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Rockwell Elementary

Q: Is Rockwell Elementary a good school?

Rockwell Elementary ranks 475 th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

475^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 68% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Rockwell Elementary is a PK–5 public school in Rockwell, NC, serving 502 students in the Rowan-Salisbury Schools district. The school stands out as one of the strongest elementary schools in a district that ranks among the lowest-performing in North Carolina, earning a 3-star rating and placing in the 68th percentile statewide (475th of 1,492 elementary schools) in 2025–2026. This is especially notable because 99.4% of Rockwell's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making it a high-poverty school with results that far exceed what is typical for schools with similar demographics.

Academically, Rockwell's math and science scores are particularly strong. Math proficiency runs 24 to 32 percentage points above district averages across grades 3–5, and 5th grade science (74.7% proficient) beats both the district (58.0%) and the state (67.7%). Reading scores are 10–17 points above district levels and close to the state average. Among nearby elementary schools, only Bostian Elementary ranks higher statewide. Rockwell Elementary outperforms Shive Elementary, located just 1.4 miles away, by large margins in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade math, and even matches or beats Mount Pleasant Elementary from the Cabarrus County Schools district — a school with far fewer low-income students — in several math grades.

Rockwell also keeps students in class at a rate far better than its peers: the chronic absenteeism rate is 20.1%, compared to 34.2% for Rowan-Salisbury Schools and 40.8% at nearby Shive Elementary. The school has shown steady improvement over the past decade, rising from the 47th percentile in 2015–2016 to the 68th percentile today, with notable gains in almost every subject in a single year. Its greatest strength appears to be support for low-income students, who rank in the 77th percentile statewide. The clearest area for growth is gifted and talented students, who rank in the 15th percentile — suggesting the school is effective at raising proficiency but may not be stretching its highest achievers as much as it could.

502

Students ?

16.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

99.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

114 Link St
Rockwell, NC 28138-8598

(704) 279-3145

District: Rowan-Salisbury Schools

Students who attend Rockwell Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Erwin Middle
High:	East Rowan High

Racial breakdown:

White:

87.8%

Hispanic:

6.2%

Two or more races:

3.8%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare Rockwell Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 47th percentile in 2016 → 68th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (67% vs 61% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 21 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the North Carolina median (68th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school67%

District avg46%

North Carolina avg61%

475^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 32%▲ up 21 pts since 2016

From bottom 47% (2016) to top 32% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

199^th of 246Rowan-Salisbury 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	66.5	475 of 1492	68.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.4	752 of 1490	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	59.7	587 of 1505	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.4	688 of 1502	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	63.8	523 of 1514	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.2	712 of 1489	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	40.7	907 of 1473	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.9	782 of 1434	45.5%	★★☆☆☆
2017	48.3	777 of 1429	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2016	49.2	749 of 1425	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	54.9	662 of 1440	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2014	56.2	599 of 1390	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	44.8	750 of 1403	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2012	49.1	785 of 1388	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2011	57.2	659 of 1381	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2010	58.4	642 of 1363	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2009	65.6	495 of 1354	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2008	47.1	766 of 1324	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	49.5	751 of 1293	41.9%	★★☆☆☆
2006	52.4	678 of 1276	46.9%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2018	44.9	451 of 897	49.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	67.5	401 of 1447	72.3%	★★★★☆
2025	46.2	790 of 1451	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	62.5	502 of 1455	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.6	644 of 1459	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	58.5	584 of 1458	59.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	45.1	749 of 1440	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.1	907 of 1424	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.7	717 of 1405	49.0%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	43.3	628 of 743	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.7	663 of 710	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	28.6	619 of 669	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	22.8	557 of 582	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	29.0	460 of 500	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	43.2	524 of 612	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	68.3	335 of 1434	76.6%	★★★★☆
2025	45.2	793 of 1437	44.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	60.2	501 of 1450	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	56.2	571 of 1437	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.2	467 of 1366	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	47.1	653 of 1329	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	37.6	918 of 1361	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	52.5	629 of 1332	52.8%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	63.3	518 of 1451	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	51.9	688 of 1450	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	54.5	660 of 1464	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.1	690 of 1461	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	66.7	442 of 1464	69.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	53.9	632 of 1444	56.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	41.5	886 of 1430	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.5	870 of 1413	38.4%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	45.8	384 of 815	52.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	30.1	620 of 821	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	43.5	405 of 801	49.4%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	44.7	675 of 1146	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.7	934 of 1172	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.7	730 of 1166	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.5	834 of 1183	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	42.8	715 of 1194	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.4	899 of 1172	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.7	1077 of 1183	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	22.7	1027 of 1178	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)77th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2026)72nd percentile+4 vs school

Male (2026)64th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2026)53rd percentile-15 vs school

Disabled (2018)50th percentile+4 vs school

White (2026)41st percentile-27 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)15th percentile-53 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics76%+12 vs state

Science75%+7 vs state

Reading56%~ state avg

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Thursday, May 29, 2014

My granddaughter attends Rockwell Elementary, and I have found it to be very student-oriented, with an interested, dedicated and helpful staff. Close Quote

Schools Near Rockwell 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
Rockwell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	114 Link St	Rockwell	28138	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 279-3145	502	30	16.8	99.4%	441 (87.8%)	9 (1.8%)	31 (6.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.8%)	66.5	475^th of 1492 public elementary schools	68.2%		49.4	752^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	49.5%	277	80.2	74.4	72.0	52.3	59.8	54.7	74.7	$9,665	$1,123	$8,541
Shive Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	655 Holshouser Rd	Rockwell	28138	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 279-2899	413	28	14.5	99.3%	307 (74.3%)	22 (5.3%)	61 (14.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (5.3%)	47.2	781^st of 1492 public elementary schools	47.7%		44.8	836^th of 1490 public elementary schools	43.9%	55	65.1	43.8	62.1	58.7	44.9	56.9	84.5	$11,083	$1,861	$9,222
Granite Quarry Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	118 South Walnut St	Salisbury	28072	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 279-2154	586	29	19.9	99.5%	284 (48.5%)	128 (21.8%)	105 (17.9%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (10.4%)	19.8	1283^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	14.0%		19.1	1295^th of 1490 public elementary schools	13.1%	12	50.0	34.4	45.5	30.5	49.0	41.6	55.7	$9,473	$1,028	$8,446
Morgan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3860 Liberty Rd	Gold Hill	28071	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 636-0169	275	18	14.9	98.9%	237 (86.2%)	2 (0.7%)	21 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.1%)	48.1	766^th of 1492 public elementary schools	48.7%		29.4	1097^th of 1490 public elementary schools	26.4%	331	71.1	46.7	50.0	64.4	44.4	58.8	70.6	$10,627	$1,267	$9,360
Koontz Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	685 East Ritchie Rd	Salisbury	28146	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 216-0273	554	38	14.7	92.8%	65 (11.7%)	278 (50.2%)	164 (29.6%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (7.4%)	8.5	1440^th of 1492 public elementary schools	3.5%		0.9	1490^th of 1490 public elementary schools	0.0%	50	57.0	10.0	9.8	41.9	18.9	15.2	22.5	$10,522	$1,875	$8,647
Bostian Elementary	Public	K-5	4245 Old Beatty Ford Rd	China Grove	28023	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 857-2322	342	22	15.6	99.1%	283 (82.7%)	10 (2.9%)	34 (9.9%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.5%)	72	378^th of 1492 public elementary schools	74.7%		58.4	592^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	60.3%	214	82.0	68.3	80.0	56.0	58.7	58.3	86.7	$11,138	$1,209	$9,929
Dole Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	465 Choate Rd	Salisbury	28146	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 639-3046	388	25	15.5	99.2%	87 (22.4%)	138 (35.6%)	120 (30.9%)	9 (2.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (8.2%)	3	1485^th of 1492 public elementary schools	0.5%		5.5	1466^th of 1490 public elementary schools	1.6%	19	18.8	17.1	31.1	18.8	29.3	29.7	31.1	$11,955	$1,494	$10,461
China Grove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	514 South Franklin St	China Grove	28023	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 857-7708	592	32	18.5	99.5%	326 (55.1%)	47 (7.9%)	172 (29.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (7.8%)	20.6	1266^th of 1492 public elementary schools	15.1%		9.2	1433^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	3.8%	167	48.1	39.2	46.2	46.3	43.3	33.0	58.2	$9,544	$1,171	$8,373
Mount Pleasant Elementary	Public	K-5	8555 North Drive	Mount Pleasant	28124	Cabarrus County	Cabarrus County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 260-6210	679	45	14.9	43.6%	570 (83.9%)	27 (4.0%)	53 (7.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.1%)	72	379^th of 1492 public elementary schools	74.6%		77.4	285^th of 1490 public elementary schools	80.9%	94	71.1	67.9	77.8	58.6	59.8	65.7	89.8	$9,096	$444	$8,653
Overton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1825 Park Rd W	Salisbury	28144	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 639-3000	237	15	15.3	92.0%	24 (10.1%)	109 (46.0%)	73 (30.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (12.7%)	3.9	1475^th of 1492 public elementary schools	1.1%		6.7	1451^st of 1490 public elementary schools	2.6%	24	18.6	28.6	31.4	23.3	26.3	31.4	37.1	$12,485	$2,175	$10,310

Frequently Asked Questions about Rockwell Elementary

What district is Rockwell Elementary in?

Rowan-Salisbury Schools

What schools do graduates of Rockwell Elementary attend?

Students who attend Rockwell Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Erwin Middle
High : East Rowan High

What is the racial makeup of Rockwell Elementary?

Students at Rockwell Elementary are 88% White, 6% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% African American.

How many students attend Rockwell Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 502 students attended Rockwell Elementary.

Is Rockwell Elementary a good school?

Rockwell Elementary ranks 475^th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Rate Rockwell 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.