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Cardinal Valley Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

629^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 684 Kentucky Elementary Schools

Better than 8% of Kentucky elementary schools

Summary

Cardinal Valley Elementary School serves 643 students in pre-K through fifth grade in Lexington, Kentucky, among a group of nearby elementary schools with varied enrollment and academic results. Its latest KSA results show that in 2025–26 it was below both the state and Fayette County in every grade and subject with a reported score. The central takeaway for families is that low achievement spans multiple grades and subjects, not just one area.

Math is Cardinal Valley’s strongest subject relative to the state, but it still trails nearby schools. In third- and fifth-grade math, the school scored 33% in each grade, 10 points below the state and about 19 and 18 points below nearby-school averages. Reading is a more serious concern, especially in fourth grade: its 20% proficiency was 30 points below the state and the lowest result among nearby schools, whose scores ranged from 21% to 79%. Fourth-grade science was 29 points below the state, while fifth-grade writing was 24 points below. Cardinal Valley’s 11% in fifth-grade writing was below all eight nearby schools with reported scores, which ranged from 14% to 76% and averaged 48%.

There are signs of progress, though results remain low: from 2022–23 to 2025–26, third-grade math rose 18 points, fifth-grade math rose 10, and fifth-grade reading rose 13; fifth-grade writing instead fell 13 points. Attendance also improved, with chronic absenteeism dropping 17 points to 19% in 2025–26, below the state and district rates. SchoolDigger ranks the school 629th of 684 statewide, at the 8th percentile with 0 stars; that is up from the 3rd percentile in 2022–23, but it remains near the bottom among nearby schools. Its 2024–25 student-teacher ratio was 12.1, the median among the 11 schools compared, and 66% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25. Some 2025–26 scores, including fourth-grade math and fifth-grade editing and mechanics, were suppressed and are not treated as zero.

643

Students ?

12.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

65.5%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

218 Mandalay Rd
Lexington, KY 40504

(859) 381-3340

District: Fayette County

Students who attend Cardinal Valley Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Leestown Middle School
High:	Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

77.3%

African American:

13.2%

White:

6.5%

See top rated Kentucky elementary schools

Compare Cardinal Valley Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 1st percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Kentucky average (23% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)

!Science scores 29 pts below the Kentucky average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school23%

District avg49%

Kentucky avg44%

629^th of 684

Kentucky public elementary schools ?

Bottom 8%▲ up 7 pts since 2016

From bottom 1% (2016) to bottom 8% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Kentucky Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

35^th of 39Elementary Schools in the Fayette County

65^th of 158Fayette County among Kentucky districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	12.4	629 of 684	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.3	653 of 685	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.3	648 of 685	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.5	665 of 687	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.0	641 of 684	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.8	614 of 700	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.0	629 of 691	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	8.0	669 of 694	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	4.8	680 of 690	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	4.8	691 of 698	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	8.5	680 of 705	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	8.7	698 of 719	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	9.4	695 of 713	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	33.9	506 of 688	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	49.8	370 of 683	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2009	20.6	560 of 658	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	4.5	637 of 651	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	15.1	587 of 638	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2018	32.0	140 of 184	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2019	13.4	458 of 474	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.7	407 of 445	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	20.0	62 of 65	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.4	69 of 69	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.7	63 of 64	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	64 of 65	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.2	40 of 40	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	45.4	50 of 96	47.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	47.0	39 of 81	51.9%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	11.4	612 of 657	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.9	607 of 648	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.0	589 of 644	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.6	617 of 639	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.1	625 of 641	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.4	592 of 671	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.3	610 of 663	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	20.2	150 of 168	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.0	161 of 168	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.6	131 of 135	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.4	117 of 120	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.0	107 of 114	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	39.8	97 of 152	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	37.2	110 of 153	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	21.1	579 of 674	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.7	618 of 672	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.8	616 of 665	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.1	649 of 670	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.7	597 of 667	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.5	547 of 664	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.1	591 of 631	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2026	16.4	589 of 651	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.5	628 of 653	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.4	637 of 652	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.0	645 of 652	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.1	613 of 657	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	597 of 676	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.6	602 of 665	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2019	21.8	554 of 661	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Kentucky percentile	Rating
2022	4.6	651 of 656	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	548 of 593	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2018)24th percentile+15 vs school

Special Education (2019)16th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)14th percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2026)11th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2026)10th percentile~ school

Female (2026)7th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2026)5th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2019)3rd percentile-9 vs school

White (2022)1st percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs Kentucky (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics33%-10 vs state

Reading26%-24 vs state

Social Studies20%-18 vs state

Science11%-29 vs state

Writing11%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cardinal Valley Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				KSA Mathematics (2026)			KSA Reading (2026)			KSA Science (2026)	KSA Writing (2026)	KSA Social Studies (2026)	KSA Editing and Mechanics (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	KSA Mathematics 3rd Grade	KSA Mathematics 4th Grade	KSA Mathematics 5th Grade	KSA Reading 3rd Grade	KSA Reading 4th Grade	KSA Reading 5th Grade	KSA Science 4th Grade	KSA Writing 5th Grade	KSA Social Studies 5th Grade	KSA Editing and Mechanics 5th Grade	Total
Cardinal Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	218 Mandalay Rd	Lexington	40504	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3340	643	53	12.1	65.5%	42 (6.5%)	85 (13.2%)	497 (77.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.6%)	12.4	629^th of 684 public elementary schools	8.0%		8.3	653^rd of 685 public elementary schools	4.7%	24	33.0		33.0	25.0	20.0	34.0	11.0	11.0	20.0
James Lane Allen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1901 Appomattox Rd	Lexington	40504	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3456	429	39	11.1	66.7%	108 (25.2%)	72 (16.8%)	222 (51.7%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.6%)	27.7	520^th of 684 public elementary schools	24.0%		21.8	562^nd of 685 public elementary schools	18.0%	42	31.0	36.0	29.0	33.0	43.0	38.0	41.0	29.0	25.0	39.0
Meadowthorpe Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1710 N. Forbes Rd	Lexington	40505	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3521	517	41	12.7	48.0%	212 (41.0%)	128 (24.8%)	80 (15.5%)	54 (10.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (8.1%)	91.3	31^st of 684 public elementary schools	95.5%		86.5	61^st of 685 public elementary schools	91.1%	30	57.0	68.0	83.0	58.0	68.0	87.0	58.0	76.0	75.0	84.0
Picadome Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1642 Harrodsburg Rd	Lexington	40504	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3563	434	37	11.7	58.5%	202 (46.5%)	129 (29.7%)	54 (12.4%)	12 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (8.3%)	56.4	276^th of 684 public elementary schools	59.6%		34.1	469^th of 685 public elementary schools	31.5%	193	47.0	32.0	59.0	61.0	44.0	68.0	27.0	41.0	47.0	51.0
Garden Springs Elementary School	Public	K-5	2151 Garden Springs Dr	Lexington	40504	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3388	418	35	11.9	40.7%	252 (60.3%)	40 (9.6%)	83 (19.9%)	11 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.7%)	54.3	295^th of 684 public elementary schools	56.9%		51.2	325^th of 685 public elementary schools	52.6%	30	54.0	53.0	43.0	53.0	49.0	55.0	44.0	14.0	43.0	48.0
Harrison Elementary School	Public	K-5	161 Bruce St	Lexington	40507	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3418	207	25	8.1	87.4%	33 (15.9%)	111 (53.6%)	41 (19.8%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (9.7%)	13	627^th of 684 public elementary schools	8.3%		14.4	614^th of 685 public elementary schools	10.4%	13	32.0	21.0	30.0	33.0	21.0	23.0	21.0			33.0
Rosa Parks Elementary School	Public	K-5	1251 Beaumont Centre Lane	Lexington	40513	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	No	(859) 381-3132	681	45	15.2	17.3%	425 (62.4%)	27 (4.0%)	46 (6.8%)	156 (22.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.8%)	93.6	17^th of 684 public elementary schools	97.5%		92.4	21^st of 685 public elementary schools	96.9%	4	80.0	75.0	74.0	81.0	79.0	73.0		61.0	56.0	69.0
Clays Mill Elementary School	Public	K-5	2319 Clays Mill Rd	Lexington	40503	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	No	(859) 381-3355	527	39	13.5	27.1%	407 (77.2%)	21 (4.0%)	39 (7.4%)	15 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.3%)	95.1	9^th of 684 public elementary schools	98.7%		96.1	7^th of 685 public elementary schools	99.0%	2	80.0	63.0	70.0	86.0	66.0	88.0	61.0	75.0	77.0	82.0
Booker T Washington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	707 Howard Street	Lexington	40508	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	No	No	Yes	(859) 381-3263	377	28	13.5	81.7%	27 (7.2%)	188 (49.9%)	133 (35.3%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (6.6%)	10.1	645^th of 684 public elementary schools	5.7%		14.6	610^th of 685 public elementary schools	10.9%	35	5.0		26.0	16.0	36.0	26.0		22.0	20.0	20.0
Maxwell Spanish Immersion Elementary School	Public, Magnet	K-5	301 Woodland Ave	Lexington	40508	Fayette County	Fayette County	No	Yes	No	No	(859) 381-3516	567	37	15.4	28.7%	298 (52.6%)	80 (14.1%)	122 (21.5%)	7 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (10.4%)	92.9	23^rd of 684 public elementary schools	96.6%		91.2	35^th of 685 public elementary schools	94.9%	12	67.0	69.0	60.0	73.0	77.0	74.0	63.0	64.0	63.0	79.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Cardinal Valley Elementary School

What schools do graduates of Cardinal Valley Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Cardinal Valley Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Leestown Middle School
High : Paul Laurence Dunbar High School

Is Cardinal Valley Elementary School a good school?

Cardinal Valley Elementary School ranks in the bottom 8.0% of Kentucky elementary schools.

What district is Cardinal Valley Elementary School in?

Fayette County

How many students attend Cardinal Valley Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 643 students attended Cardinal Valley Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Cardinal Valley Elementary School?

Students at Cardinal Valley Elementary School are 77% Hispanic, 13% African American, 7% White, 3% Two or more races.

Rate Cardinal Valley Elementary School!

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Latest Kentucky data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 KSA test scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 KSA test scoresOct 30, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Kentucky 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.