1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Falling Branch Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
535
Elementary
DISTRICT 380 · STATE 499
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MONTGOMERY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510252000178
Falling Branch Elementary
735 Falling Branch Rd, Christiansburg, VA 24073 · (540) 381-6145 · Montgomery County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL535 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 46% of Virginia public elementary schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
89%
474 students
DISTRICT 51% · 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 | 36 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 77 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 102 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 61 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 82 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 93 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (77) is 17% smaller than its 5th grade class (93).
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 41% · 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
65.0%
VA avg 74.2% . -7.0pp since 2022
Math
68.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -4.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 65 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 7 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 4 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.0% | 68.0% |
| 2023-24 | 67.0% | 70.0% |
| 2022-23 | 72.0% | 72.0% |
% 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
67.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.0%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 68% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% 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 Falling Branch Elementary
Falling Branch Elementary's state test result (67.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Falling Branch Elementary this school | 535 | 88.6% | 67.8% |
| Central Elementary Lexington | 466 | 85.8% | 70.5% |
| Jeter-Watson Elementary Covington | 491 | 83.3% | 58.5% |
| Goodview Elementary Goodview | 504 | 82.9% | 76.4% |
| W.E. Cundiff Elementary Vinton | 486 | 81.3% | 78.6% |
| Thomas Jefferson Elementary Louisa | 672 | 88.8% | 81.8% |
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 Falling Branch Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia | In Montgomery County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 67.8% | #654 of 1,101 | #8 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.0% | #729 of 1,111 ▼ 116 | #9 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #742 of 1,111 ▼ 55 | #9 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 535 | #493 of 1,176 | #2 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #204 of 1,105 | #3 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 43.3% | #858 of 1,106 | #8 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.6% | #367 of 1,157 | #1 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +2.9% | #262 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
535
-62 (-10%) vs 2020
+3% since 2000-01, when it was 518
Student : Teacher
12.2:1
was 14.2:1
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 | 535 | 43.8 | 12.2:1 | 89% (474) |
| 2023-24 | 569 | 44 | 12.9:1 | 88% (499) |
| 2022-23 | 576 | 43.8 | 13.2:1 | 52% (301) |
| 2020-21 | 597 | 42 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 520 | 36.3 | 14.3:1 | 47% (244) |
| 2015-16 | 502 | 41 | 12.2:1 | 43% (214) |
| 2010-11 | 568 | 34 | 16.7:1 | 45% (255) |
| 2000-01 | 518 | 36 | 14.4:1 | 40% (206) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Falling Branch Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (520 to 535); teachers up 21% (36.3 to 43.8).
About Falling Branch Elementary
Falling Branch Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school based in Christiansburg, Virginia. The school enrolls 535 students, from pre-K through 5.
Montgomery County Public Schools has a total of 19 schools and 9,461 students, Falling Branch Elementary among them.
Roughly 74% of students at Falling Branch Elementary are White. Other groups include 12% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 6% Black. By comparison, Montgomery County residents are about 82% White. Falling Branch Elementary's diversity index is 43%, against a US figure of 70%.
The school employs the equivalent of 43.8 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 12.2:1. That is lower than the 13.8:1 average for elementary schools in Virginia. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 89%. Public schools in Montgomery County average 45%.
Falling Branch Elementary is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 46% of Virginia public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Schools in Virginia with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 64.0%. Falling Branch Elementary scores 67.8%.
Montgomery County has about 99,101 residents, and the median household income is $72,715, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 49% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 9%. In all, Montgomery County has 23 public schools and roughly 9,461 students.
Christiansburg Primary is the public school closest to Falling Branch Elementary, about 2.5 miles away. There are 4 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 76.9% on proficiency, and Falling Branch Elementary is below that at 67.8%.
NCES describes the area around Falling Branch Elementary as City: Small, meaning inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Falling Branch Elementary's enrollment dropped from 597 in 2020-21 to 535 in 2024-25. There were fewer students per teacher in 2024-25 (12.2:1) than in 2020-21 (14.2:1).
The Falling Branch Elementary community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Montgomery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
99,101
Census ACS
Median income
$72,715
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
49%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
23
9,461 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Montgomery County Public Schools
- Blacksburg HighHigh · 1,325 students
- Christiansburg HighHigh · 1,072 students
- Blacksburg MiddleMiddle · 958 students
- Christiansburg MiddleMiddle · 778 students
- Auburn ElementaryElementary · 544 students
- Prices Fork ElementaryElementary · 457 students
Other schools in Christiansburg
- Christiansburg HighHigh · 1,072 students
- Christiansburg MiddleMiddle · 778 students
- Christiansburg ElementaryElementary · 401 students
- Christiansburg PrimaryElementary · 346 students
- Altern Ed Prgm/Behav Disord Youth/MontgomeryElementary
- Montgomery CentralElementary
Nearby schools
- Christiansburg Primary2.5 mi · 346
- Christiansburg Elementary2.5 mi · 401
- Christiansburg High2.9 mi · 1,072
- Christiansburg Middle3.0 mi · 778
- Auburn Middle5.9 mi · 309
- Auburn Elementary6.0 mi · 544
Frequently asked questions
About Falling Branch ElementaryHow many students attend Falling Branch Elementary?
Falling Branch Elementary enrolls approximately 535 students in grades PK-05.
Is Falling Branch Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Falling Branch Elementary is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Falling Branch Elementary have?
Falling Branch Elementary employs 44 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.2:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Falling Branch Elementary?
At Falling Branch Elementary, the student body is approximately 74% White, 12% Hispanic, 6% Black, 0% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Falling Branch Elementary public or private?
Falling Branch Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Montgomery County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.