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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Salem Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
776
Elementary
DISTRICT 594 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370472002558
Salem Elementary
6116 Old Jenks Road, Apex, NC 27523 · (919) 363-2865 · Wake County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL776 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
25%
197 students
DISTRICT 47% · 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 | 14 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 129 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 121 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 121 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 137 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 110 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 144 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (129) is 10% smaller than its 5th grade class (144).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Salem Elementary→Salem Middle
Based on published attendance-zone data from Wake County Schools. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
64.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
74.6%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 75 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
70.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
71.1%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% 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 Salem Elementary
Salem Elementary's state test result (70.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salem Elementary this school | 776 | 25.4% | 70.8% |
| Turner Creek Elementary Cary | 638 | 22.6% | 71.9% |
| Baucom Elementary Apex | 675 | 21.2% | 77.7% |
| Weatherstone Elementary Cary | 730 | 31.1% | 72.0% |
| South Lakes Elementary Fuquay-Varina | 774 | 25.5% | 65.8% |
| Polo Ridge Elementary Charlotte | 634 | 18.5% | 91.0% |
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 Salem Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Wake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 70.8% | #214 of 1,297 | #41 of 120 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 74.6% | #231 of 1,296 | #41 of 120 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 64.5% | #236 of 1,300 | #52 of 121 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 776 | #105 of 1,485 | #20 of 139 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #375 of 1,377 | #61 of 137 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.1% | #418 of 1,379 | #62 of 137 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.4% | #1,333 of 1,414 | #102 of 128 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +38.3% | #51 of 369 | #7 of 33 |
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
776
-58 (-7%) vs 2020
+36% since 2000-01, when it was 570
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
was 13.9:1
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 | 776 | 57 | 13.6:1 | 25% (197) |
| 2023-24 | 753 | 57 | 13.2:1 | 21% (159) |
| 2022-23 | 735 | 58 | 12.7:1 | 24% (178) |
| 2020-21 | 834 | 60 | 13.9:1 | 16% (136) |
| 2017-18 | 561 | 43 | 13.0:1 | 32% (180) |
| 2015-16 | 609 | 44 | 13.8:1 | 29% (179) |
| 2010-11 | 938 | 58 | 16.2:1 | 20% (185) |
| 2000-01 | 570 | 35 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Salem Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 38% (561 to 776); teachers up 32% (43 to 57).
About Salem Elementary
A high-enrollment elementary school in Apex, North Carolina, Salem Elementary is part of Wake County Schools. School enrollment was 776 students in 2024-25, in pre-K through 5. The average among elementary schools in North Carolina is roughly 467 students; this school is 66% bigger than that.
Wake County Schools counts 198 schools and 163,176 students, including Salem Elementary.
Salem Elementary's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 49%. The school is also 25% Asian, 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, and 2% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 58%. Salem Elementary has a diversity index of 66%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Salem Elementary's 57 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 13.6:1. That ratio is under the 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 25%. The 42% average for public schools in Wake County is 17 points higher.
On BeatsExpectations, Salem Elementary is within a point of its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of North Carolina schools.
In the county around the school, Wake County, median household income is about $105,768, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 57% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. A total of 237 public schools operate in Wake County, serving about 184,790 students.
The nearest public school is Salem Middle, at about 0.2 miles. Salem Elementary has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools with test data average 77.1% proficiency; Salem Elementary posts 70.8%.
For locale, NCES codes Salem Elementary as Suburb: Large.
Salem Elementary had 834 students in 2020-21 and 776 in 2024-25, a 7% decrease.
Discussion on this page can cover school safety, transportation, and start times. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Wake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,178,653
Census ACS
Median income
$105,768
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
237
184,790 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wake County Schools
- Apex Friendship HighHigh · 2,748 students
- Enloe HighHigh · 2,643 students
- Panther Creek HighHigh · 2,609 students
- Millbrook HighHigh · 2,498 students
- Apex HighHigh · 2,449 students
- Leesville Road HighHigh · 2,411 students
Other schools in Apex
- Apex Friendship HighHigh · 2,748 students
- Apex HighHigh · 2,449 students
- Middle Creek HighHigh · 1,587 students
- Apex Friendship MiddleMiddle · 1,412 students
- The Math and Science Academy of ApexElementary · 1,080 students
- Olive Chapel ElementaryElementary · 1,066 students
Other Salem Elementary schools
15 other US public schools in 13 states are named Salem Elementary. Salem Elementary is the 3rd largest of the 16.
- Salem ElementaryMorganton, NC · 476 students
- Salem Elementary SchoolMurfreesboro, TN · 946 students
- Salem ElementarySalem, WI · 936 students
- Salem ElementaryFredericksburg, VA · 573 students
- Salem ElementaryVirginia Beach, VA · 541 students
Nearby schools
- Salem Middle0.2 mi · 1,057
- Apex High1.1 mi · 2,449
- Peak Charter Academy1.1 mi · 651
- Laurel Park Elementary1.3 mi · 694
- Baucom Elementary1.3 mi · 675
- Davis Drive Middle1.5 mi · 992
Frequently asked questions
About Salem ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Salem Elementary?
Salem Elementary enrolls approximately 776 students in grades PK-05.
Is Salem Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Salem Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at Salem Elementary?
Approximately 13.6:1 students per teacher at Salem Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Salem Elementary?
At Salem Elementary, the student body is approximately 49% White, 16% Hispanic, 6% Black, 25% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Salem Elementary in?
Salem Elementary is part of Wake County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.