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Cardinal Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

20^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,111 Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 98% of Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Cardinal Elementary is a pre-K–5 elementary school in Arlington, VA, serving 682 students as part of Arlington County Public Schools, a district ranked in the top 20% of Virginia school divisions. Cardinal is one of the highest-performing elementary schools in the state, ranking 20th out of 1,111 Virginia elementary schools in 2025–2026 — the 98th percentile with a 5-star rating — and this is no one-year fluke: the school has ranked in Virginia's top 25 every year since 2022–2023 (including #15 in 2023–2024) and has held a 5-star rating for five consecutive years. Even during the pandemic-disrupted 2020–2021 school year, Cardinal remained in the 90th percentile.

Test scores at Cardinal are exceptional across every subject and grade level. In 2025–2026, 5th-grade math proficiency reached 97.4% (vs. 72.4% statewide), 5th-grade reading hit 94.8% (vs. 72.4%), and 5th-grade science reached 93.2% (vs. 68.8%). The school also posts remarkably low chronic absenteeism — just 4.2% in 2024–2025, less than one-third the statewide rate of 14.8%. Among nearby Arlington elementary schools, only Nottingham Elementary (#8), Tuckahoe Elementary (#17), and Glebe Elementary (#18) rank at or above Cardinal, while Cardinal outranks Arlington Traditional (#82), Ashlawn Elementary (#121), and Discovery Elementary (#35). Cardinal achieves these results with a larger student body than any of those peers.

What makes Cardinal especially notable is its efficiency: it spends less per student ($11,213 in 2023–2024) than every comparable nearby school, including Barrett Elementary ($20,535), Carlin Springs Elementary ($19,050), and Ashlawn ($15,327). Cardinal serves a relatively low-poverty population, with 6.7% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, and its attendance is among the best in the region. The school also performs strongly for many subgroups: White, multiracial, and disabled students rank in the 89th–99th percentiles statewide. Hispanic and low-income students, while likely scoring above state averages, do not reach the same elite percentiles — an equity gap worth noting for an otherwise outstanding school.

682

Students ?

14.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,213

Per pupil spending ?

6.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1644 N. McKinley Road
Arlington, VA 22205

(703) 228-5280

District: Arlington County Public Schools

Students who attend Cardinal Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Swanson Middle
High:	Yorktown High

Racial breakdown:

White:

72.7%

Hispanic:

10.6%

Two or more races:

10.3%

See top rated Virginia elementary schools

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 99th percentile in 2016 → 98th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Virginia average (93% vs 72% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 2% of Virginia elementary schools

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Arlington County Public Schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school93%

District avg79%

Virginia avg72%

20^th of 1,111

Virginia public elementary schools ?

Top 2%▼ down 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 25Elementary Schools in the Arlington County Public Schools

26^th of 131Arlington County Public Schools among Virginia 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	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	92.0	20 of 1111	98.2%	★★★★★
2025	91.5	29 of 1110	97.4%	★★★★★
2024	92.6	15 of 1114	98.7%	★★★★★
2023	91.9	25 of 1114	97.8%	★★★★★
2022	89.8	57 of 1109	94.9%	★★★★★
2021	88.0	107 of 1103	90.3%	★★★★★
2019	86.2	61 of 1105	94.5%	★★★★★
2018	92.2	13 of 1097	98.8%	★★★★★
2017	91.0	16 of 1099	98.5%	★★★★★
2016	92.0	7 of 1096	99.4%	★★★★★
2015	90.6	15 of 1100	98.6%	★★★★★
2014	87.9	50 of 1110	95.5%	★★★★★
2013	89.7	33 of 1120	97.1%	★★★★★
2012	77.6	169 of 1117	84.9%	★★★★☆
2011	87.0	25 of 1117	97.8%	★★★★★
2010	85.7	20 of 1113	98.2%	★★★★★
2009	86.9	19 of 1082	98.2%	★★★★★
2008	88.1	17 of 1081	98.4%	★★★★★
2007	87.7	26 of 1083	97.6%	★★★★★
2006	89.4	9 of 1071	99.2%	★★★★★
2005	86.2	42 of 1062	96.0%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2023	76.6	99 of 579	82.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	80.5	47 of 420	88.8%	★★★★☆
2024	76.9	44 of 355	87.6%	★★★★☆
2023	69.1	82 of 324	74.7%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	90.5	27 of 1100	97.5%	★★★★★
2025	89.4	44 of 1096	96.0%	★★★★★
2024	90.7	25 of 1098	97.7%	★★★★★
2023	91.0	29 of 1100	97.4%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	57.9	262 of 619	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	63.0	211 of 564	62.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	51.6	527 of 1040	49.3%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	91.1	27 of 1099	97.5%	★★★★★
2025	91.4	24 of 1093	97.8%	★★★★★
2024	92.4	18 of 1101	98.4%	★★★★★
2023	90.3	35 of 1093	96.8%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2024	81.6	13 of 195	93.3%	★★★★★
2023	80.6	12 of 182	93.4%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	92.7	4 of 306	98.7%	★★★★★
2025	82.3	37 of 271	86.3%	★★★★☆
2024	88.8	12 of 247	95.1%	★★★★★
2023	83.5	30 of 245	87.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	90.2	14 of 974	98.6%	★★★★★
2025	90.2	15 of 973	98.5%	★★★★★
2024	90.2	13 of 979	98.7%	★★★★★
2023	90.0	14 of 984	98.6%	★★★★★

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)

Multi-racial (2026)99th percentile~ school

White (2026)99th percentile~ school

Female (2026)98th percentile~ school

Male (2026)98th percentile~ school

Military Connected (2024)93rd percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2026)89th percentile-9 vs school

African American (2023)83rd percentile-15 vs school

Hispanic (2026)58th percentile-41 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)49th percentile-49 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics94%+21 vs state

VA Studies93%+23 vs state

Science93%+24 vs state

English Reading93%+21 vs state

★

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Schools Near Cardinal 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)				SOL Mathematics (2026)			SOL Science (2026)	SOL English Reading (2026)			SOL VA Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
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	SOL Mathematics 3rd Grade	SOL Mathematics 4th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 3rd Grade	SOL English Reading 4th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL VA Studies 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Cardinal Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1644 N. McKinley Road	Arlington	22205	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-5280	682	47	14.5	6.7%	496 (72.7%)	17 (2.5%)	72 (10.6%)	27 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (10.3%)	92	20^th of 1111 public elementary schools	98.2%		91.5	29^th of 1110 public elementary schools	97.4%	9	91.4	93.5	97.4	93.2	89.9	93.4	94.8	93.2	$11,213	$00	$11,213
Arlington Traditional	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	1030 N. McKinley Road	Arlington	22205	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(703) 228-6290	624	44	14.2	35.3%	201 (32.2%)	117 (18.8%)	69 (11.1%)	175 (28.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (9.9%)	87.6	82^nd of 1111 public elementary schools	92.6%		93.5	14^th of 1110 public elementary schools	98.7%	68	92.3	94.8	93.4	76.9	92.3	91.4	90.0	87.9	$13,454	$10	$13,444
Ashlawn Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5950 N. 8th Road	Arlington	22205	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-5270	553	44	12.4	23.3%	311 (56.2%)	27 (4.9%)	131 (23.7%)	34 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (9.0%)	85.2	121^st of 1111 public elementary schools	89.1%		85.6	110^th of 1110 public elementary schools	90.1%	11	87.8	87.8	90.8	90.7	80.6	87.8	88.0	90.9	$15,327	$218	$15,109
Tuckahoe Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6550 26th St N	Arlington	22213	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-5288	448	27	16.5	3.1%	317 (70.8%)	6 (1.3%)	37 (8.3%)	30 (6.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (12.7%)	92.5	17^th of 1111 public elementary schools	98.5%		93.8	11^th of 1110 public elementary schools	99.0%	6	92.2	94.9	97.1	95.7	89.6	94.9	89.9	98.7	$13,491	$121	$13,371
Nottingham Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5900 Little Falls Road	Arlington	22207	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-5290	382	26	14.7	4.7%	258 (67.5%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (9.4%)	27 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (16.0%)	94.1	8^th of 1111 public elementary schools	99.3%		93.8	10^th of 1110 public elementary schools	99.1%	2	94.7	97.1	98.6	94.3	86.0	98.6	98.6	98.5	$14,137	$00	$14,137
Escuela Key Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	855 N. Edison Street	Arlington	22205	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(703) 228-4210	572	41	14.1	28.1%	168 (29.4%)	14 (2.4%)	322 (56.3%)	19 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	48 (8.4%)	81.5	180^th of 1111 public elementary schools	83.8%		72.2	322^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	71.0%	142	94.3	84.4	86.9	77.1	83.0	83.3	84.3	93.4	$14,030	$00	$14,030
Glebe Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1770 N. Glebe Road	Arlington	22207	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-6280	574	40	14.3	15.3%	317 (55.2%)	36 (6.3%)	98 (17.1%)	58 (10.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (11.3%)	92.4	18^th of 1111 public elementary schools	98.4%		89.9	52^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	95.3%	34	94.7	96.0	93.1	90.2	92.6	95.9	94.0	93.3	$13,614	$00	$13,614
Bailey's Upper Elementary School for the Arts and Sciences	Public, Magnet	3-5	6245 Leesburg Pike	Falls Church	22044	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(703) 503-2700	539	40	13.6	87.6%	62 (11.5%)	24 (4.5%)	416 (77.2%)	22 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.6%)	18.3	960^th of 1111 public elementary schools	13.6%		10.3	1022^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	7.9%	62	57.1	72.8	53.7	49.1	42.3	63.5	52.5		$15,826	$1,395	$14,431
Discovery Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5241 36th Street North	Arlington	22207	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 288-2685	489	39	12.7	4.3%	341 (69.7%)	10 (2.0%)	41 (8.4%)	32 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (13.3%)	90.8	35^th of 1111 public elementary schools	96.8%		93.2	18^th of 1110 public elementary schools	98.4%	17	97.2	89.7	93.8	90.0	95.7	91.0	96.2	86.6	$12,856	$85	$12,772
Carlin Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5995 South 5th Road	Arlington	22204	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(703) 228-6645	534	51	10.4	57.5%	19 (3.6%)	49 (9.2%)	409 (76.6%)	44 (8.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.9%)	12.9	1006^th of 1111 public elementary schools	9.5%		2.8	1092^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	1.6%	86	60.8	63.7	41.7	41.7	40.5	58.9	47.1	53.9	$19,050	$1,104	$17,947

Frequently Asked Questions about Cardinal Elementary

How many students attend Cardinal Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 682 students attended Cardinal Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Cardinal Elementary attend?

Students who attend Cardinal Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Swanson Middle
High : Yorktown High

Is Cardinal Elementary a good school?

Yes! Cardinal Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 20^th of 1111 Virginia elementary schools.

What district is Cardinal Elementary in?

Arlington County Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Cardinal Elementary?

Students at Cardinal Elementary are 73% White, 11% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 2% African American.

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Latest Virginia data All new data »

2025–26 SOL test scoresAug 25, 2026

2021–22 school spending dataFeb 16, 2026

2022–23 through 2023–24 school spending dataFeb 10, 2026

2024–25 dropout rates & graduation ratesJan 6, 2026

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Virginia Department of Education.

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.