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West Elementary

Q: Is West Elementary a good school?

West Elementary ranks 391 st of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

391^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 74% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

West Elementary is a PK–4 public school in Kings Mountain, NC, serving 289 students as part of Cleveland County Schools. Nearly all of its students (about 99%) come from economically disadvantaged households. Despite that, West recently earned a 4-star rating and ranks in the 74th percentile statewide (391 of 1,492 elementary schools), placing it in the top quarter of North Carolina elementary schools. That marks a strong recovery from recent years — the school sat at the 58th percentile in 2023–24 and 60th in 2024–25 before jumping 14 percentile points this year.

Academically, West’s 3rd-grade results are a clear highlight. In 2025–26, 85.4% of 3rd graders were proficient in math (compared to 72.0% districtwide) and 66.7% were proficient in reading (compared to 55.5% districtwide) — the strongest 3rd-grade scores among nearby schools in both subjects. West’s 4th-grade reading has also surpassed district and state averages four years in a row. The one current concern is 4th-grade math, where proficiency fell to 58.1%, below the district’s 68.8%, with nearby schools like Grover Elementary and Bethware Elementary posting notably higher scores. Given West’s small class sizes, sharp year-to-year swings like this may reflect the specific group of students in a grade rather than a lasting decline.

Attendance is another area where West stands out. Its chronic absenteeism rate was just 17.0% in 2024–25, compared with 23.2% for Cleveland County Schools and 24.2% statewide — and lower than most nearby peers, including North Elementary, East Elementary, and Washington Elementary. That is especially noteworthy given the school’s high poverty rate. Areas to watch include support for special education students and the recent 4th-grade math dip. Overall, West Elementary is outperforming expectations given its demographics, particularly when compared with nearby Gaston County schools like Tryon Elementary that serve similar populations but rank far lower statewide.

289

Students ?

13.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

99%

Free/discounted lunch ?

500 W Mountain Street
Kings Mountain, NC 28086-3320

(704) 476-8345

District: Cleveland County Schools

Students who attend West Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Kings Mountain Intermediate
	Kings Mountain Middle
High:	Cleveland ECHS
	Kings Mountain High

Racial breakdown:

White:

63.0%

African American:

21.1%

Hispanic:

8.3%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare West Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 57th percentile in 2021 → 74th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (69% vs 60% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 74th (2026) from a 57th-percentile low (2021)

✓Above the North Carolina median (74th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school69%

District avg64%

North Carolina avg60%

391^st of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 26%▼ down 14 pts since 2016

From top 13% (2016) to top 26% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

82^nd of 246Cleveland 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	71.4	391 of 1492	73.8%	★★★★☆
2025	57.7	600 of 1490	59.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.7	638 of 1505	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.7	521 of 1502	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	66.8	458 of 1514	69.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	54.7	647 of 1489	56.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	84.7	168 of 1473	88.6%	★★★★☆
2018	80.9	210 of 1434	85.4%	★★★★☆
2017	86.7	127 of 1429	91.1%	★★★★★
2016	82.6	180 of 1425	87.4%	★★★★☆
2015	88.4	113 of 1440	92.2%	★★★★★
2014	87.9	128 of 1390	90.8%	★★★★★
2013	85.6	150 of 1403	89.3%	★★★★☆
2012	68.7	432 of 1388	68.9%	★★★☆☆
2011	85.7	116 of 1381	91.6%	★★★★★
2010	87.4	82 of 1363	94.0%	★★★★★
2009	86.2	108 of 1354	92.0%	★★★★★
2008	88.7	79 of 1324	94.0%	★★★★★
2007	87.6	59 of 1293	95.4%	★★★★★
2006	91.1	36 of 1276	97.2%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	43.1	511 of 918	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	55.6	334 of 927	64.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	30.3	639 of 896	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	58.5	327 of 949	65.5%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	67.0	415 of 1447	71.3%	★★★★☆
2025	71.1	350 of 1451	75.9%	★★★★☆
2024	70.6	355 of 1455	75.6%	★★★★☆
2023	62.5	512 of 1459	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	53.0	670 of 1458	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.9	684 of 1440	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	71.2	364 of 1424	74.4%	★★★★☆
2018	75.3	298 of 1405	78.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	59.1	510 of 1434	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2025	57.2	535 of 1437	62.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.1	366 of 1450	74.8%	★★★★☆
2023	56.4	565 of 1437	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	45.2	747 of 1366	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	47.7	640 of 1329	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	81.4	142 of 1361	89.6%	★★★★☆
2018	77.1	185 of 1332	86.1%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	72.9	344 of 1451	76.3%	★★★★☆
2025	42.9	846 of 1450	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.8	853 of 1464	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	62.4	524 of 1461	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	77.9	264 of 1464	82.0%	★★★★☆
2021	57.5	583 of 1444	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	91.2	76 of 1430	94.7%	★★★★★
2018	82.4	185 of 1413	86.9%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	33.6	569 of 821	30.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	56.7	496 of 1146	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.4	609 of 1172	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.9	687 of 1166	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	60.1	462 of 1183	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.2	462 of 1194	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	48.7	594 of 1172	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	83.6	131 of 1183	88.9%	★★★★☆
2018	80.5	184 of 1178	84.4%	★★★★☆

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)

Male (2026)76th percentile~ school

Female (2026)71st percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)64th percentile-9 vs school

White (2026)57th percentile-17 vs school

African American (2025)44th percentile-15 vs school

Special Education (2025)31st percentile-29 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics70%+6 vs state

Reading67%+11 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent on FaceBook
Thursday, October 4, 2012

My son attends West. My son did have a reading problem. The school calls me in to set up a plan to improve his scores. When i saw the genuine sincerity that the teacher and the staff had for my child I would dream of taking him out of that school. They helped him improve his reading. Close Quote

Schools Near West 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 Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
West Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	500 W Mountain Street	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8345	289	21	13.9	99.0%	182 (63.0%)	61 (21.1%)	24 (8.3%)	3 (1.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.5%)	71.4	391^st of 1492 public elementary schools	73.8%		57.7	600^th of 1490 public elementary schools	59.7%	209	85.4	58.1		66.7	67.7			$9,202	$1,108	$8,094
North Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	900 N Ramseur Street	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8225	272	23	12.0	98.9%	143 (52.6%)	84 (30.9%)	23 (8.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (7.7%)	63.7	523^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	64.9%		72.1	363^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	75.6%	160	83.3	63.6		53.7	60.0			$10,709	$1,428	$9,282
East Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	600 N Cleveland Avenue	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8356	199	18	10.8	97.5%	83 (41.7%)	84 (42.2%)	24 (12.1%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)	51.4	707^th of 1492 public elementary schools	52.6%		56.4	626^th of 1490 public elementary schools	58.0%	81	55.9	69.4		52.9	58.3			$11,443	$1,678	$9,765
Bethware Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	115 Bethware Drive	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8346	548	38	14.4	99.5%	337 (61.5%)	110 (20.1%)	58 (10.6%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (6.4%)	69.4	428^th of 1492 public elementary schools	71.3%		79.5	252^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	83.1%	176	75.5	70.7		59.4	62.9			$9,644	$1,089	$8,555
Edward D Sadler Junior Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3950 West Franklin Boulevard	Gastonia	28052	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 862-5895	374	35	10.8	99.2%	56 (15.0%)	157 (42.0%)	135 (36.1%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.6%)	14.8	1367^th of 1492 public elementary schools	8.4%		9.9	1423^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	4.5%	56	44.2	36.2	40.4	30.2	34.5	42.6	57.4	$9,464	$1,602	$7,862
Bessemer City Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	1320 North 12th Street	Bessemer City	28016	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9109	445	31	14.4	99.3%	169 (38.0%)	126 (28.3%)	106 (23.8%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (9.2%)								(n/a)								$9,139	$1,352	$7,787
Bessemer City Central Elementary	Public	3-5	1400 Puett's Chapel Road	Bessemer City	28016	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9108	392	24	16.0	98.2%	159 (40.6%)	93 (23.7%)	98 (25.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (10.2%)	10.1	1422^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	4.7%		6.2	1457^th of 1490 public elementary schools	2.2%	35	31.3	39.8	37.3	28.5	35.8	37.3	47.6	$8,603	$1,476	$7,127
Chapel Grove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5201 Lewis Road	Gastonia	28052	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9113	382	25	15.1	99.2%	201 (52.6%)	37 (9.7%)	112 (29.3%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.3%)	23.2	1221^st of 1492 public elementary schools	18.2%		30.5	1082^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	27.4%	139	59.3	37.9	45.5	39.0	45.5	38.6	59.1	$10,242	$1,403	$8,840
Grover Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	206 Carolina Avenue	Grover	28073	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8351	323	21	15.2	99.1%	226 (70.0%)	46 (14.2%)	15 (4.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (10.8%)	74	339^th of 1492 public elementary schools	77.3%		75	313^th of 1490 public elementary schools	79.0%	26	68.0	80.0		58.0	73.3			$10,632	$1,366	$9,266
Tryon Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2620 Tryon Courthouse Road	Bessemer City	28016	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9107	336	26	12.7	97.6%	229 (68.2%)	29 (8.6%)	49 (14.6%)	2 (0.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (7.4%)	22.3	1239^th of 1492 public elementary schools	17.0%		25.7	1163^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	21.9%	76	43.9	43.8	54.1	34.1	47.9	43.2	54.1	$11,346	$1,912	$9,434

Frequently Asked Questions about West Elementary

What district is West Elementary in?

Cleveland County Schools

What is the racial makeup of West Elementary?

Students at West Elementary are 63% White, 21% African American, 8% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 1% Asian, 1% American Indian.

Is West Elementary a good school?

West Elementary ranks 391^st of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend West Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 289 students attended West Elementary.

What schools do graduates of West Elementary attend?

Students who attend West Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Kings Mountain Intermediate
Middle : Kings Mountain Middle
High : Cleveland ECHS
High : Kings Mountain High

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Schools in Kings Mountain, NC

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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.