Cardinal Elementary

Cardinal Elementary is a mid-sized primary school in Arlington, Virginia, operated by Arlington County Public Schools. The school hosts 682 students in grades pre-K through 5. Compared to the state average of about 499 students per school, that is 37% bigger than typical.

Arlington County Public Schools comprises 36 schools with combined enrollment of 27,950 students; Cardinal Elementary is among them.

On demographics, Cardinal Elementary lists that White students make up the majority at 73%; the rest breaks down as 11% Hispanic, 10% multiracial, 4% Asian, 2% Black. By comparison, Arlington County as a whole is about 60% White, so the school skews considerably more White than its surroundings.

In terms of school funding signals, The school lists 47 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-teacher ratio near 14.5:1. The state averages about 13.8:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Around 7% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is below Arlington County's rate of about 31%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Cardinal Elementary performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 86.3%, the actual is 93.8%, a residual of +7.5 points.

In the surrounding community, the surrounding county (Arlington County) reports that the typical household earns roughly $142,114 per year, 77% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 4%. In all, Arlington County runs 42 public schools (combined enrollment of about 27,950 students), of which Cardinal Elementary is one.

Nearest neighbor: Swanson Middle, around 0.3 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 8 other public schools cluster around Cardinal Elementary. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Cardinal Elementary ranks 4th on composite proficiency, ahead of the local average of 87.2%.

The school occupies a metropolitan site.

Looking at the recent track record. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Cardinal Elementary has shrank 15%, going from 800 students in 2018 to 682 in 2025. Class-load math has fell: from 16.5:1 in 2018 to 14.5:1 in 2025.

On this page, the feed for Cardinal Elementary typically covers science fair prep, picture-day reminders, and bus-route questions. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.