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What's something Pleasant Ridge Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
887
Elementary
DISTRICT 457 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GASTON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370162000705
Pleasant Ridge Elementary
1260 Floyd Lane, Gastonia, NC 28052 · (704) 866-6096 · Gaston County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL887 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% 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.
- ·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
16.0:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.3:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
884 students
DISTRICT 88% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 142 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 129 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 152 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 164 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 156 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 144 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (142) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (144).
Student demographics
67%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
39.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
49.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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
43.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Ridge Elementary
Pleasant Ridge Elementary's state test result (43.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pleasant Ridge Elementary this school | 887 | 99.7% | 43.9% |
| Dunn Elementary Dunn | 813 | 99.5% | 41.0% |
| Thomasville Primary Thomasville | 753 | 99.5% | 38.1% |
| Winecoff Elementary Concord | 740 | 99.6% | 42.3% |
| Zebulon Elementary Zebulon | 693 | 99.6% | 40.9% |
| Wakelon Elementary Zebulon | 679 | 99.6% | 59.1% |
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 Ridge Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Gaston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.9% | #987 of 1,297 | #19 of 27 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.4% | #922 of 1,296 | #17 of 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.3% | #964 of 1,300 | #18 of 27 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 887 | #35 of 1,485 | #1 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #1,005 of 1,377 | #20 of 29 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.4% | #344 of 1,379 | #10 of 29 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.7% | #9 of 1,414 | #1 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.5% | #258 of 369 | #4 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
887
+17 (+2%) vs 2020
+207% since 1990-91, when it was 289
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 887 | 55.5 | 16.0:1 | 100% (884) |
| 2023-24 | 882 | 50.4 | 17.5:1 | 100% (879) |
| 2022-23 | 866 | 56.6 | 15.3:1 | 100% (863) |
| 2020-21 | 870 | 61 | 14.3:1 | 100% (867) |
| 2017-18 | 841 | 49 | 17.2:1 | 100% (838) |
| 2015-16 | 463 | 26 | 17.8:1 | 99% (460) |
| 2010-11 | 290 | 19 | 15.3:1 | 94% (273) |
| 2000-01 | 270 | 21 | 12.9:1 | 67% (181) |
| 1990-91 | 289 | 17 | 17.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pleasant Ridge Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (841 to 887); teachers up 13% (49 to 55.5).
About Pleasant Ridge Elementary
Pleasant Ridge Elementary is a large elementary school in North Carolina, located in Gastonia. The school enrolls 887 students, from pre-K through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467, so this school runs 90% bigger than that.
Gaston County Schools, which runs Pleasant Ridge Elementary, has 56 schools and 30,995 students.
Federal enrollment data show Black students as the largest group at Pleasant Ridge Elementary, at 44%. Other reported shares: 32% Hispanic, 17% White, and 7% multiracial. Gaston County's residents are about 18% Black, 26 points below the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is a 67% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
At Pleasant Ridge Elementary, 55.5 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 16.0:1. On average, elementary schools in North Carolina have 14.9:1, compared with 16.0:1 here. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 100% of enrollment. That is higher than the 85% average for public schools in Gaston County.
allk12 grades Pleasant Ridge Elementary a C-. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Pleasant Ridge Elementary, the prediction is 48.4% and the result is 43.9%.
Census estimates describe Gaston County this way: the median household income is $67,478, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 27%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Besides Pleasant Ridge Elementary, Gaston County has 60 other public schools.
The next-closest public school is Hunter Huss High, about 0.7 miles away. Pleasant Ridge Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Pleasant Ridge Elementary's average proficiency of 43.9% compares with 29.8% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Pleasant Ridge Elementary is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, a location NCES labels City: Small.
Enrollment went from 870 in 2020-21 to 887 in 2024-25, a change of 17 students. The school's ratio rose from 14.3:1 to 16.0:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Gaston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,881
Census ACS
Median income
$67,478
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
27%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
35,898 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Gaston County Schools
- Ashbrook HighHigh · 1,386 students
- Hunter Huss HighHigh · 1,165 students
- Forestview HighHigh · 1,133 students
- North Gaston HighHigh · 1,061 students
- South Point HighHigh · 989 students
- Cramerton MiddleMiddle · 959 students
Other schools in Gastonia
- Piedmont Community Charter SchoolCombined · 1,963 students
- Ashbrook HighHigh · 1,386 students
- Hunter Huss HighHigh · 1,165 students
- Forestview HighHigh · 1,133 students
- Southwest MiddleMiddle · 832 students
- W A Bess Elementary SchoolElementary · 674 students
Other Pleasant Ridge Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 6 states are named Pleasant Ridge Elementary. Pleasant Ridge Elementary is the largest of the 7.
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary SchoolCharlestown, IN · 588 students
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary SchoolGlenview, IL · 492 students
- Pleasant Ridge Elementary SchoolSALINE, MI · 474 students
- Pleasant Ridge ElementaryEaston, KS · 344 students
- Pleasant Ridge ElemOverland Park, KS · 304 students
Nearby schools
- Hunter Huss High0.7 mi · 1,165
- York Chester Middle0.8 mi · 398
- Lingerfeldt Elementary1.0 mi · 450
- Webb Street School1.0 mi · 163
- Southwest Middle1.3 mi · 832
- Gaston Virtual Academy1.4 mi · 283
Frequently asked questions
About Pleasant Ridge ElementaryHow large is Pleasant Ridge Elementary?
Pleasant Ridge Elementary enrolls approximately 887 students in grades PK-05.
Is Pleasant Ridge Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Pleasant Ridge Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Pleasant Ridge Elementary have?
Pleasant Ridge Elementary employs 56 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pleasant Ridge Elementary?
At Pleasant Ridge Elementary, the student body is approximately 17% White, 32% Hispanic, 44% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Is Pleasant Ridge Elementary public or private?
Pleasant Ridge Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Gaston County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.