Garfield Elementary

Garfield Elementary is a PK–6 public school in Springfield, Virginia, serving 315 students as part of Fairfax County Public Schools, a district ranked in the 70th percentile statewide. The school itself ranks in the bottom quintile of Virginia elementary schools — 21st percentile, with a 1-star rating — despite spending $16,197 per student, well above the district norm, and maintaining a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 12.5:1. About 79% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Garfield's performance stands in stark contrast to nearby schools within a two-mile radius. Keene Mill Elementary ranks in the 94th percentile with a 5-star rating, West Springfield Elementary ranks in the 87th percentile with 4 stars, and Springfield Estates Elementary ranks in the 83rd percentile. Garfield spends roughly $6,500 more per student than Keene Mill, yet Keene Mill's math and reading proficiency rates run 20 to 40 percentage points higher. The nearby high performers also serve far fewer students in poverty — West Springfield's free/reduced-price lunch rate is 13.4% and Keene Mill's is 20.5%, compared to Garfield's 79.4%.

There are encouraging signs to note. Chronic absenteeism at Garfield has fallen sharply from 23% in 2022–2023 to 10.3% in 2024–2025 — now better than both the district (11.9%) and state (14.8%) averages. Students from low-income households at Garfield rank at the 51st percentile statewide, well above the school's overall 21st percentile, suggesting the school is making a meaningful difference for its highest-need students. Test scores can swing significantly from year to year because grade-level cohorts are small, so single-year changes should be read cautiously. The school has hovered in the bottom third for a decade, but the substantial progress on attendance and the significant resources being invested give it a foundation to build on.