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Blackburn Elementary

Q: Is Blackburn Elementary a good school?

Blackburn Elementary ranks 556 th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-6

556^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 63% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Blackburn Elementary is a K–6 school in Newton, NC, serving 484 students in Catawba County Schools, where nearly all students (98.97%) qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school has earned a consistent 3-star rating in recent years, ranking 556th out of 1,492 elementary schools statewide (63rd percentile). Within its district, Mountain View Elementary and Maiden Elementary rank higher overall, while Blackburn outranks Banoak Elementary and Startown Elementary.

Blackburn's clearest academic strength is science: 84.2% of 5th graders scored proficient in 2025–26, well above the district (70.1%) and state (67.7%) averages, and that performance has been consistently strong for three straight years. Math is also a solid subject, with 5th-grade math (77.6%) surpassing district and state averages, and 3rd- and 6th-grade math also above state norms. The school delivers especially impressive results for high-need student groups: students from low-income families rank at the 78th percentile statewide, English language learners at the 71st percentile, special education students at the 84th percentile, and gifted students at the 96th percentile. These outcomes are noteworthy given that nearly all students at Blackburn face economic disadvantage.

The main area needing attention is reading, particularly in 4th grade, where proficiency fell to 47.6% in 2025–26, below the district (55.7%) and state (57.7%) — though 3rd-grade reading (61.4%) was strong. There is also a notable achievement gap between female and male students. On a positive note, chronic absenteeism has dropped sharply from 29.0% in 2021–22 to 13.6% in 2024–25, now below both district (18.0%) and state (24.2%) levels. With a student-teacher ratio of 17.3:1, Blackburn produces its strengths in science, math, and subgroup support without any staffing advantage over neighboring schools — a sign that targeted instruction in STEM and high-need student services is working well.

484

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

99%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4377 W NC 10 Hwy
Newton, NC 28658-9775

(704) 462-1344

District: Catawba County Schools

Students who attend Blackburn Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Jacobs Fork Middle
High:	Fred T Foard High

Racial breakdown:

White:

57.2%

Hispanic:

16.9%

Asian:

12.4%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare Blackburn Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 46th percentile in 2016 → 63rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 17 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the North Carolina median (63rd percentile)

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school64%

District avg61%

North Carolina avg60%

556^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 37%▲ up 16 pts since 2016

From bottom 46% (2016) to top 37% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

87^th of 246Catawba County 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	61.5	556 of 1492	62.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	65.3	479 of 1490	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.3	519 of 1505	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	61.9	547 of 1502	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	60.7	577 of 1514	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	67.8	432 of 1489	71.0%	★★★★☆
2019	60.8	557 of 1473	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.7	520 of 1434	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2017	51.6	722 of 1429	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	48.4	765 of 1425	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2015	66.3	470 of 1440	67.4%	★★★☆☆
2014	68.7	418 of 1390	69.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	65.7	427 of 1403	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	64.6	517 of 1388	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2011	72.2	360 of 1381	73.9%	★★★★☆
2010	80.1	198 of 1363	85.5%	★★★★☆
2009	83.2	149 of 1354	89.0%	★★★★☆
2008	83.4	145 of 1324	89.0%	★★★★☆
2007	84.9	94 of 1293	92.7%	★★★★★
2006	86.4	90 of 1276	92.9%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	7.8	125 of 134	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	26.1	108 of 131	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.8	111 of 130	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.0	94 of 114	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.8	85 of 107	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.2	84 of 95	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.7	92 of 99	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	27.3	504 of 634	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	44.3	307 of 646	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	36.5	592 of 897	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	59.5	148 of 519	71.5%	★★★★☆
2025	75.7	73 of 563	87.0%	★★★★☆
2024	54.7	179 of 533	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.8	179 of 514	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.8	184 of 485	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	62.0	77 of 385	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	55.3	159 of 497	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	62.6	103 of 421	75.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	65.6	440 of 1447	69.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.6	455 of 1451	68.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	68.2	397 of 1455	72.7%	★★★★☆
2023	67.5	423 of 1459	71.0%	★★★★☆
2022	68.0	411 of 1458	71.8%	★★★★☆
2021	63.9	450 of 1440	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.2	575 of 1424	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	68.3	424 of 1405	69.8%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	69.2	31 of 743	95.8%	★★★★★
2025	73.6	4 of 710	99.4%	★★★★★
2024	69.6	121 of 669	81.9%	★★★★☆
2023	73.2	3 of 582	99.5%	★★★★★
2022	53.2	322 of 500	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	68.6	8 of 612	98.7%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	48.8	494 of 981	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.2	498 of 961	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.4	486 of 951	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	62.6	267 of 915	70.8%	★★★★☆
2022	47.1	436 of 893	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	67.5	186 of 843	77.9%	★★★★☆
2019	53.1	388 of 865	55.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.0	223 of 851	73.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	68.9	320 of 1434	77.7%	★★★★☆
2025	69.5	320 of 1437	77.7%	★★★★☆
2024	61.3	475 of 1450	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	62.9	446 of 1437	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	71.2	265 of 1366	80.6%	★★★★☆
2021	73.9	209 of 1329	84.3%	★★★★☆
2019	57.1	540 of 1361	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	61.1	471 of 1332	64.6%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	56.0	620 of 1451	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.2	470 of 1450	67.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	57.3	604 of 1464	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.3	642 of 1461	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	52.3	684 of 1464	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	68.6	407 of 1444	71.8%	★★★★☆
2019	61.4	511 of 1430	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	58.8	582 of 1413	58.8%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2021	44.5	49 of 97	49.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	4.6	84 of 86	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.8	310 of 815	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	69.1	132 of 821	83.9%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	46.4	649 of 1146	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	53.3	544 of 1172	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	54.8	533 of 1166	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.0	558 of 1183	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	47.0	652 of 1194	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	56.1	492 of 1172	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.5	733 of 1183	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	55.5	551 of 1178	53.2%	★★★☆☆

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)

Gifted and Talented (2026)96th percentile+33 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)78th percentile+15 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)71st percentile+9 vs school

Female (2026)70th percentile+7 vs school

Special Education (2026)62nd percentile~ school

Male (2026)57th percentile-5 vs school

Hispanic (2026)50th percentile-13 vs school

Multi-racial (2021)49th percentile-22 vs school

White (2026)43rd percentile-19 vs school

Disabled (2022)21st percentile-41 vs school

Asian (2026)7th percentile-56 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science84%+16 vs state

Mathematics70%+7 vs state

Reading53%-3 vs state

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Schools Near Blackburn Elementary

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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)				EOG Mathematics (2026)				EOG Reading (2026)				EOG Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Blackburn Elementary	Public	K-6	4377 W NC 10 Hwy	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 462-1344	484	28	17.3	99.0%	277 (57.2%)	24 (5.0%)	82 (16.9%)	60 (12.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	39 (8.1%)	61.5	556^th of 1492 public elementary schools	62.7%		65.3	479^th of 1490 public elementary schools	67.9%	77	71.4	59.8	77.6	71.8	61.4	47.6	51.3	52.6	84.2	$9,091	$979	$8,112
Startown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	4119 Startown Road	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-1257	540	34	15.7	99.4%	289 (53.5%)	32 (5.9%)	103 (19.1%)	60 (11.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (10.4%)	46.8	787^th of 1492 public elementary schools	47.3%		54.5	660^th of 1490 public elementary schools	55.7%	127	87.1	61.4	51.8	57.1	65.7	42.9	48.2	51.4	54.2	$9,647	$1,184	$8,463
Mountain View Elementary	Public	K-6	5911 Dwayne Starnes Road	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 294-2020	708	40	17.5	99.6%	475 (67.1%)	33 (4.7%)	54 (7.6%)	74 (10.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (10.0%)	75.7	306^th of 1492 public elementary schools	79.5%		79.6	250^th of 1490 public elementary schools	83.2%	56	84.0	77.0	70.4	80.0	63.8	68.0	60.9	60.0	73.9	$8,895	$775	$8,120
Banoak Elementary	Public	K-6	7651 W NC 10 Hwy	Vale	28168	Lincoln County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 462-2849	291	17	16.6	99.0%	230 (79.0%)	5 (1.7%)	25 (8.6%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (7.6%)	59.7	589^th of 1492 public elementary schools	60.5%		65	485^th of 1490 public elementary schools	67.4%	104	67.7	62.3	68.4	56.5	58.1	69.8	47.4	54.3	76.3	$9,603	$1,411	$8,191
South Newton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	306 West I Street	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-4061	328	22	14.6	99.1%	125 (38.1%)	52 (15.9%)	111 (33.8%)	18 (5.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.4%)	43.9	846^th of 1492 public elementary schools	43.3%		47.2	797^th of 1490 public elementary schools	46.5%	49	70.0	58.2	60.0		46.7	49.1	50.0		62.0	$10,240	$1,623	$8,616
Union Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4875 Reepsville Rd	Vale	28168	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 276-1493	342	22	15.2	99.1%	310 (90.6%)	2 (0.6%)	15 (4.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.1%)	76	302^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	79.8%		72.4	356^th of 1490 public elementary schools	76.1%	54	74.1	72.6	77.6		58.6	69.4	61.2		89.8	$10,166	$909	$9,257
Southwest Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	1580 32nd Street SW	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Hickory City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 324-8884	292	22	13.4	99.0%	91 (31.2%)	75 (25.7%)	73 (25.0%)	23 (7.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.7%)	27 (9.2%)								(n/a)										$10,139	$1,799	$8,340
Maiden Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	245 Bob Smyre Ave	Maiden	28650	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 428-8769	562	32	17.6	98.9%	357 (63.5%)	48 (8.5%)	92 (16.4%)	26 (4.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.4%)	70.9	398^th of 1492 public elementary schools	73.3%		67.8	431^st of 1490 public elementary schools	71.1%	33	81.4	67.9	78.0	74.1	65.7	60.7	57.3	51.9	78.0	$9,171	$1,063	$8,108
Longview Elementary	Public	3-5	737 12th Street SW	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Hickory City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 485-0975	269	18	14.8	98.9%	67 (24.9%)	62 (23.0%)	80 (29.7%)	31 (11.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	28 (10.4%)	23.4	1216^th of 1492 public elementary schools	18.5%		32.3	1052^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	29.4%	164	61.0	40.7	39.3		46.8	50.6	33.3		52.2	$10,424	$1,492	$8,933
North Newton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	221 West 26th St	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 464-2631	388	27	14.1	99.2%	116 (29.9%)	45 (11.6%)	144 (37.1%)	39 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (11.3%)	75.8	305^th of 1492 public elementary schools	79.6%		73.2	342^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	77.0%	37	81.5	73.9	80.9		70.8	60.9	55.9		77.9	$9,113	$1,522	$7,591

Frequently Asked Questions about Blackburn Elementary

What district is Blackburn Elementary in?

Catawba County Schools

How many students attend Blackburn Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 484 students attended Blackburn Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Blackburn Elementary attend?

Students who attend Blackburn Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Jacobs Fork Middle
High : Fred T Foard High

What is the racial makeup of Blackburn Elementary?

Students at Blackburn Elementary are 57% White, 17% Hispanic, 12% Asian, 8% Two or more races, 5% African American.

Is Blackburn Elementary a good school?

Blackburn Elementary ranks 556^th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Blackburn Elementary!

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026

2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

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.