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Isaac Dickson Elementary

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5
520th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,490 North Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 65% of North Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Isaac Dickson Elementary is a public magnet elementary school in Asheville, North Carolina, serving 375 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Asheville City Schools district, which is ranked 76 out of 242 districts in the state.

Isaac Dickson Elementary consistently ranks in the top half of North Carolina elementary schools, with strong academic performance, particularly in mathematics. In the 2024-2025 school year, 84.8% of 3rd graders were proficient or better in reading, compared to 61.4% for the district and 46.7% for the state. The school's 3rd grade mathematics proficiency rates have consistently been above 60% in recent years, outperforming both the district and state averages. This consistent high performance in mathematics is a key differentiator for the school.

However, the school faces challenges in addressing equity gaps for its African American and Low Socioeconomic Status student subgroups, which perform significantly worse than their peers. The school is located in close proximity to several other high-performing elementary schools in the Asheville area, such as Claxton Elementary and Lucy S. Herring Elementary, suggesting families in the region have access to multiple strong elementary school options. As a public magnet school, Isaac Dickson Elementary may also be attracting a more diverse student population and potentially higher-achieving students from across the Asheville City Schools district, which could contribute to its academic success.

390
Students ?
13.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$12,739
Per pupil spending ?
41%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 125 Hill Street
       Asheville, NC  28801-2545

(828) 350-6800

District: Asheville City Schools


Students who attend Isaac Dickson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Asheville Middle
High:    Asheville High
    Silsa
Racial breakdown:

White:
56.4%
African American:
19.2%
Two or more races:
12.1%
more
 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Isaac Dickson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 83rd percentile in 2015 → 65th in 2025
Strengths
Test scores above the North Carolina average (64% vs 57% meeting standards)
Above the North Carolina median (65th percentile)
Worth a look
!Ranking has slipped — down 18 percentile points since 2015
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school64%
District avg60%
North Carolina avg57%
520th of 1,490
North Carolina public elementary schools ?
Top 35%▼ down 18 pts since 2015
From top 17% (2015) to top 35% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
3rd of 5Elementary Schools in the Asheville City Schools
76th of 242Asheville City Schools among North Carolina 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202562.6520 of 149065.1%★★★☆☆
202467.2454 of 150569.8%★★★☆☆
202360.5569 of 150262.1%★★★☆☆
202263.9519 of 151465.7%★★★☆☆
202177.4280 of 148981.2%★★★★☆
201974.0325 of 147377.9%★★★★☆
201875.0313 of 143478.2%★★★★☆
201769.0424 of 142970.3%★★★★☆
201677.2276 of 142580.6%★★★★☆
201579.5249 of 144082.7%★★★★☆
201491.879 of 139094.3%★★★★★
201391.294 of 140393.3%★★★★★
201278.0244 of 138882.4%★★★★☆
201176.4262 of 138181.0%★★★★☆
201074.6303 of 136377.8%★★★★☆
200978.4237 of 135482.5%★★★★☆
200878.0220 of 132483.4%★★★★☆
200776.8223 of 129382.8%★★★★☆
200667.3382 of 127670.1%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20257.9908 of 9181.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.4875 of 9245.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20238.7919 of 9331.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202210.4912 of 9271.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202131.7623 of 89630.5%★★☆☆☆
201918.9869 of 9498.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20185.1926 of 9270.1%☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
201954.5310 of 87864.7%★★★☆☆
201856.8308 of 89765.7%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202550.8703 of 145151.6%★★★☆☆
202461.4528 of 145563.7%★★★☆☆
202365.8461 of 145968.4%★★★☆☆
202267.4421 of 145871.1%★★★★☆
202181.0205 of 144085.8%★★★★☆
201976.0279 of 142480.4%★★★★☆
201880.4216 of 140584.6%★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202525.2670 of 7105.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202420.8646 of 6693.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202325.3552 of 5825.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202256.5273 of 50045.4%★★☆☆☆
202146.6360 of 49427.1%★☆☆☆☆
201951.7435 of 61228.9%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
201895.212 of 85198.6%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202528.71156 of 143719.6%★☆☆☆☆
202412.21384 of 14504.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.61259 of 143712.4%★☆☆☆☆
202212.71313 of 13663.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202153.5524 of 132960.6%★★★☆☆
201930.81040 of 136123.6%★☆☆☆☆
201830.21025 of 133223.0%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202570.9365 of 145074.8%★★★★☆
202470.3384 of 146473.8%★★★★☆
202352.7696 of 146152.4%★★★☆☆
202256.7616 of 146457.9%★★★☆☆
202169.4395 of 144472.6%★★★★☆
201969.1382 of 143073.3%★★★★☆
201865.1469 of 141366.8%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202535.5528 of 82135.7%★★☆☆☆
202436.6506 of 80136.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202578.3203 of 117282.7%★★★★☆
202478.5216 of 116681.5%★★★★☆
202377.6215 of 118381.8%★★★★☆
202270.9312 of 119473.9%★★★★☆
202178.9209 of 117282.2%★★★★☆
201988.669 of 118394.2%★★★★★
201886.2102 of 117891.3%★★★★★
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)
Hispanic (2018)99th percentile+20 vs school
White (2025)83rd percentile+18 vs school
Male (2025)75th percentile+10 vs school
Disabled (2019)65th percentile-13 vs school
Female (2025)52nd percentile-14 vs school
Special Education (2025)36th percentile-29 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile-46 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2025)6th percentile-59 vs school
African American (2025)1st percentile-64 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Reading67%+14 vs state
Science63%~ state avg
Mathematics62%~ state avg

3.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a teacher
Thursday, November 5, 2015

Open Quote I have been associated with the school for many years, and I would say that it used to be a wonderful public school filled with creative teachers. The staff has changed quite a bit in the last few years however. Also, I find that for lower socioeconomic students, it provides good support, but for students seeking an "experiential" education, very little of the old ways still apply. If you have an average to above average child, I would look elsewhere. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Isaac Dickson Elementary

Students who attend Isaac Dickson Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Asheville Middle
High : Asheville High
High : Silsa

In the 2024-25 school year, 390 students attended Isaac Dickson Elementary.

Isaac Dickson Elementary ranks 520th of 1490 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Isaac Dickson Elementary are 56% White, 19% African American, 12% Two or more races, 9% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% Pacific Islander.


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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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