1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Barcroft Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
495
Elementary
DISTRICT 516 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ARLINGTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510027000083
Barcroft Elementary
625 S Wakefield St, Arlington, VA 22204 · (703) 228-5838 · Arlington County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL495 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.9:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.4:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
283 students
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 66%
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 | 30 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 70 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 87 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 77 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 87 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 71 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (70) is about the same size as its 5th grade class (71).
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
61.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -6.0pp since 2022
Math
64.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -3.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 61 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 Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are down about 6 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 3 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 61.0% | 64.0% |
| 2023-24 | 68.0% | 71.0% |
| 2022-23 | 67.0% | 67.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. 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
66.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
72.5%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 66% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 73% typical for Virginia 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 Virginia'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 Barcroft Elementary
Barcroft Elementary's state test result (66.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcroft Elementary this school | 495 | 57.2% | 66.0% |
| Barrett Elementary Arlington | 500 | 57.0% | 58.8% |
| Clearview Elementary Herndon | 580 | 60.2% | 69.0% |
| Charles Barrett Elementary Alexandria | 547 | 51.4% | 67.6% |
| Randolph Elementary Arlington | 430 | 57.9% | 57.3% |
| James River Elementary Williamsburg | 449 | 64.4% | 60.8% |
Matched among Virginia 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 Barcroft Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Arlington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.0% | #704 of 1,101 | #19 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.0% | #801 of 1,111 ▼ 230 | #20 of 25 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.0% | #827 of 1,111 ▼ 178 | #20 of 25 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 495 | #594 of 1,176 | #16 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.9:1 | #69 of 1,105 | #6 of 25 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.3% | #557 of 1,106 | #15 of 25 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.2% | #777 of 1,157 | #5 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +15.4% | #70 of 324 | 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
495
+79 (+19%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 424
Student : Teacher
10.9:1
was 13.0:1
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 | 495 | 45.5 | 10.9:1 | 57% (283) |
| 2023-24 | 474 | 45 | 10.5:1 | 70% (333) |
| 2022-23 | 477 | 47 | 10.2:1 | 75% (360) |
| 2020-21 | 416 | 32 | 13.0:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 429 | 32 | 13.4:1 | 68% (293) |
| 2015-16 | 488 | 51 | 9.6:1 | 68% (333) |
| 2010-11 | 414 | 33 | 12.6:1 | 66% (272) |
| 2000-01 | 579 | 47 | 12.3:1 | 64% (372) |
| 1990-91 | 424 | 29 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Barcroft Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 15% (429 to 495); teachers up 42% (32 to 45.5).
About Barcroft Elementary
Barcroft Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school based in Arlington, Virginia. The school's 495 students are in pre-K through 5.
Within Arlington County Public Schools, Barcroft Elementary is one of 36 schools. The district enrolls 27,950 students.
Barcroft Elementary's enrollment is 56% Hispanic. Next come 27% White, 9% Black, 4% multiracial, and 4% Asian. That compares with about 16% Hispanic among all Arlington County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Barcroft Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 60%.
The count of teachers at Barcroft Elementary is 45.5 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 10.9:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Virginia is 13.8:1, higher than at this school. Around 57% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. It compares with 31% for public schools in Arlington County.
Barcroft Elementary's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (66.0%) and its predicted rate (72.5%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Virginia schools.
County data help place the school in context: in Arlington County, median household income is about $142,114, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 77%, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Barcroft Elementary is among the 42 public schools in Arlington County.
Randolph Elementary is located about 0.6 miles from Barcroft Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Among 9 nearby schools that report test results, Barcroft Elementary ranks 7th on proficiency.
Locale: City: Mid-size. In NCES terms, the school is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment was 416 in 2020-21 and 495 in 2024-25, a gain of 79 students. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (10.9:1) than in 2020-21 (13.0:1).
Topics for discussion here include school safety, transportation, and start times. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Arlington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
236,254
Census ACS
Median income
$142,114
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
77%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
27,950 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Arlington County Public Schools
- Washington-Liberty HighHigh · 3,044 students
- Wakefield HighHigh · 2,646 students
- Yorktown HighHigh · 2,593 students
- Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 1,120 students
- Gunston MiddleMiddle · 1,072 students
- Kenmore MiddleMiddle · 1,053 students
Other schools in Arlington
- Washington-Liberty HighHigh · 3,044 students
- Wakefield HighHigh · 2,646 students
- Yorktown HighHigh · 2,593 students
- Jefferson MiddleMiddle · 1,120 students
- Gunston MiddleMiddle · 1,072 students
- Kenmore MiddleMiddle · 1,053 students
Nearby schools
- Randolph Elementary0.6 mi · 430
- Alice West Fleet Elementary0.8 mi · 629
- Barrett Elementary0.8 mi · 500
- Jefferson Middle0.8 mi · 1,120
- Claremont Immersion1.0 mi · 595
- Wakefield High1.0 mi · 2,646
Frequently asked questions
About Barcroft ElementaryHow many students attend Barcroft Elementary?
Barcroft Elementary enrolls approximately 495 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Barcroft Elementary serve?
Barcroft Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Barcroft Elementary?
Approximately 10.9:1 students per teacher at Barcroft Elementary.
How diverse is Barcroft Elementary?
Barcroft Elementary reports a student body of 27% White, 56% Hispanic, 9% Black, 4% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Barcroft Elementary public or private?
Barcroft Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Arlington County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.