Locust Elementary

Summary:

Locust Elementary is a public elementary school in Locust, North Carolina, serving 486 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Stanly County Schools district, which is ranked 127 out of 242 districts in the state.

Locust Elementary consistently ranks among the top 20% of North Carolina elementary schools, with a current ranking of 160 out of 1,505 schools. The school's performance on state assessments is significantly higher than the Stanly County and North Carolina averages across multiple grade levels and subjects, including mathematics, reading, and science. For example, in 5th grade, Locust Elementary's proficiency rates in mathematics (85.9%), reading (79.5%), and science (92.3%) are all substantially higher than the Stanly County and state averages. Compared to nearby schools, Locust Elementary has a higher percentage of White (72.02%) and Hispanic (16.67%) students, as well as a significantly higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (99.38%).

Despite serving a high proportion of economically disadvantaged students, Locust Elementary has been able to achieve exceptional academic results, suggesting effective strategies for supporting these students. The school's ability to excel academically while serving a high-needs population is a notable accomplishment. When compared to the nearby schools, such as Mount Pleasant Elementary, New Salem Elementary, and Fairview Elementary, Locust Elementary stands out in terms of its academic performance, with significantly higher proficiency rates across multiple subjects and grade levels.


Detail:

Public K-5

 103 School Rd
       Locust, NC  28097-9786


(704) 961-5500

District: Stanly County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
160th of 1,505 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $8,043 Help


Students who attend Locust Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    West Stanly Middle School
High:    West Stanly High

Student/teacher ratio:  17.8 Help
Number of students:  486

Racial breakdown:

White:
72.0%
Hispanic:
16.7%
Two or more races:
6.0%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  99.4% Help


 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Locust Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Locust Elementary ranks better than 89.4% of elementary schools in North Carolina. It also ranks first among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Stanly County Schools District! (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 86.35. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (72%), Hispanic (16.7%), two or more races (6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 99.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Locust Elementary is 17.8, which is the highest among 11 elementary schools in the Stanly County Schools District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Locust Elementary employs 27.3 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Locust Elementary is $8,043, which is the lowest among 11 elementary schools in the Stanly County Schools District!
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Locust Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Locust Elementary 160th of 1505 North Carolina public elementary schools. (See Locust Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Stanly County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Stanly County Schools 127th of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Locust Elementary

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 42.01 840th 1276 34.2%
2007 56.34 618th 1293 52.2%
2008 62.24 509th 1324 61.6%
2009 50.09 765th 1354 43.5%
2010 54.44 713th 1363 47.7%
2011 54.43 717th 1381 48.1%
2012 61.24 574th 1388 58.6%
2013 61.83 491st 1403 65.0%
2014 55.99 607th 1390 56.3%
2015 66.06 473rd 1440 67.2%
2016 48.90 754th 1425 47.1%
2017 57.37 622nd 1429 56.5%
2018 56.63 637th 1434 55.6%
2019 77.66 268th 1473 81.8%
2021 77.47 279th 1489 81.3%
2022 90.61 102nd 1514 93.3%
2023 86.63 147th 1502 90.2%
2024 86.35 160th 1505 89.4%
See the entire list of North Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 77.30 65th 533 87.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 63.65 180th 801 77.5%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 60.00 487th 1332 63.4%
2019 74.56 236th 1361 82.7%
2021 83.29 116th 1329 91.3%
2022 96.81 12th 1366 99.1%
2023 92.08 30th 1437 97.9%
2024 89.05 55th 1450 96.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 61.06 567th 1405 59.6%
2019 74.49 309th 1424 78.3%
2021 77.93 258th 1440 82.1%
2022 87.09 131st 1458 91.0%
2023 82.18 181st 1459 87.6%
2024 87.91 119th 1455 91.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 47.15 413th 897 54.0%
2019 76.29 104th 878 88.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 35.93 58th 69 15.9%
2019 66.01 45th 612 92.6%
2021 70.28 110th 494 77.7%
2022 69.77 72nd 500 85.6%
2023 68.19 75th 582 87.1%
2024 59.94 309th 669 53.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 51.76 714th 1413 49.5%
2019 78.11 241st 1430 83.1%
2021 73.88 339th 1444 76.5%
2022 90.96 85th 1464 94.2%
2023 87.58 125th 1461 91.4%
2024 81.77 202nd 1464 86.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 65.05 243rd 865 71.9%
2021 87.16 63rd 843 92.5%
2022 93.18 33rd 893 96.3%
2023 88.27 61st 915 93.3%
2024 77.82 139th 951 85.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Locust Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 37.43 823rd 1178 30.1%
2019 60.85 453rd 1183 61.7%
2021 50.63 562nd 1172 52.0%
2022 77.90 220th 1194 81.6%
2023 74.93 253rd 1183 78.6%
2024 78.40 218th 1166 81.3%
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.

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





Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)
50%

0%

0%

0%

50%

  

Reviews:
by a principal
Friday, August 25, 2023

Open Quote Love this school! It's like a FAMILY! Close Quote



Enrollment information for Locust Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 373 0 0 5 0 n/a n/a 0 378
1989 358 0 0 6 0 n/a n/a 0 364
1990 399 2 0 5 3 n/a n/a 0 409
1991 409 1 2 9 2 n/a n/a 0 423
1992 374 1 2 3 0 n/a n/a 0 380
1993 362 1 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 367
1994 377 0 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 381
1995 387 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 388
1996 387 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 388
1997 391 1 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 393
1998 406 2 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 409
1999 389 7 0 4 0 n/a n/a 0 400
2000 369 5 0 16 0 n/a n/a 0 390
2001 352 8 2 22 0 n/a n/a 0 384
2002 262 17 5 26 2 n/a n/a 0 312
2003 262 17 5 26 2 n/a n/a 0 312
2004 268 18 2 21 6 n/a n/a 0 315
2005 241 17 3 40 4 n/a n/a 0 305
2006 224 16 3 44 1 n/a n/a 0 288
2007 236 4 4 55 0 n/a n/a 10 309
2008 233 2 1 43 0 n/a n/a 7 286
2009 239 10 2 42 0 n/a n/a 0 293
2010 236 10 2 36 0 n/a n/a 0 284
2011 226 1 2 48 1 0 8 0 286
2012 296 3 4 48 1 0 11 0 363
2013 353 1 5 43 0 0 10 0 412
2014 356 2 6 37 1 0 19 0 421
2015 367 3 6 43 2 0 13 0 434
2016 369 4 7 38 3 0 14 0 435
2017 380 6 8 43 2 0 14 0 453
2018 341 5 7 43 2 0 22 0 420
2019 347 3 8 53 1 0 18 0 430
2020 347 7 8 54 1 0 18 0 435
2021 348 8 10 60 1 0 22 0 449
2022 327 7 6 59 2 0 22 0 423
2023 350 14 10 81 2 0 29 0 486

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 Locust Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 378 18.0 21.0 9
1989 364 19.0 19.1 20.1
1990 409 19.0 21.5 22
1991 423 19.0 22.2 21.3
1992 380 20.0 19.0 12.4
1993 367 21.0 17.5 12.3
1994 381 21.0 18.1 10.2
1995 388 21.0 18.5 11.9
1996 388 21.0 18.5 11.9
1997 393 21.0 18.7 11.5
1998 409 22.0 18.6 11
1999 400 22.0 18.2 17.8
2000 390 22.0 17.7 22.1
2001 384 22.0 17.5 23.4
2002 312 22.0 14.2 0
2003 312 22.0 14.2 0
2004 315 22.0 14.3 28.9
2005 305 22.0 13.9 31.8
2006 288 22.0 13.1 36.5
2007 309 n/a n/a 35.8
2008 286 20.0 14.3 35.8
2009 293 18.9 15.5 39.2
2010 284 17.3 16.4 42.6
2011 286 18.7 15.2 44.8
2012 363 23.5 15.4 43.8
2013 412 26.8 15.3 39.6
2014 421 26.7 15.7 40.4
2015 434 27.0 16.0 40.6
2016 435 25.0 17.4 36.6
2017 453 26.7 16.9 37.5
2018 420 25.7 16.3 39
2019 430 24.8 17.3 35.3
2020 435 24.0 18.0 35.6
2021 449 25.1 17.8 29.4
2022 423 25.6 16.4 31.7
2023 486 27.3 17.8 99.4

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 Locust Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 378 18.0 21.0 9
1989 364 19.0 19.1 20.1
1990 409 19.0 21.5 22
1991 423 19.0 22.2 21.3
1992 380 20.0 19.0 12.4
1993 367 21.0 17.5 12.3
1994 381 21.0 18.1 10.2
1995 388 21.0 18.5 11.9
1996 388 21.0 18.5 11.9
1997 393 21.0 18.7 11.5
1998 409 22.0 18.6 11
1999 400 22.0 18.2 17.8
2000 390 22.0 17.7 22.1
2001 384 22.0 17.5 23.4
2002 312 22.0 14.2 0
2003 312 22.0 14.2 0
2004 315 22.0 14.3 28.9
2005 305 22.0 13.9 31.8
2006 288 22.0 13.1 36.5
2007 309 n/a n/a 35.8
2008 286 20.0 14.3 35.8
2009 293 18.9 15.5 39.2
2010 284 17.3 16.4 42.6
2011 286 18.7 15.2 44.8
2012 363 23.5 15.4 43.8
2013 412 26.8 15.3 39.6
2014 421 26.7 15.7 40.4
2015 434 27.0 16.0 40.6
2016 435 25.0 17.4 36.6
2017 453 26.7 16.9 37.5
2018 420 25.7 16.3 39
2019 430 24.8 17.3 35.3
2020 435 24.0 18.0 35.6
2021 449 25.1 17.8 29.4
2022 423 25.6 16.4 31.7
2023 486 27.3 17.8 99.4

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 Locust Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $624 (7.8%) $7,419 (92.2%) $8,043

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Locust Elementary

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 268th of 1473 Elementary schoolsRanks 147th of 1502 Elementary schools
 8.4%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Locust Elementary)84.282.8
 1.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Stanly County Schools)59.260.4
 1.2%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)64.361.1
 3.2%
3rd Grade Reading (Locust Elementary)68.463.6
 4.8%
   3rd Grade Reading (Stanly County Schools)47.751.6
 3.9%
   3rd Grade Reading (North Carolina)56.848
 8.8%
4th Grade Mathematics (Locust Elementary)69.975
 5.1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Stanly County Schools)59.547.2
 12.3%
   4th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
4th Grade Reading (Locust Elementary)77.168.4
 8.7%
   4th Grade Reading (Stanly County Schools)6147.1
 13.9%
   4th Grade Reading (North Carolina)57.355.3
 2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Locust Elementary)7580.3
 5.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Stanly County Schools)58.850.4
 8.4%
   5th Grade Mathematics (North Carolina)60.255.9
 4.3%
5th Grade Reading (Locust Elementary)62.567.2
 4.7%
   5th Grade Reading (Stanly County Schools)52.139.7
 12.4%
   5th Grade Reading (North Carolina)54.648
 6.6%
5th Grade Science (Locust Elementary)7585.2
 10.2%
   5th Grade Science (Stanly County Schools)73.960.8
 13.1%
   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 Students430486
 13%
African American314
 366.7%
American Indian12
 100%
Asian810
 25%
Hispanic5381
 52.8%
Pacific Islander00
White347350
 0.9%
Two or More Races1829
 61.1%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients35.3%99.4%
 64%


Schools Near Locust Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Locust Elementary

Students who attend Locust Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : West Stanly Middle School
High : West Stanly High

Students at Locust Elementary are 72% White, 17% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 3% African American, 2% Asian.

In the 2022-23 school year, 486 students attended Locust Elementary.

Locust Elementary ranks 160th of 1505 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.


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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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