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Discovery Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

18^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,110 Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 98% of Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Discovery Elementary is a highly-rated public elementary school located in Arlington, Virginia. It serves 523 students from pre-kindergarten through 5th grade and is part of the Arlington County Public Schools district, which is ranked 28th out of 129 school districts in Virginia.

Discovery Elementary consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in Virginia, with a statewide ranking that has improved from 101st out of 1,103 schools in 2020-2021 to 18th out of 1,110 schools in the 2024-2025 school year. The school's students demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, with proficiency rates that significantly exceed the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. Discovery Elementary's performance is particularly noteworthy for specific student subgroups, such as female and multi-racial students.

While Discovery Elementary has experienced an increase in chronic absenteeism rates over the past few years, the school's rates remain lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, Discovery Elementary spends more per student ($11,419 in 2020-2021) compared to the district and state averages, and maintains a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 13.4 to 15.9 over the past few years. The school's academic performance is consistently superior to the nearby Cardinal Elementary, Glebe Elementary, and Taylor Elementary schools within the Arlington County Public Schools district.

489

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,856

Per pupil spending ?

4.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

5241 36th Street North
Arlington, VA 22207

(703) 288-2685

District: Arlington County Public Schools

Students who attend Discovery Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Williamsburg Middle
High:	Yorktown High

Racial breakdown:

White:

69.7%

Two or more races:

13.3%

Hispanic:

8.4%

See top rated Virginia elementary schools

Compare Discovery Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 96th percentile in 2017 → 98th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Virginia average (95% vs 71% 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 (2024-2025) ?

This school95%

District avg78%

Virginia avg71%

18^th of 1,110

Virginia public elementary schools ?

Top 2%▲ up 2 pts since 2017

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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

28^th of 129Arlington 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
2025	93.2	18 of 1110	98.4%	★★★★★
2024	90.0	46 of 1114	95.9%	★★★★★
2023	87.4	82 of 1114	92.6%	★★★★★
2022	86.9	100 of 1109	91.0%	★★★★★
2021	88.2	101 of 1103	90.8%	★★★★★
2019	85.5	77 of 1105	93.0%	★★★★★
2018	87.2	58 of 1097	94.7%	★★★★★
2017	89.2	40 of 1099	96.4%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2023	56.0	162 of 324	50.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	91.0	26 of 1096	97.6%	★★★★★
2024	89.3	40 of 1098	96.4%	★★★★★
2023	87.4	69 of 1100	93.7%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2024	85.8	49 of 580	91.6%	★★★★★
2023	75.8	113 of 564	80.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	93.2	13 of 1093	98.8%	★★★★★
2024	88.1	60 of 1101	94.6%	★★★★★
2023	84.6	118 of 1093	89.2%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	92.4	7 of 271	97.4%	★★★★★
2024	78.4	45 of 247	81.8%	★★★★☆
2023	82.7	32 of 245	86.9%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	86.4	44 of 973	95.5%	★★★★★
2024	82.6	88 of 979	91.0%	★★★★★
2023	79.2	123 of 984	87.5%	★★★★☆

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 (2025)99th percentile~ school

Female (2025)98th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)97th percentile~ school

White (2025)95th percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2024)92nd percentile-4 vs school

Disabled (2023)50th percentile-43 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics97%+25 vs state

English Reading95%+25 vs state

Science91%+22 vs state

VA Studies90%+21 vs state

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Schools Near Discovery 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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SOL Mathematics (2025)				SOL Science (2025)	SOL English Reading (2025)				SOL VA Studies (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SOL Mathematics 3rd Grade	SOL Mathematics 4th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 3rd Grade	SOL English Reading 4th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL VA Studies 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
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%)	93.2	18^th of 1110 public elementary schools	98.4%		90	46^th of 1114 public elementary schools	95.9%	28	97.2	96.1	98.6		91.3	93.0	94.8	98.6		89.6	$12,856	$85	$12,772
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%)	93.8	10^th of 1110 public elementary schools	99.1%		92	24^th of 1114 public elementary schools	97.8%	14	98.6	95.7	98.7		88.6	100.0	97.1	93.5		95.5	$14,137	$00	$14,137
Jamestown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3700 N Delaware St	Arlington	22207	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-5275	456	39	11.8	2.9%	329 (72.1%)	6 (1.3%)	46 (10.1%)	22 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (11.6%)	92.8	20^th of 1110 public elementary schools	98.2%		92.1	20^th of 1114 public elementary schools	98.2%		97.6	97.2	95.2		91.6	91.7	91.6	96.4		91.6	$15,107	$29	$15,078
Chesterbrook Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1753 Kirby Rd	Mclean	22101	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 714-8200	557	38	14.5	2.5%	338 (60.7%)	9 (1.6%)	61 (11.0%)	85 (15.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (11.5%)	90.1	50^th of 1110 public elementary schools	95.5%		90.5	41^st of 1114 public elementary schools	96.3%	9	95.1	91.3	90.7	88.9	84.4	97.6	92.6	92.2	89.6		$11,337	$319	$11,017
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%)	93.8	11^th of 1110 public elementary schools	99.0%		93.8	8^th of 1114 public elementary schools	99.3%	3	93.2	95.9	98.7		98.7	91.9	93.2	98.7		95.9	$13,491	$121	$13,371
Haycock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	6616 Haycock Rd	Falls Church	22043	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 531-4000	838	49	17.0	4.4%	416 (49.6%)	10 (1.2%)	70 (8.4%)	264 (31.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (9.2%)	95.8	2^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	99.8%		95.5	4^th of 1114 public elementary schools	99.6%	2	96.2	97.4	98.4	100.0	98.1	96.1	98.0	100.0	100.0		$9,712	$309	$9,402
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%)	91.5	29^th of 1110 public elementary schools	97.4%		92.6	15^th of 1114 public elementary schools	98.7%	14	91.1	97.4	92.9		95.6	84.0	94.6	95.6		93.5	$11,213	$00	$11,213
Kent Gardens Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-6	1717 Melbourne Dr	Mclean	22101	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(703) 394-5600	918	53	17.1	4.0%	491 (53.5%)	26 (2.8%)	71 (7.7%)	243 (26.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (9.4%)	94.5	7^th of 1110 public elementary schools	99.4%		92	23^rd of 1114 public elementary schools	97.9%	16	97.3	99.3	90.0	98.3	94.5	95.2	97.2	94.4	97.4		$9,471	$236	$9,235
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%)	89.9	52^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	95.3%		91.3	31^st of 1114 public elementary schools	97.2%	21	90.7	90.2	92.2		88.9	88.6	93.9	88.6		98.9	$13,614	$00	$13,614
Taylor Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2600 N Stuart St	Arlington	22207	Arlington County	Arlington County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 228-6275	530	42	12.5	9.1%	321 (60.6%)	22 (4.2%)	65 (12.3%)	47 (8.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	73 (13.8%)	83.6	150^th of 1110 public elementary schools	86.5%		89.6	54^th of 1114 public elementary schools	95.2%	96	90.5	84.9	88.4		88.4	88.0	84.9	92.9		79.4	$13,819	$00	$13,819

Frequently Asked Questions about Discovery Elementary

What schools do graduates of Discovery Elementary attend?

Students who attend Discovery Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Williamsburg Middle
High : Yorktown High

How many students attend Discovery Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 489 students attended Discovery Elementary.

What district is Discovery Elementary in?

Arlington County Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Discovery Elementary?

Students at Discovery Elementary are 70% White, 13% Two or more races, 8% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 2% African American.

Is Discovery Elementary a good school?

Yes! Discovery Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in the state. It ranks 18^th of 1110 Virginia elementary schools.

Rate Discovery Elementary!

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Latest Virginia data All new data »

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

2024–25 attendance dataSep 2, 2025

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.