Rutherfordton Elementary School

Summary:

Rutherfordton Elementary School is a public elementary school serving 390 students in grades PK-5 in Rutherfordton, North Carolina, which is part of the Rutherford County Schools district. The school consistently outperforms the district and state in mathematics and reading proficiency, with 85.5% of 3rd-graders meeting proficiency standards in 2023-2024, compared to 76.6% for the district and 62.7% for the state.

Rutherfordton Elementary has a higher percentage of White students (72.82%) compared to nearby schools, which range from 35.91% to 97.89% White students. The school also has a higher percentage of African American (11.54%) and Hispanic (7.95%) students than some of the surrounding schools. Additionally, Rutherfordton Elementary has an extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 98.69% to 99.23% over the past three school years, which is significantly higher than the nearby schools, which range from 97.76% to 99.37%. Despite these socioeconomic challenges, the school maintains a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 13.1 to 14.8 over the past three school years.

While Rutherfordton Elementary's academic performance is impressive, especially given its high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, some nearby schools, such as Polk Central Elementary and Sunny View Elementary, also demonstrate strong academic results. This suggests that Rutherfordton Elementary may have room for improvement in certain areas, but the school's consistent performance and diverse student population are positive indicators of its success.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 201 Bob Hardin Road
       Rutherfordton, NC  28139


(828) 287-3778

District: Rutherford County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
555th of 1,505 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,825 Help


Students who attend Rutherfordton Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    R-S Middle School
High:    R-S Central High School
    Rutherford Early College High School

Student/teacher ratio:  13.1 Help
Number of students:  390

Racial breakdown:

White:
72.8%
African American:
11.5%
Hispanic:
7.9%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  99.2% Help


 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Rutherfordton Elementary School ranks better than 63.1% of elementary schools in North Carolina. It also ranks 9th among 10 ranked elementary schools in the Rutherford County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 61.34. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (72.8%), African American (11.5%), Hispanic (7.9%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 99.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Rutherfordton Elementary School is 13.1. 5 elementary schools in the Rutherford County Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare Rutherfordton Elementary School employs 29.5 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Rutherfordton Elementary School is $10,825. 5 elementary schools in the Rutherford County Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Rutherfordton Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Rutherfordton Elementary School 555th of 1505 North Carolina public elementary schools. (See Rutherfordton Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


Rutherford County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Rutherford County Schools 73rd of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Your rating for Rutherfordton Elementary School?

Rank History for Rutherfordton Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 82.56 140th 1276 89.0%
2007 86.46 71st 1293 94.5%
2008 72.72 303rd 1324 77.1%
2009 60.67 595th 1354 56.1%
2010 58.65 639th 1363 53.1%
2011 69.13 432nd 1381 68.7%
2012 48.53 790th 1388 43.1%
2013 49.53 671st 1403 52.2%
2014 50.44 695th 1390 50.0%
2015 69.74 418th 1440 71.0%
2016 67.55 434th 1425 69.5%
2017 75.66 313th 1429 78.1%
2018 77.30 267th 1434 81.4%
2019 70.66 392nd 1473 73.4%
2021 58.03 607th 1489 59.2%
2022 61.80 554th 1514 63.4%
2023 67.66 451st 1502 70.0%
2024 61.34 555th 1505 63.1%
See the entire list of North Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 35.55 517th 801 35.5%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 75.46 217th 1332 83.7%
2019 73.67 251st 1361 81.6%
2021 62.17 383rd 1329 71.2%
2022 83.08 110th 1366 91.9%
2023 76.76 221st 1437 84.6%
2024 72.13 284th 1450 80.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 73.68 333rd 1405 76.3%
2019 66.64 443rd 1424 68.9%
2021 62.14 483rd 1440 66.5%
2022 58.01 588th 1458 59.7%
2023 74.76 299th 1459 79.5%
2024 64.05 472nd 1455 67.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 39.69 530th 878 39.6%
2022 59.71 167th 634 73.7%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 37.25 558th 612 8.8%
2021 12.72 473rd 494 4.3%
2022 54.78 301st 500 39.8%
2023 68.56 30th 582 94.8%
2024 52.94 431st 669 35.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 78.76 234th 1413 83.4%
2019 72.53 329th 1430 77.0%
2021 52.39 648th 1444 55.1%
2022 62.82 517th 1464 64.7%
2023 58.94 588th 1461 59.8%
2024 58.12 595th 1464 59.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 39.49 577th 927 37.8%
2024 58.58 313th 924 66.1%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Rutherfordton Elementary School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 71.16 320th 1178 72.8%
2019 52.17 574th 1183 51.5%
2021 37.63 758th 1172 35.3%
2022 36.87 807th 1194 32.4%
2023 47.63 646th 1183 45.4%
2024 42.83 720th 1166 38.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Rutherfordton Elementary School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Rutherfordton Elementary School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 423 93 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 517
1989 431 101 1 0 0 n/a n/a 7 540
1990 428 109 0 1 0 n/a n/a -1 537
1991 413 88 0 2 0 n/a n/a 0 503
1992 405 95 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 501
1993 382 118 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 501
1994 373 105 2 0 0 n/a n/a 0 480
1995 397 103 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 503
1996 397 103 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 503
1997 388 105 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 495
1998 398 114 1 5 0 n/a n/a 0 518
1999 391 118 1 3 0 n/a n/a 0 513
2000 376 110 2 1 0 n/a n/a 0 489
2001 399 100 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 506
2002 364 87 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 458
2003 364 87 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 458
2004 349 89 2 5 0 n/a n/a 0 445
2005 340 74 2 11 0 n/a n/a 0 427
2006 354 61 5 12 0 n/a n/a 0 432
2007 334 41 9 12 0 n/a n/a 19 415
2008 287 44 7 14 0 n/a n/a 8 360
2009 311 46 11 14 0 n/a n/a 0 382
2010 293 65 9 18 0 n/a n/a 0 385
2011 315 46 7 19 0 0 26 0 413
2012 282 52 7 23 1 0 24 0 389
2013 276 49 3 27 0 0 27 0 382
2014 243 48 3 24 0 0 24 0 342
2015 274 41 3 29 0 1 23 0 371
2016 270 32 3 28 0 0 28 0 361
2017 283 40 2 25 1 0 27 0 378
2018 287 40 4 16 0 0 33 0 380
2019 289 38 1 20 1 0 35 0 384
2020 279 35 0 18 1 0 24 0 357
2021 240 35 0 26 1 0 22 0 324
2022 277 42 0 35 0 0 29 0 383
2023 284 45 0 31 0 0 30 0 390

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Rutherfordton Elementary School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 517 26.0 19.8 22.8
1989 540 26.0 20.7 28.5
1990 537 28.0 19.1 27.9
1991 503 28.0 17.9 29.8
1992 501 28.0 17.8 19.4
1993 501 25.0 20.0 27.3
1994 480 25.0 19.2 31.7
1995 503 27.0 18.6 27
1996 503 27.0 18.6 27
1997 495 26.0 19.0 26.5
1998 518 28.0 18.5 27.6
1999 513 28.0 18.3 31
2000 489 28.0 17.5 32.3
2001 506 28.0 18.1 34.6
2002 458 28.0 16.4 45.4
2003 458 28.0 16.4 45.4
2004 445 28.0 15.9 53.5
2005 427 28.0 15.3 45.2
2006 432 28.0 15.4 34.3
2007 415 n/a n/a 37.4
2008 360 21.4 16.8 43.5
2009 382 22.5 17.0 44.8
2010 385 24.2 15.9 51.9
2011 413 24.7 16.7 53
2012 389 21.9 17.6 57.1
2013 382 23.3 16.3 50.5
2014 342 22.3 15.2 64
2015 371 24.0 15.4 99.2
2016 361 24.0 15.0 99.2
2017 378 26.0 14.5 99.2
2018 380 21.9 17.3 99.2
2019 384 22.1 17.3 99.2
2020 357 22.2 16.0 99.2
2021 324 21.8 14.8 99.1
2022 383 28.2 13.5 98.7
2023 390 29.5 13.1 99.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Rutherfordton Elementary School

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 517 26.0 19.8 22.8
1989 540 26.0 20.7 28.5
1990 537 28.0 19.1 27.9
1991 503 28.0 17.9 29.8
1992 501 28.0 17.8 19.4
1993 501 25.0 20.0 27.3
1994 480 25.0 19.2 31.7
1995 503 27.0 18.6 27
1996 503 27.0 18.6 27
1997 495 26.0 19.0 26.5
1998 518 28.0 18.5 27.6
1999 513 28.0 18.3 31
2000 489 28.0 17.5 32.3
2001 506 28.0 18.1 34.6
2002 458 28.0 16.4 45.4
2003 458 28.0 16.4 45.4
2004 445 28.0 15.9 53.5
2005 427 28.0 15.3 45.2
2006 432 28.0 15.4 34.3
2007 415 n/a n/a 37.4
2008 360 21.4 16.8 43.5
2009 382 22.5 17.0 44.8
2010 385 24.2 15.9 51.9
2011 413 24.7 16.7 53
2012 389 21.9 17.6 57.1
2013 382 23.3 16.3 50.5
2014 342 22.3 15.2 64
2015 371 24.0 15.4 99.2
2016 361 24.0 15.0 99.2
2017 378 26.0 14.5 99.2
2018 380 21.9 17.3 99.2
2019 384 22.1 17.3 99.2
2020 357 22.2 16.0 99.2
2021 324 21.8 14.8 99.1
2022 383 28.2 13.5 98.7
2023 390 29.5 13.1 99.2

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Rutherfordton Elementary School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $1,582 (14.6%) $9,243 (85.4%) $10,824

Data source: North Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Rutherfordton Elementary School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 392nd of 1473 Elementary schoolsRanks 451st of 1502 Elementary schools
 3.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Rutherfordton Elementary School)67.980.3
 12.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Rutherford County Schools)77.677.2
 0.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)64.361.1
 3.2%
3rd Grade Reading (Rutherfordton Elementary School)57.152.5
 4.6%
   3rd Grade Reading (Rutherford County Schools)61.849.5
 12.3%
   3rd Grade Reading (North Carolina)56.848
 8.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Rutherfordton Elementary School)69.155.6
 13.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Rutherford County Schools)67.267.7
 0.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
4th Grade Reading (Rutherfordton Elementary School)66.256.3
 9.9%
   4th Grade Reading (Rutherford County Schools)6660.7
 5.3%
   4th Grade Reading (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Rutherfordton Elementary School)64.556.1
 8.4%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Rutherford County Schools)66.868.9
 2.1%
   5th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)60.255.9
 4.3%
5th Grade Reading (Rutherfordton Elementary School)69.756.1
 13.6%
   5th Grade Reading (Rutherford County Schools)6155.6
 5.4%
   5th Grade Reading (North Carolina)54.648
 6.6%
5th Grade Science (Rutherfordton Elementary School)84.284.8
 0.6%
   5th Grade Science (Rutherford County Schools)81.680.6
 1%
   5th Grade Science (North Carolina)72.665.3
 7.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students384390
 1.6%
African American3845
 18.4%
American Indian10
 100%
Asian10
 100%
Hispanic2031
 55%
Pacific Islander00
White289284
 1.7%
Two or More Races3530
 14.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients99.2%99.2%
 0%


Schools Near Rutherfordton Elementary School









Frequently Asked Questions about Rutherfordton Elementary School

In the 2022-23 school year, 390 students attended Rutherfordton Elementary School.

Rutherfordton Elementary School ranks 555th of 1505 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Rutherfordton Elementary School are 73% White, 12% African American, 8% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races.

Students who attend Rutherfordton Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : R-S Middle School
High : R-S Central High School
High : Rutherford Early College High School


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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