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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWPORT NEWS CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510264001062

Discovery STEM Academy

1712 Chestnut Ave, Newport News, VA 23607 · (757) 928-6838 · Newport News city
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL561 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of Virginia public elementary schools
  • DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • DBeats 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 Virginia public elementary schools

Enrollment
561
Elementary
DISTRICT 467 · STATE 499
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.0:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
555 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K92%
Kindergarten8415%
Grade 110018%
Grade 29918%
Grade 310719%
Grade 48215%
Grade 58014%

This year's kindergarten class (84) is 5% larger than its 5th grade class (80).

Student demographics
32%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
122%
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 43% · US 43%
Hispanic
529%
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 20% · US 30%
Black
45781%
DISTRICT 53% · STATE 21% · US 15%
Two+
377%
DISTRICT 8% · STATE 7% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
29152%
Female
27048%

Discussions

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Test scores

SOL 2024-25 . % Passing
English Language Arts
43.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -2.0pp since 2022
Math
49.0%
VA avg 72.7% . +8.0pp since 2022

What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 49 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 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 8 points.

SOL results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2543.0%49.0%
2023-2447.0%54.0%
2022-2345.0%41.0%
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
47.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.2%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.9pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% 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 Discovery STEM Academy

Discovery STEM Academy's state test result (47.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Discovery STEM Academy this school56198.9%47.3%
Jacox Elementary
Norfolk
59699.3%32.5%
Brighton Elementary
Portsmouth
48399.4%41.3%
Cool Spring Elementary
Petersburg
54094.3%29.9%
Walnut Hill Elementary
Petersburg
57493.7%36.9%
Henry Marsh III Elementary
Richmond
51297.7%34.5%
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 Discovery STEM Academy ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn VirginiaIn Newport News city
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
47.3%#1,011 of 1,101#20 of 24
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
49.0%#1,035 of 1,111
▼ 105
#21 of 24
▼ 7
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
43.0%#1,065 of 1,111
▼ 30
#23 of 24
▼ 2
Enrollment
ranked largest first
561#442 of 1,176#4 of 27
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
17.5:1#1,046 of 1,105#11 of 27
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
32.3%#970 of 1,106#25 of 27
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
98.9%#190 of 1,157#23 of 27
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+10.4%#120 of 324N/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 2024-25
Enrollment
561
-19 (-3%) vs 2020
+7% since 1990-91, when it was 524
Student : Teacher
17.5:1
was 15.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-255613217.5:199% (555)
2023-2455032.217.1:197% (535)
2022-2354337.514.5:191% (492)
2020-215803815.3:1N/A
2017-185083315.4:183% (424)
2015-163622713.4:199% (357)
2010-113062512.2:178% (239)
2000-01696N/AN/AN/A
1990-915242818.7:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Discovery STEM Academy.

Since 2017-18: students up 10% (508 to 561); teachers down 3% (33 to 32).

About Discovery STEM Academy

In Newport News, Virginia, Discovery STEM Academy is a medium-sized elementary school. It serves 561 students in pre-K through 5.

A total of 40 schools make up Newport News City Public Schools, with 25,882 students enrolled.

Black students are the large majority at Discovery STEM Academy, with 81% of enrollment. Next come 9% Hispanic, 7% multiracial, and 2% White. That compares with about 41% Black among all Newport News city residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Discovery STEM Academy belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 32%.

The school employs the equivalent of 32 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 17.5:1. Among elementary schools in Virginia, the typical ratio is 13.8:1. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 99%. Across public schools in Newport News city, the average is about the same, 98%.

Measured against Virginia public elementary schools, Discovery STEM Academy receives a D. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Discovery STEM Academy is 13.9 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 47.3% actual, 61.2% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Virginia.

Discovery STEM Academy is located in Newport News city, where median household income is about $69,634, about 31% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Discovery STEM Academy is one of 48 public schools in Newport News city, which together enroll about 25,882 students.

The closest public school to Discovery STEM Academy is Achievable Dream Academy, about 0.7 miles away. Within five miles of Discovery STEM Academy, there are at least 8 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 47.3% is below the 57.7% average for nearby schools.

In the federal locale system, Discovery STEM Academy is coded City: Mid-size, for schools inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

Federal counts put enrollment at 580 in 2020-21 and 561 in 2024-25, a 3% decrease. The student-to-teacher ratio went up from 15.3:1 to 17.5:1.

The Discovery STEM Academy community page is open for posts about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.

Newport News city at a glance

View full county profile
Population
184,216
Census ACS
Median income
$69,634
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
31%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
48
25,882 students

Quick facts

School name
Discovery STEM Academy
District
Newport News City Public Schools
Address
1712 Chestnut Ave, Newport News, VA 23607
Phone
(757) 928-6838
County
Newport News city
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–05
Total enrollment
561
Teachers (FTE)
32
Student–teacher ratio
17.5:1
Free and reduced lunch
555 (99%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
510264001062
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Newport News City Public Schools
Other schools in Newport News
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Discovery STEM Academy
What is the total enrollment at Discovery STEM Academy?
Discovery STEM Academy enrolls approximately 561 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Discovery STEM Academy serve?
Discovery STEM Academy serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Discovery STEM Academy?
Approximately 17.5:1 students per teacher at Discovery STEM Academy.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Discovery STEM Academy?
At Discovery STEM Academy, the student body is approximately 2% White, 9% Hispanic, 81% Black, 7% Two or more.
What district is Discovery STEM Academy in?
Discovery STEM Academy is part of Newport News City Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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