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Welcome to the West Lake Elementary community. What's one thing that would make West Lake Elementary even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
581
Elementary
DISTRICT 594 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370472000205
West Lake Elementary
4500 West Lake Rd, Apex, NC 27539 · (919) 662-2300 · Wake County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL581 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 60% of North Carolina public elementary schools
- A-Test 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
15.0:1
39 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.5:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
32%
186 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 | 76 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 84 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 99 | 17% |
| Grade 3 | 92 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 108 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 108 | 19% |
This year's kindergarten class (76) is 30% smaller than its 5th grade class (108).
Student demographics
55%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
West Lake Elementary→West Lake 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
60.6%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
72.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 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
67.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.1%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 69% 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 West Lake Elementary
West Lake Elementary's state test result (67.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Lake Elementary this school | 581 | 32.0% | 67.9% |
| Middle Creek Elementary Apex | 636 | 34.3% | 70.0% |
| Cornelius Elementary Cornelius | 542 | 29.0% | 75.0% |
| McAlpine Elementary Charlotte | 535 | 29.9% | 71.7% |
| Matthews Elementary Matthews | 726 | 31.0% | 72.2% |
| Apex Elementary Apex | 550 | 34.2% | 69.4% |
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 West Lake Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Wake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.9% | #275 of 1,297 | #53 of 120 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.4% | #275 of 1,296 | #42 of 120 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #307 of 1,300 | #62 of 121 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 581 | #394 of 1,485 | #74 of 139 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #762 of 1,377 | #113 of 137 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.7% | #884 of 1,379 | #120 of 137 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 32.0% | #1,283 of 1,414 | #84 of 128 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -31.7% | #72 of 937 | #6 of 91 |
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
581
-94 (-14%) vs 2020
-43% since 2000-01, when it was 1,012
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 14.7:1
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 | 581 | 38.7 | 15.0:1 | 32% (186) |
| 2023-24 | 572 | 37.3 | 15.3:1 | 27% (157) |
| 2022-23 | 611 | 43 | 14.2:1 | 31% (187) |
| 2020-21 | 675 | 46 | 14.7:1 | 15% (104) |
| 2017-18 | 851 | 52 | 16.4:1 | 20% (169) |
| 2015-16 | 906 | 56 | 16.2:1 | 19% (168) |
| 2010-11 | 841 | 47 | 17.9:1 | 23% (195) |
| 2000-01 | 1,012 | 57 | 17.8:1 | 6% (65) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for West Lake Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (851 to 581); teachers down 26% (52 to 38.7).
About West Lake Elementary
West Lake Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school found in Apex, North Carolina. Enrollment is 581 students in 2024-25, and the school serves pre-K through 5. The average for elementary schools in North Carolina is about 467 students, so this school is 24% above average.
Wake County Schools is the district for West Lake Elementary. It has 198 schools and 163,176 students.
West Lake Elementary is 64% White by enrollment. The rest of enrollment is 20% Hispanic, 7% Black, 5% multiracial, and 4% Asian. The school's diversity index is 55%, meaning two students picked at random have a 55% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The count of teachers at West Lake Elementary is 38.7 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 15.0:1. For comparison, elementary schools in North Carolina average 14.9:1. The school counts 186 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 32%. On average, public schools in Wake County report 42%.
West Lake Elementary is graded B by allk12, scoring above 60% of North Carolina public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
West Lake Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 67.9%, compared with a predicted 69.1%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Wake County (population about 1,178,653), the median household income is $105,768, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 57%, and roughly 5% of residents are in poverty. West Lake Elementary is one of 237 public schools in the county.
West Lake Middle is the public school closest to West Lake Elementary, about 0.1 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. West Lake Elementary's average proficiency of 67.9% compares with 67.2% for its nearest scored neighbors.
NCES describes the area around West Lake Elementary as City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
2024-25 enrollment was 581, a 14% decrease from 675 in 2020-21.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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
Nearby schools
- West Lake Middle0.1 mi · 687
- Middle Creek High0.4 mi · 1,587
- Middle Creek Elementary0.6 mi · 636
- Holly Ridge Middle3.1 mi · 955
- Holly Ridge Elementary3.1 mi · 735
- Ballentine Elementary3.4 mi · 742
Frequently asked questions
About West Lake ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at West Lake Elementary?
West Lake Elementary enrolls approximately 581 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does West Lake Elementary serve?
West Lake Elementary serves grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at West Lake Elementary?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at West Lake Elementary.
What is the student diversity at West Lake Elementary?
Student demographics at West Lake Elementary are roughly 64% White, 20% Hispanic, 7% Black, 4% Asian, 5% Two or more.
What district is West Lake Elementary in?
West Lake Elementary is part of Wake County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.