Enrollment
182
Elementary
DISTRICT 318 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEDFORD COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510036000145
Big Island Elementary
1114 Schooldays Rd, Big Island, VA 24526 · (434) 299-5863 · Bedford County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL182 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 65% of Virginia 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.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Virginia public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
12 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
150 students
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 66%
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 | 15 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 24 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 25 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 33 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 27 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 25 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 33 | 18% |
This year's kindergarten class (24) is 27% smaller than its 5th grade class (33).
Student demographics
29%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
71.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -13.0pp since 2022
Math
68.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -16.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 68 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 13 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 16 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.0% | 68.0% |
| 2023-24 | 78.0% | 72.0% |
| 2022-23 | 84.0% | 84.0% |
% 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
74.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
65.7%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 66% 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 Big Island Elementary
Big Island Elementary's state test result (74.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big Island Elementary this school | 182 | 82.4% | 74.3% |
| Max Meadows Elementary Max Meadows | 201 | 82.6% | 79.3% |
| Yuma Elementary Gate City | 199 | 80.4% | 88.6% |
| Callaway Elementary Callaway | 185 | 88.1% | 90.6% |
| Sharon Elementary Clifton Forge | 216 | 84.3% | 91.0% |
| Fulks Run Elementary Fulks Run | 198 | 76.3% | 57.3% |
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 Big Island Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Bedford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.3% | #455 of 1,101 | #8 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #718 of 1,111 ▼ 165 | #9 of 12 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #566 of 1,111 ▼ 204 | #8 of 12 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 182 | #1,120 of 1,176 | #12 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 82.4% | #474 of 1,157 | #8 of 13 |
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
182
+57 (+46%) vs 2020
-12% since 1990-91, when it was 208
Student : Teacher
14.9:1
was 12.5:1
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 | 182 | 12.2 | 14.9:1 | 82% (150) |
| 2023-24 | 148 | 11.2 | 13.2:1 | 82% (121) |
| 2022-23 | 149 | 9.3 | 16.1:1 | 69% (103) |
| 2020-21 | 125 | 10 | 12.5:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 137 | 10.3 | 13.3:1 | 47% (65) |
| 2015-16 | 140 | 10 | 14.0:1 | 39% (54) |
| 2010-11 | 210 | 13 | 16.1:1 | 51% (107) |
| 2000-01 | 259 | 18 | 14.4:1 | 29% (74) |
| 1990-91 | 208 | 13 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Big Island Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 33% (137 to 182); teachers up 18% (10.3 to 12.2).
About Big Island Elementary
Big Island Elementary is a very small elementary school in Big Island, Virginia. The school counted 182 students in 2024-25, covering pre-K through 5. That puts enrollment 64% below the 499-student average for elementary schools in Virginia.
Bedford County Public Schools is made up of 19 schools with 8,930 students in all.
White students account for 84% of the school's enrollment. Beyond that, enrollment is 7% multiracial, 5% Hispanic, and 4% Black. Among Bedford County residents, the White share is about 86%. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 29, compared with 70 nationally.
Staffing at Big Island Elementary comes to 12.2 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 14.9:1. Elementary schools in Virginia have an average ratio of 13.8:1. On the income side, 82% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is higher than the 59% average for public schools in Bedford County.
Among Virginia public elementary schools, Big Island Elementary outscored 65%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.
A school with Big Island Elementary's lunch-eligibility share in Virginia is predicted to score 65.7%. Big Island Elementary scores 74.3%, 8.6 points above that line.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Bedford County show that the median household earns about $78,937 a year, about 34% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 5%. Across Bedford County, 22 public schools serve about 8,930 students.
About 7.7 miles separate Big Island Elementary from the closest public school, Natural Bridge Elementary. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Big Island Elementary ranks 4th of 9 on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Big Island Elementary is coded Rural: Distant, for schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Big Island Elementary reported 125 students in 2020-21 and 182 in 2024-25. Changes that large sometimes follow a school adding or dropping grades, so the two figures may not cover the same grades. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio increased from 12.5:1 to 14.9:1.
The allk12 page for Big Island Elementary lets the school community talk about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Bedford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
80,894
Census ACS
Median income
$78,937
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
34%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
8,930 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bedford County Public Schools
- Jefferson Forest HighHigh · 1,282 students
- Forest MiddleMiddle · 854 students
- Staunton River HighHigh · 816 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 708 students
- Staunton River MiddleMiddle · 612 students
- Thomas Jefferson ElementaryElementary · 567 students
Nearby schools
- Natural Bridge Elementary7.7 mi · 230
- Boonsboro Elementary10.1 mi · 309
- Otter River Elementary11.5 mi · 167
- Liberty Middle11.9 mi · 518
- Liberty High11.9 mi · 708
- Elon Elementary12.1 mi · 288
Frequently asked questions
About Big Island ElementaryHow many students attend Big Island Elementary?
Big Island Elementary enrolls approximately 182 students in grades PK-05.
Is Big Island Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Big Island Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Big Island Elementary have?
Big Island Elementary employs 12 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.9:1.
What is the student diversity at Big Island Elementary?
Student demographics at Big Island Elementary are roughly 84% White, 5% Hispanic, 4% Black, 7% Two or more.
What district is Big Island Elementary in?
Big Island Elementary is part of Bedford County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.