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Powell Elementary

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5
790th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,490 North Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 47% of North Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Powell Elementary is a public magnet elementary school in Raleigh, North Carolina, serving 286 students from pre-kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Wake County Schools district, which is ranked 60th out of 242 districts in the state.

Academically, Powell Elementary has struggled compared to the district and state averages. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in mathematics, reading, and science were significantly lower than the Wake County Schools district and North Carolina. For example, in 5th grade mathematics, Powell Elementary had a 40.9% proficiency rate, compared to 67.7% for the district and 59.3% for the state. However, the school's performance has been improving, with its statewide ranking rising from 1172nd in 2018-2019 to 638th in 2022-2023.

When compared to other nearby magnet schools, such as Partnership Elementary and Underwood Elementary, Powell Elementary lags behind in academic performance, particularly in mathematics and reading. These nearby magnet schools have significantly higher proficiency rates and statewide rankings. Additionally, Powell Elementary serves a higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (53.15% in 2023-2024) compared to the nearby schools, which may contribute to the school's academic challenges.

335
Students ?
9.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,739
Per pupil spending ?
47.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1130 Marlborough Rd
       Raleigh, NC  27610-1125

(919) 856-7737

District: Wake County Schools


Students who attend Powell Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Martin Middle
High:    Enloe High
    Wake Early College of Health and Science
    Wake STEM Early College High School
    Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy
    More...
Racial breakdown:

White:
43.9%
African American:
33.4%
Hispanic:
15.2%
more
 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Powell Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 58th percentile in 2023 → 47th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Ranking has slipped from its 58th-percentile peak (2023) to 47th (2025)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Science scores 21 pts below the North Carolina average
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school54%
District avg66%
North Carolina avg57%
790th of 1,490
North Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 47%▲ up 10 pts since 2015
From bottom 37% (2015) to bottom 47% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
84th of 115Elementary Schools in the Wake County Schools
60th of 242Wake 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202547.5790 of 149047.0%★★☆☆☆
202451.3724 of 150551.9%★★★☆☆
202356.9638 of 150257.5%★★★☆☆
202251.0726 of 151452.0%★★★☆☆
202149.3722 of 148951.5%★★★☆☆
201925.71172 of 147320.4%★☆☆☆☆
201822.51183 of 143417.5%★☆☆☆☆
201725.81147 of 142919.7%★☆☆☆☆
201634.91004 of 142529.5%★☆☆☆☆
201540.1913 of 144036.6%★★☆☆☆
201433.4962 of 139030.8%★★☆☆☆
201339.0867 of 140338.2%★★☆☆☆
201241.9910 of 138834.4%★★☆☆☆
201138.1947 of 138131.4%★★☆☆☆
201053.4729 of 136346.5%★★☆☆☆
200957.2663 of 135451.0%★★★☆☆
200866.3415 of 132468.7%★★★☆☆
200760.3543 of 129358.0%★★★☆☆
200639.8867 of 127632.1%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202552.2393 of 91857.2%★★★☆☆
202449.0439 of 92452.5%★★★☆☆
202338.5586 of 93337.2%★★☆☆☆
202226.3759 of 92718.1%★☆☆☆☆
202123.2773 of 89613.7%★☆☆☆☆
201925.6794 of 94916.3%★☆☆☆☆
201819.0836 of 9279.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202252.8222 of 63465.0%★★★☆☆
202125.0538 of 64616.7%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202548.7736 of 145149.3%★★☆☆☆
202446.7767 of 145547.3%★★☆☆☆
202348.5767 of 145947.4%★★☆☆☆
202242.4840 of 145842.4%★★☆☆☆
202138.6851 of 144040.9%★★☆☆☆
201935.0992 of 142430.3%★★☆☆☆
201831.91053 of 140525.1%★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202532.3641 of 7109.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202454.4394 of 66941.1%★★☆☆☆
202339.4506 of 58213.1%★☆☆☆☆
202250.1359 of 50028.2%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202446.0508 of 95146.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202523.71239 of 143713.8%★☆☆☆☆
202442.0892 of 145038.5%★★☆☆☆
202331.31063 of 143726.0%★☆☆☆☆
202218.81237 of 13669.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.51197 of 13299.9%★☆☆☆☆
201914.71276 of 13616.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201811.31289 of 13323.2%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202545.9798 of 145045.0%★★☆☆☆
202453.8678 of 146453.7%★★★☆☆
202365.7455 of 146168.9%★★★☆☆
202256.5619 of 146457.7%★★★☆☆
202157.9577 of 144460.0%★★★☆☆
201921.71217 of 143014.9%★☆☆☆☆
201816.21265 of 141310.5%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202543.8417 of 82149.2%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202555.5511 of 117256.4%★★★☆☆
202454.4541 of 116653.6%★★★☆☆
202364.6395 of 118366.6%★★★☆☆
202269.9323 of 119472.9%★★★★☆
202185.3121 of 117289.7%★★★★☆
201879.7196 of 117883.4%★★★★☆
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)
Disabled (2022)65th percentile+13 vs school
African American (2025)57th percentile+10 vs school
White (2025)56th percentile+9 vs school
Female (2025)49th percentile~ school
Special Education (2025)49th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2024)47th percentile-5 vs school
Male (2025)45th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile-33 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2025)10th percentile-37 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Reading58%+6 vs state
Mathematics53%-8 vs state
Science41%-21 vs state

2.7
3 ratings · 3 written reviews
51
40
30
21
11
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What people are saying
by a parent
Saturday, September 1, 2018

Open Quote elementary school have issues with bullying and principal and staff do not do anything to stop it, if you have a child with special needs school nurse will do everything not do her job, unfortunately school nurses in this county were trained to change a band aid nothing more. Close Quote


by a parent
Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Open Quote School has declined. Students acting out cause issues and the administration does not do anything effective. Ends up hurting the kids. My oldest finishes this year (THANKFULLY) but will not have my youngest go here cause the administration cannot get it together Close Quote


by a parent
Thursday, April 7, 2011

Open Quote Powell Elementary school the beast for my kids i have two kids in this school the teachers and the principal the way they give home work parent partispation I would like to give the school 5 Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Powell Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 335 students attended Powell Elementary.

Students at Powell Elementary are 44% White, 33% African American, 15% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Powell Elementary ranks 790th of 1490 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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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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