Gunston Elementary

Summary:

Gunston Elementary is a public elementary school located in Lorton, Virginia, serving grades PK-6 with a student population of 555. This school is part of the Fairfax County Public Schools district, which is ranked 41 out of 130 school districts in Virginia and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Gunston Elementary consistently outperforms the Fairfax County and Virginia state averages in standardized test scores across multiple grade levels and subject areas, particularly in mathematics. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 86.21% of 3rd-grade students at Gunston Elementary were proficient or better in SOL/Mathematics, compared to 71.31% for Fairfax County and 70.11% for Virginia. The school's performance is even more impressive in 6th-grade mathematics, with a 97.78% proficiency rate, significantly higher than the Fairfax County (65.3%) and Virginia (59.41%) averages. Gunston Elementary also excels in supporting the academic achievement of various student subgroups, including female students, Asian students, African American students, Hispanic students, and English Language Learners.

Gunston Elementary's academic performance is notably stronger than the nearby Saratoga Elementary and Halley Elementary schools, which are also part of the Fairfax County Public Schools district. Despite having a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, Gunston Elementary's academic performance remains strong, suggesting that the school is effectively supporting the educational needs of its economically disadvantaged students. The school's diverse student population, with a racial/ethnic makeup that is roughly 30% White, 26% African American, 20% Hispanic, and 17% Asian, is a testament to its ability to provide a high-quality education to students from various backgrounds.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-6

 10100 Gunston Rd
       Lorton, VA  22079


(703) 541-3600

District: Fairfax County Public Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
330th of 1,114 Virginia Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,202 Help


Students who attend Gunston Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    South County Middle
High:    South County High

Student/teacher ratio:  15.4 Help
Number of students:  555

Racial breakdown:

White:
30.1%
African American:
25.9%
Hispanic:
20.2%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  38.4% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Gunston Elementary ranks better than 70.4% of elementary schools in Virginia. It also ranks 59th among 137 ranked elementary schools in the Fairfax County Public Schools District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 71.26. (See more...)
Help
Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Gunston Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Fairfax County Public Schools District.  (See more...)
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Gunston Elementary is $11,202. 79 elementary schools in the Fairfax County Public Schools District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gunston Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Gunston Elementary 330th of 1114 Virginia public elementary schools. (See Gunston Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


English Language Learner students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Military Connected students:
Male students:
Asian students:
African American students:
Hispanic students:
White students:


Fairfax County Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Fairfax County Public Schools 41st of 130 Virginia school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Gunston Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2005 27.83 893rd 1062 15.9%
2006 50.42 599th 1071 44.1%
2007 29.03 915th 1083 15.5%
2008 46.35 684th 1081 36.7%
2009 46.12 682nd 1082 37.0%
2010 43.85 768th 1113 31.0%
2011 43.50 740th 1117 33.8%
2012 40.06 784th 1117 29.8%
2013 33.12 843rd 1120 24.7%
2014 29.96 887th 1110 20.1%
2015 36.02 811th 1100 26.3%
2016 42.10 738th 1096 32.7%
2017 52.11 593rd 1099 46.0%
2018 46.54 686th 1097 37.5%
2019 62.64 462nd 1105 58.2%
2021 53.95 545th 1103 50.6%
2022 73.53 293rd 1109 73.6%
2023 74.92 270th 1114 75.8%
2024 71.26 330th 1114 70.4%
See the entire list of Virginia Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 86.01 28th 300 90.7%
2024 87.23 21st 306 93.1%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 59.72 419th 1036 59.6%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 77.70 219th 1100 80.1%
2024 78.38 208th 1098 81.1%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 54.79 100th 182 45.1%
2024 76.67 27th 195 86.2%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 69.34 329th 1093 69.9%
2024 62.36 438th 1101 60.2%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 72.99 55th 230 76.1%
2024 49.72 140th 238 41.2%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 81.82 71st 579 87.7%
2024 65.30 197th 588 66.5%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 79.97 81st 564 85.6%
2024 76.72 109th 580 81.2%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Gunston Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools VA State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 57.51 447th 984 54.6%
2024 72.89 222nd 979 77.3%
See the entire list of Best Virginia Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Virginia Department of Education, 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.

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






Data source: Virginia Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)
100%

0%

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Reviews:
by a parent
Sunday, October 5, 2014

Open Quote Gunston elementary school has been molding my daughter to becoming very brilliant more and more!our neighbors in private schools don't do better than my daughter , me and my daughter have brilliant conversations and she shares a lot of educative informations about her school,
Gunston elementary school staff and teachers are doing a great job, Close Quote



Enrollment information for Gunston Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1989 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 589 589
1990 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 587 587
1991 0 0 0 0 0 n/a n/a 608 608
1992 n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 623 623
1993 400 169 71 28 1 n/a n/a 0 669
1994 367 196 72 48 0 n/a n/a 0 683
1995 300 125 56 50 0 n/a n/a 0 531
1996 300 125 56 50 0 n/a n/a 0 531
1997 294 130 59 50 0 n/a n/a 0 533
1998 290 121 67 52 0 n/a n/a 0 530
1999 260 123 58 53 0 n/a n/a 0 494
2000 273 132 58 78 1 n/a n/a -4 538
2001 278 123 61 102 1 n/a n/a 0 565
2002 229 150 83 108 1 n/a n/a 37 608
2003 229 150 83 108 1 n/a n/a 37 608
2004 205 150 78 100 1 n/a n/a 31 565
2005 191 154 89 115 2 n/a n/a 36 587
2006 189 146 77 123 0 n/a n/a 37 572
2007 195 163 85 129 0 n/a n/a 45 617
2008 209 154 90 143 0 n/a n/a 53 649
2009 214 143 104 143 0 n/a n/a 60 664
2010 202 135 86 99 0 n/a n/a 46 568
2011 202 124 105 100 0 3 27 0 561
2012 188 124 100 102 0 1 27 0 542
2013 169 124 95 103 1 0 33 0 525
2014 172 142 96 113 0 0 28 0 551
2015 164 137 86 115 1 0 29 0 532
2016 168 145 84 116 1 2 35 0 551
2017 160 154 61 108 1 0 35 0 519
2018 151 149 61 110 0 0 34 0 505
2019 153 155 63 123 1 1 30 0 526
2020 158 148 73 123 1 1 29 0 533
2021 155 144 74 114 2 2 35 0 526
2022 164 143 78 110 2 1 38 0 536
2023 167 144 95 112 4 0 33 0 555

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 Gunston Elementary

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 589 34.5 17.0 n/a
1990 587 31.6 18.5 n/a
1991 608 33.3 18.2 n/a
1992 623 33.9 18.3 n/a
1993 669 43.4 15.4 n/a
1994 683 41.0 n/a 22.7
1995 531 n/a 0.0 18.8
1996 531 n/a 0.0 18.8
1997 533 n/a 0.0 16.9
1998 530 n/a 0.0 17.5
1999 494 39.0 12.7 23.5
2000 538 n/a 0.0 22
2001 565 38.5 14.7 24.1
2002 608 53.7 11.3 27.1
2003 608 53.7 11.3 27.1
2004 565 46.5 12.2 26.6
2005 587 43.5 13.5 29.8
2006 572 47.0 12.2 33.1
2007 617 50.5 12.2 30.6
2008 649 38.5 16.9 35.1
2009 664 40.5 16.4 35.6
2010 568 33.5 16.9 33
2011 561 34.5 16.2 29.8
2012 542 37.0 14.6 33.9
2013 525 38.3 13.6 37.9
2014 551 37.3 14.7 40.7
2015 532 38.0 14.0 33.6
2016 551 36.0 15.3 33.9
2017 519 37.1 13.9 30.6
2018 505 34.9 14.4 36.2
2019 526 35.7 14.7 34.2
2020 533 36.0 14.7 34.7
2021 526 34.5 15.2 n/a
2022 536 36.0 14.8 34.5
2023 555 36.0 15.4 38.4

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 Gunston Elementary

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Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1989 589 34.5 17.0 n/a
1990 587 31.6 18.5 n/a
1991 608 33.3 18.2 n/a
1992 623 33.9 18.3 n/a
1993 669 43.4 15.4 n/a
1994 683 41.0 n/a 22.7
1995 531 n/a 0.0 18.8
1996 531 n/a 0.0 18.8
1997 533 n/a 0.0 16.9
1998 530 n/a 0.0 17.5
1999 494 39.0 12.7 23.5
2000 538 n/a 0.0 22
2001 565 38.5 14.7 24.1
2002 608 53.7 11.3 27.1
2003 608 53.7 11.3 27.1
2004 565 46.5 12.2 26.6
2005 587 43.5 13.5 29.8
2006 572 47.0 12.2 33.1
2007 617 50.5 12.2 30.6
2008 649 38.5 16.9 35.1
2009 664 40.5 16.4 35.6
2010 568 33.5 16.9 33
2011 561 34.5 16.2 29.8
2012 542 37.0 14.6 33.9
2013 525 38.3 13.6 37.9
2014 551 37.3 14.7 40.7
2015 532 38.0 14.0 33.6
2016 551 36.0 15.3 33.9
2017 519 37.1 13.9 30.6
2018 505 34.9 14.4 36.2
2019 526 35.7 14.7 34.2
2020 533 36.0 14.7 34.7
2021 526 34.5 15.2 n/a
2022 536 36.0 14.8 34.5
2023 555 36.0 15.4 38.4

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 Gunston Elementary

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $336 (3.2%) $10,120 (96.8%) $10,456
2020 $370 (3.3%) $10,745 (96.7%) $11,114
2021 $408 (3.6%) $10,794 (96.4%) $11,202

Data source: Virginia Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Gunston 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 462nd of 1105 Elementary schoolsRanks 270th of 1114 Elementary schools
 17.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (Gunston Elementary)8674.1
 11.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Fairfax County Public Schools)8571.3
 13.7%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8269.1
 12.9%
3rd Grade English Reading (Gunston Elementary)5764.7
 7.7%
   3rd Grade English Reading (Fairfax County Public Schools)7269.6
 2.4%
   3rd Grade English Reading (Virginia)7166.1
 4.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Gunston Elementary)9281.4
 10.6%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Fairfax County Public Schools)8673.8
 12.2%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8369.7
 13.3%
4th Grade English Reading (Gunston Elementary)9181.2
 9.8%
   4th Grade English Reading (Fairfax County Public Schools)7776.3
 0.8%
   4th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7572.7
 2.3%
5th Grade Mathematics (Gunston Elementary)7984.8
 5.8%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Fairfax County Public Schools)7763
 14%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)8167
 14%
5th Grade Science (Gunston Elementary)8284
 2%
   5th Grade Science (Fairfax County Public Schools)8170.7
 10.3%
   5th Grade Science (Virginia)7966
 13%
5th Grade English Reading (Gunston Elementary)8683.8
 2.2%
   5th Grade English Reading (Fairfax County Public Schools)8075.6
 4.4%
   5th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7871.4
 6.6%
6th Grade Mathematics (Gunston Elementary)9389.3
 3.7%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Fairfax County Public Schools)8765.2
 21.8%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)7857.8
 20.2%
6th Grade English Reading (Gunston Elementary)8386.1
 3.1%
   6th Grade English Reading (Fairfax County Public Schools)8378.5
 4.5%
   6th Grade English Reading (Virginia)7770.4
 6.6%
7th Grade Mathematics (Gunston Elementary)10097
 3%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Fairfax County Public Schools)8669
 17%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Virginia)7855
 23%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students526555
 5.5%
African American155144
 7.1%
American Indian14
 300%
Asian6395
 50.8%
Hispanic123112
 8.9%
Pacific Islander10
 100%
White153167
 9.2%
Two or More Races3033
 10%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients34.2%38.4%
 4.2%


Schools Near Gunston Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Gunston Elementary

Students who attend Gunston Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : South County Middle
High : South County High

Students at Gunston Elementary are 30% White, 26% African American, 20% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 6% Two or more races.

In the 2022-23 school year, 555 students attended Gunston Elementary.

Gunston Elementary ranks 330th of 1114 Virginia 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 Virginia Department of Education.

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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