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What tradition at Valdese Elementary should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
530
Elementary
DISTRICT 384 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BURKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370048000193
Valdese Elementary
298 Praley Street, Valdese, NC 28690 · (828) 874-0704 · Burke County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL530 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 65% 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.
- 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
17.8:1
30 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
527 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 | 36 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 77 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 75 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 81 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 93 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is 10% smaller than its 5th grade class (93).
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
48.9%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
63.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 64 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
59.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% 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 Valdese Elementary
Valdese Elementary's state test result (59.2% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valdese Elementary this school | 530 | 99.4% | 59.2% |
| Poplar Springs Elementary School King | 495 | 99.4% | 63.8% |
| Bethlehem Elementary Taylorsville | 435 | 99.1% | 67.4% |
| Clyde Elementary Clyde | 523 | 99.4% | 50.0% |
| Salem Elementary Morganton | 476 | 98.7% | 65.8% |
| South Topsail Elementary Hampstead | 618 | 99.5% | 68.9% |
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 Valdese Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Burke County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 59.2% | #528 of 1,297 | #7 of 14 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 63.8% | #507 of 1,296 | #8 of 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 48.9% | #656 of 1,300 | #7 of 14 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 530 | #526 of 1,485 | #3 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #1,289 of 1,377 | #14 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.5% | #1,226 of 1,379 | #12 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #237 of 1,414 | #1 of 15 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +30.9% | #65 of 369 | N/A |
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
530
-4 (-1%) vs 2020
+29% since 1990-91, when it was 412
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 17.2:1
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 | 530 | 29.7 | 17.8:1 | 99% (527) |
| 2023-24 | 524 | 32.3 | 16.2:1 | 99% (521) |
| 2022-23 | 521 | 32.2 | 16.2:1 | 67% (347) |
| 2020-21 | 534 | 31 | 17.2:1 | 50% (267) |
| 2017-18 | 405 | 24.4 | 16.6:1 | 59% (240) |
| 2015-16 | 413 | 25 | 16.5:1 | 55% (229) |
| 2010-11 | 454 | 27 | 16.8:1 | 50% (228) |
| 2000-01 | 471 | 34 | 13.8:1 | 43% (202) |
| 1990-91 | 412 | 25 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Valdese Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 31% (405 to 530); teachers up 22% (24.4 to 29.7).
About Valdese Elementary
A medium-sized elementary school in Valdese, North Carolina, Valdese Elementary is part of Burke County Schools. Students in pre-K through 5 attend, and enrollment is 530 students.
District-wide, Burke County Schools has 26 schools and 11,667 students.
At 80%, White students outnumber all other groups at Valdese Elementary combined. The remaining students are 8% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% multiracial, and 2% Black. The county population is about 81% White, within a few points of the school. By the diversity index, Valdese Elementary comes in at 35%.
Teachers at the school number 29.7 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 17.8:1. The 14.9:1 average for elementary schools in North Carolina is lower than this school's figure. Roughly 99% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.
Valdese Elementary is graded B+ by allk12, scoring above 65% of North Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Valdese Elementary sits between the top and bottom 10% of North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 59.2% and a predicted 48.5%.
Burke County has these Census figures: median household income is about $58,592, roughly 21% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 12%. The public schools of Burke County number 30 and enroll about 12,360.
Heritage Middle is the closest public school, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line. There are 5 more public schools inside five miles. On state test proficiency, Valdese Elementary ranks 4th in a group of 8 nearby schools.
NCES lists the school's locale as Suburb: Mid-size. That means it sits in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, enrollment moved from 534 to 530, a small change.
Conversations here can range across science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Burke County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
87,795
Census ACS
Median income
$58,592
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
30
12,360 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Burke County Schools
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- East Burke HighHigh · 874 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- Draughn High SchoolHigh · 661 students
- East Burke MiddleMiddle · 630 students
Other schools in Valdese
- Draughn High SchoolHigh · 661 students
- Heritage MiddleMiddle · 475 students
- Burke Virtual AcademyCombined
Nearby schools
- Heritage Middle1.2 mi · 475
- Draughn High School1.9 mi · 661
- Hallyburton Academy2.2 mi · 73
- Drexel Elementary2.4 mi · 477
- Baton Elementary4.6 mi · 357
- East Burke High5.0 mi · 874
Frequently asked questions
About Valdese ElementaryHow many students attend Valdese Elementary?
Valdese Elementary enrolls approximately 530 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Valdese Elementary serve?
Valdese Elementary serves grades PK-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Valdese Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Valdese Elementary is approximately 17.8:1 (30 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Valdese Elementary?
Valdese Elementary reports a student body of 80% White, 8% Hispanic, 2% Black, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Valdese Elementary?
Valdese Elementary is overseen by Burke County Schools in Burke County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.