vs 2020
-44% since 1990-91, when it was 519
Student : Teacher
13.5:1
was 12.3:1
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 | 289 | 21.5 | 13.5:1 | 99% (286) |
| 2023-24 | 309 | 22.4 | 13.8:1 | 99% (306) |
| 2022-23 | 304 | 22.3 | 13.6:1 | 63% (190) |
| 2020-21 | 282 | 23 | 12.3:1 | 51% (144) |
| 2017-18 | 329 | 27.3 | 12.0:1 | 99% (326) |
| 2015-16 | 402 | 29 | 13.9:1 | 97% (389) |
| 2010-11 | 383 | 30 | 12.8:1 | 58% (223) |
| 2000-01 | 520 | 33 | 15.8:1 | 36% (188) |
| 1990-91 | 519 | 27 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pleasant Gardens Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (329 to 289); teachers down 22% (27.3 to 21.5).
About Pleasant Gardens Elementary School
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is a small elementary school in McDowell County Schools, located in Marion, North Carolina. It enrolled 289 students in pre-K through 5 for the 2024-25 school year. Enrollment is 38% lower than the average for elementary schools in North Carolina, which is about 467.
Across its 16 schools, McDowell County Schools enrolls 5,712 students. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is one of those schools.
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is 74% White by enrollment. The remaining students are 17% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. Among people living in McDowell County, the White share is about 88%. Pick two students at random and there is a 42% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
With 21.5 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Pleasant Gardens Elementary School was 13.5:1. On average, elementary schools in North Carolina have 14.9:1, compared with 13.5:1 here. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch eligibility rate is 99%. For comparison, public schools in McDowell County average 98%.
Measured against North Carolina public elementary schools, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School 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.
Compared with North Carolina schools that have similar shares of low-income students, Pleasant Gardens Elementary School's results are 6.7 points above predicted: 55.4% against 48.6%.
McDowell County has these Census figures: the median household income is $57,168, roughly 18% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. McDowell County is home to 16 public schools and about 5,712 public school students.
The next-closest public school is McDowell Virtual Academy, about 1.8 miles away. Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Local comparison: Pleasant Gardens Elementary School ranks 4th of 7 nearby schools, at 55.4% versus a 53.3% average.
Its location is classified as Rural: Fringe by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment went from 282 in 2020-21 to 289 in 2024-25, a change of 7 students. Federal data show the ratio rising from 12.3:1 to 13.5:1.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Pleasant Gardens Elementary School covering things like sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
McDowell County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
44,817
Census ACS
Median income
$57,168
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
16
5,712 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in McDowell County Schools
- McDowell High SchoolHigh · 1,379 students
- West McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 435 students
- East McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 392 students
- West Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 390 students
- Old Fort Elementary SchoolElementary · 360 students
Other schools in Marion
- McDowell High SchoolHigh · 1,379 students
- West McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 550 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 435 students
- East McDowell Middle SchoolMiddle · 392 students
- West Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 390 students
- Marion Elementary SchoolElementary · 333 students
Nearby schools
- McDowell Virtual Academy1.8 mi · 99
- West McDowell Middle School1.8 mi · 550
- McDowell High School1.9 mi · 1,379
- Foothills Community School3.3 mi · 200
- The Summit Academy3.6 mi · 23
- Marion Elementary School3.6 mi · 333
Frequently asked questions
About Pleasant Gardens Elementary SchoolHow large is Pleasant Gardens Elementary School?
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School enrolls approximately 289 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Pleasant Gardens Elementary School serve?
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many teachers does Pleasant Gardens Elementary School have?
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School employs 21 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.5:1.
What is the student diversity at Pleasant Gardens Elementary School?
Student demographics at Pleasant Gardens Elementary School are roughly 74% White, 17% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Pleasant Gardens Elementary School in?
Pleasant Gardens Elementary School is part of McDowell County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.