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Sterling Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

900^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,111 Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Sterling Elementary is a PK–5 school in Sterling, VA, serving 430 students in Loudoun County Public Schools. The school operates in a high-need community, with 99.3% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Statewide, Sterling ranks in the 19th percentile of Virginia elementary schools — lower than nearby Countryside Elementary and Meadowland Elementary, but above Sully Elementary, Rolling Ridge Elementary, and Guilford Elementary. The school invests heavily in its students, spending about $20,283 per child with a favorable 9.6:1 student-teacher ratio.

Sterling has several genuine bright spots worth celebrating. Chronic absenteeism is just 7.0% — far below the LCPS district rate of 14.1% and dramatically better than nearby high-poverty schools like Sully (23.3%) and Forest Grove Elementary (22.9%). Fourth-grade reading proficiency reached 70.77% in 2025-26, higher than every other school in this comparison group, including Potowmack Elementary (69.57%) and Meadowland (65.52%). The school also posted a 93.33% proficiency rate in 4th-grade VA Studies — well above the state average — though that score has varied considerably from year to year.

The core challenge is inconsistency. Third-grade math proficiency was 58.97% and 5th-grade science was 46.38%, both roughly 20–30 points below district averages. Scores swing sharply by grade and year, and all student subgroups rank in the lower quartile statewide. Interestingly, Sugarland Elementary — a demographically similar school with near-universal poverty — outperforms Sterling in 5th-grade math and science, while Sterling leads in 4th-grade reading. This suggests school-level factors and instruction matter, not just demographics. With strong attendance, solid resources, and a caring environment already in place, Sterling has a strong foundation; the challenge ahead is applying that foundation consistently across every grade and subject.

430

Students ?

9.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,283

Per pupil spending ?

99.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

200 W Church Rd
Sterling, VA 20164

(571) 434-4580

District: Loudoun County Public Schools

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

64.4%

Asian:

13.5%

White:

10.9%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 20th percentile in 2016 → 19th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Virginia average (59% vs 72% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Science scores 22 pts below the Virginia average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school59%

District avg81%

Virginia avg72%

900^th of 1,111

Virginia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 1 pts since 2016

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

57^th of 61Elementary Schools in the Loudoun County Public Schools

18^th of 131Loudoun 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	24.7	900 of 1111	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	36.1	755 of 1110	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.9	791 of 1114	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.1	860 of 1114	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	932 of 1109	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.9	930 of 1103	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.4	887 of 1105	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.4	977 of 1097	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	42.9	718 of 1099	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	30.0	880 of 1096	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	28.8	884 of 1100	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	23.0	979 of 1110	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	38.2	784 of 1120	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	31.5	920 of 1117	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	24.2	1005 of 1117	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	40.8	814 of 1113	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	43.8	728 of 1082	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2008	46.5	681 of 1081	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2007	32.8	870 of 1083	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	30.5	892 of 1071	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	21.8	946 of 1062	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	29.7	200 of 246	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.1	181 of 249	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	40.4	170 of 238	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	27.0	254 of 315	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	38.6	201 of 326	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.8	191 of 306	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.2	213 of 300	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	29.0	851 of 1100	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.7	855 of 1096	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.0	868 of 1098	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.4	862 of 1100	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	27.3	481 of 619	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	35.4	424 of 606	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	27.8	456 of 580	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.4	469 of 564	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	22.4	895 of 1040	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	27.8	816 of 1046	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.2	818 of 1036	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	22.1	930 of 1099	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	44.0	659 of 1093	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.0	719 of 1101	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.0	803 of 1093	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	34.4	720 of 973	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	56.3	475 of 979	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.4	333 of 984	66.2%	★★★☆☆

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)

White (2025)26th percentile-6 vs school

Female (2026)23rd percentile+4 vs school

Hispanic (2026)22nd percentile+3 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)19th percentile~ school

Asian (2026)19th percentile~ school

Male (2026)15th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)14th percentile-5 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2025-2026) ?

VA Studies93%+23 vs state

Mathematics61%-13 vs state

English Reading57%-14 vs state

Science46%-22 vs state

3.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, August 29, 2013

My experience with the teachers I would grade a B+. My son loved both his kindergarten and his first grade teachers. I believe they were dedicated to the students and genuinely enjoy the children. They integrate technology and variety into the classrooms very well. My son was reading after the first few months in first grade. His math took off at the end of the first grade. My only constructive criticism is that both teachers sometimes forgot to email me back when I had questions or wanted to come into the classroom to help my son on occasion. I think they are very busy and, had my issues been more pressing, I could have pursued it successfully with them had I needed to.

The biggest RED FLAG parents need to know about this school I have just now run into this year. I requested the same kindergarten teacher for my daughter that my son had. I liked her and I already had an established relationship with her. It was comforting to know my daughter would be in the same class as her brother had been, for both her and me. I was shocked when a week before school I receive notice that my daughter was not assigned the teacher I requested. I went to the principal and was informed that parents are not allowed to request a particular teacher for their child. Particularly concerning the principal said THE SCHOOL KNOWS BEST WHAT TEACHER MY CHILD NEEDS. I feel the need to capitalize this. My daughter is going into kindergarten. They don't even know her. This is my child and I feel that the school is attempting to limit the power of the parent in directing their own child's education. This is wrong.

The reasoning? It is very hard for the unions to give 2.5% across the board raises if too many parents request a particular teacher. It is informal parental evaluations of the teachers, which, currently are not allowed. I feel disempowered and helpless as a parent. Worse, this most definitely negatively impacted my relationship with the school. When you have no trust as a parent, it is even harder to let your child go into school every day. This policy is wrong and I will be fighting it this year. If you are a parent reading this and want to help, email me at [email protected]. This is OUR children and they are worth the fight. We, as parents, deserve a say in who educates our children and information about the teachers who have them in their care 5 days a week up to 7 hours a day. Thank you. Tristan Close Quote

Schools Near Sterling Elementary

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Ranking:

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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 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
Sterling Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	200 W Church Rd	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(571) 434-4580	430	45	9.6	99.3%	47 (10.9%)	29 (6.7%)	277 (64.4%)	58 (13.5%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	14 (3.3%)	24.7	900^th of 1111 public elementary schools	19.0%		36.1	755^th of 1110 public elementary schools	32.0%	145	59.0	70.2	53.6		46.4	48.7	70.8	53.7		93.3	$20,283	$515	$19,768
Sully Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	300 Circle Dr	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(571) 434-4570	476	52	9.0	99.4%	22 (4.6%)	16 (3.4%)	407 (85.5%)	26 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)	10.7	1022^nd of 1111 public elementary schools	8.0%		3.4	1088^th of 1110 public elementary schools	2.0%	66	60.3	42.2	42.9		46.0	56.7	43.8	36.5		70.0	$21,249	$900	$20,349
Guilford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	600 W Poplar Rd	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(571) 434-4550	504	54	9.3	99.4%	22 (4.4%)	23 (4.6%)	412 (81.7%)	37 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.0%)	8	1044^th of 1111 public elementary schools	6.0%		3.8	1080^th of 1110 public elementary schools	2.7%	36	54.6	43.0	60.0		42.5	34.5	37.7	47.5		63.6	$18,499	$459	$18,040
Rolling Ridge Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	500 E Frederick Dr	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(571) 434-4540	562	55	10.2	99.5%	91 (16.2%)	42 (7.5%)	343 (61.0%)	69 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	15 (2.7%)	9.9	1028^th of 1111 public elementary schools	7.5%		12.3	1006^th of 1110 public elementary schools	9.4%	22	52.5	57.7	36.0		40.0	49.4	56.3	46.7		59.0	$20,792	$530	$20,262
Dranesville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1515 Powells Tavern Pl	Herndon	20170	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(703) 326-5200	610	48	12.8	47.4%	236 (38.7%)	28 (4.6%)	279 (45.7%)	31 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.9%)	47.9	635^th of 1111 public elementary schools	42.8%		39.2	727^th of 1110 public elementary schools	34.5%	92	80.3	70.0	54.2	60.0	70.7	68.9	68.5	74.4	77.1		$14,283	$354	$13,930
Forest Grove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	46245 Forest Ridge Dr.	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(703) 434-4560	529	55	9.6	99.4%	80 (15.1%)	22 (4.2%)	355 (67.1%)	56 (10.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.6%)	20.3	937^th of 1111 public elementary schools	15.7%		18.1	948^th of 1110 public elementary schools	14.6%	11	53.5	65.0	65.5		50.6	40.9	59.5	53.5		76.7	$21,258	$1,078	$20,180
Clearview Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	12635 Builders Rd	Herndon	20170	Fairfax County	Fairfax County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(703) 708-6000	580	50	11.4	60.2%	154 (26.6%)	37 (6.4%)	325 (56.0%)	40 (6.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (3.8%)	43.3	700^th of 1111 public elementary schools	37.0%		36.3	752^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	32.3%	52	71.3	68.2	63.3	68.9	68.9	62.8	58.3	74.3	78.1		$15,631	$1,241	$14,391
Potowmack Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	46465 Esterbrook Pkwy	Sterling	20165	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(571) 434-3270	568	52	10.8	85.2%	147 (25.9%)	49 (8.6%)	278 (48.9%)	55 (9.7%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (6.3%)	36.4	770^th of 1111 public elementary schools	30.7%		40.4	716^th of 1110 public elementary schools	35.5%	54	67.5	85.3	54.8		52.4	60.8	69.6	60.7		85.7	$22,049	$262	$21,788
Sugarland Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	65 Sugarland Run Dr	Sterling	20164	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(571) 434-4460	502	54	9.3	100.8%	46 (9.2%)	36 (7.2%)	342 (68.1%)	59 (11.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	17 (3.4%)	29.7	846^th of 1111 public elementary schools	23.9%		29.6	832^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	25.0%	14	60.8	71.4	68.4		66.7	47.2	51.2	61.5		75.0	$23,097	$861	$22,237
Countryside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	20624 Countryside Blvd.	Sterling	20165	Loudoun County	Loudoun County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(571) 434-3250	648	57	11.2	51.4%	231 (35.6%)	79 (12.2%)	218 (33.6%)	79 (12.2%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	36 (5.6%)	49.8	612^th of 1111 public elementary schools	44.9%		47.8	629^th of 1110 public elementary schools	43.3%	17	78.9	69.6	82.0		63.4	68.8	62.4	72.3		72.5	$17,495	$561	$16,934

Frequently Asked Questions about Sterling Elementary

How many students attend Sterling Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 430 students attended Sterling Elementary.

What district is Sterling Elementary in?

Loudoun County Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Sterling Elementary?

Students at Sterling Elementary are 64% Hispanic, 13% Asian, 11% White, 7% African American, 3% Two or more races.

Is Sterling Elementary a good school?

Sterling Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.0% of Virginia elementary schools.

Rate Sterling Elementary!

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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.