Enrollment
319
Elementary
DISTRICT 450 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370126000572
W G Pearson Elementary
3501 Fayettville Street, Durham, NC 27707 · (919) 560-3988 · Durham County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL319 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 36% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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
10.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.4:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
310 students
DISTRICT 98% · 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 | 29 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 57 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 59 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 37 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 51 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 42 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (57) is 30% larger than its 5th grade class (44).
Student demographics
57%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
41.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
44.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 44 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
48.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.2%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 49% 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 W G Pearson Elementary
W G Pearson Elementary's state test result (48.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| W G Pearson Elementary this school | 319 | 97.2% | 48.7% |
| Druid Hills Academy Charlotte | 288 | 99.0% | 48.4% |
| Northwest Elementary Greenville | 361 | 99.2% | 46.0% |
| Ashley Park PreK-8 School Charlotte | 338 | 99.1% | 38.5% |
| Bugg Elementary Raleigh | 345 | 98.8% | 35.0% |
| Southeast Raleigh Elementary Raleigh | 378 | 99.2% | 34.5% |
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 W G Pearson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Durham County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 48.7% | #846 of 1,297 | #17 of 32 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 44.2% | #1,055 of 1,296 | #26 of 32 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #893 of 1,300 | #16 of 32 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 319 | #1,143 of 1,485 | #33 of 41 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.0:1 | #7 of 1,377 | #1 of 41 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.4% | #791 of 1,379 | #31 of 41 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 97.2% | #989 of 1,414 | #37 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -36.8% | #36 of 937 | #5 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
319
-128 (-29%) vs 2020
-13% since 2000-01, when it was 367
Student : Teacher
10.0:1
was 13.6:1
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 | 319 | 32 | 10.0:1 | 97% (310) |
| 2023-24 | 348 | 31.4 | 11.1:1 | 99% (345) |
| 2022-23 | 333 | 27.6 | 12.1:1 | 99% (330) |
| 2020-21 | 447 | 33 | 13.6:1 | 99% (444) |
| 2017-18 | 505 | 38.3 | 13.2:1 | 96% (487) |
| 2015-16 | 546 | 33 | 16.6:1 | 88% (482) |
| 2010-11 | 617 | 40 | 15.4:1 | 75% (461) |
| 2000-01 | 367 | 32 | 11.5:1 | 96% (352) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for W G Pearson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 37% (505 to 319); teachers down 16% (38.3 to 32).
About W G Pearson Elementary
W G Pearson Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school in Durham, North Carolina, administered by Durham Public Schools. The school teaches pre-K through 5 and enrolls 319 students. The school is 32% below the average for elementary schools in North Carolina.
Durham Public Schools has a total of 55 schools and 31,797 students, W G Pearson Elementary among them.
More than half of the students at W G Pearson Elementary are Black (58%). Next come 29% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 4% White. That compares with about 32% Black among all Durham County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 57%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at W G Pearson Elementary is 10.0:1, based on 32 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in North Carolina is 14.9:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. W G Pearson Elementary counts 97% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 95% average for public schools in Durham County.
W G Pearson Elementary earns a C+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 36% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
Schools in North Carolina with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 49.2%. W G Pearson Elementary scores 48.7%.
American Community Survey estimates for Durham County show that the median household earns about $82,316 a year, about 55% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Durham County has 74 public schools with about 46,109 students, including W G Pearson Elementary.
Among nearby public schools, Hillside High is closest at about 0.4 miles. W G Pearson Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. The school's 48.7% average proficiency ranks 4th among 9 nearby schools.
W G Pearson Elementary is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels City: Large.
The school's student count fell 29% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 10.0:1, from 13.6:1.
This community page is for conversations about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- Hillside High0.4 mi · 1,433
- Fayetteville Street Elementary0.4 mi · 261
- Durham School of Technology0.5 mi · 219
- James E Shepard Middle0.7 mi · 423
- J D Clement Early College HS1.2 mi · 380
- C C Spaulding Elementary1.4 mi · 247
Frequently asked questions
About W G Pearson ElementaryHow large is W G Pearson Elementary?
W G Pearson Elementary enrolls approximately 319 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does W G Pearson Elementary serve?
W G Pearson Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at W G Pearson Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at W G Pearson Elementary is approximately 10.0:1 (32 FTE teachers).
How diverse is W G Pearson Elementary?
W G Pearson Elementary reports a student body of 4% White, 29% Hispanic, 58% Black, 1% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is W G Pearson Elementary in?
W G Pearson Elementary is part of Durham Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.