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Kempsville Elementary

Q: Is Kempsville Elementary a good school?

Kempsville Elementary ranks 567 th of 1111 Virginia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

567^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,111 Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 49% of Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Kempsville Elementary is a PK–5 school in Virginia Beach, VA, serving 498 students in the [Virginia Beach City Public Schools](https://www.schooldigger.com/go/VA/district/03840/search.aspx) district. Once one of the highest-performing elementary schools in Virginia—ranking in the top 12% statewide as recently as 2017-18—Kempsville has seen a steady decline over the past several years, dropping to a 2-star rating and the middle of the pack (49th percentile) by 2025-26. While the school remains a bright spot in 3rd grade math (81.82% proficient, above the district average of 79.24%), it now trails its own district in several other tested subjects.

The school's most striking characteristic is that it holds significant demographic and attendance advantages that are not currently translating into top academic rankings. Kempsville has the lowest poverty rate (37.55% free/reduced lunch) and the best chronic absenteeism record (6.5%, far better than the district's 10.1% and the state's 14.8%) among all its nearby comparison schools. Yet, it ranks lower than several schools facing greater challenges. For instance, [Providence Elementary](https://www.schooldigger.com/go/VA/schools/0384001982/school.aspx), located less than a mile away with a similar poverty rate, ranks in the 68th percentile and outperforms Kempsville in 5th grade science (75.27% vs. 58.89%) and 4th grade reading (83.52% vs. 78.49%). Even [Arrowhead Elementary](https://www.schooldigger.com/go/VA/schools/0384001673/school.aspx), which has a significantly higher poverty rate, ranks higher statewide and beats Kempsville in several subjects.

The most urgent academic concerns are in upper-elementary content areas, specifically 5th grade science (58.89% proficient, nearly 13 points below the district) and Virginia Studies (70.11% vs. 78.15% district), both of which have dropped sharply over the last two years. However, this is not a story of a chronically struggling school. As recently as 2023-24, Kempsville posted outstanding results, including 92.21% proficiency in 4th grade reading and 86.36% in 5th grade math. Combined with its stellar attendance and relatively advantaged student population, the school clearly has the foundational capacity to rebound if these specific instructional gaps are addressed.

498

Students ?

13.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,164

Per pupil spending ?

37.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

570 Kempsville Rd
Virginia Beach, VA 23464

(757) 648-2720

District: Virginia Beach City Public Schools

Students who attend Kempsville Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Kempsville Middle
High:	Kempsville High

Racial breakdown:

White:

51.8%

African American:

15.3%

Hispanic:

15.3%

See top rated Virginia elementary schools

Compare Kempsville Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 81st percentile in 2016 → 49th in 2026

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school73%

District avg77%

Virginia avg72%

567^th of 1,111

Virginia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 49%▼ down 32 pts since 2016

From top 19% (2016) to bottom 49% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

35^th of 53Elementary Schools in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools

29^th of 131Virginia Beach City 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	54.4	567 of 1111	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	67.5	382 of 1110	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	76.0	268 of 1114	75.9%	★★★★☆
2023	76.0	255 of 1114	77.1%	★★★★☆
2022	74.4	285 of 1109	74.3%	★★★★☆
2021	71.9	310 of 1103	71.9%	★★★★☆
2019	80.6	158 of 1105	85.7%	★★★★☆
2018	81.4	135 of 1097	87.7%	★★★★☆
2017	77.1	189 of 1099	82.8%	★★★★☆
2016	76.0	208 of 1096	81.0%	★★★★☆
2015	75.8	207 of 1100	81.2%	★★★★☆
2014	78.4	172 of 1110	84.5%	★★★★☆
2013	64.1	395 of 1120	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2012	30.8	930 of 1117	16.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	52.1	598 of 1117	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	48.8	668 of 1113	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2009	46.3	676 of 1082	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2008	52.7	569 of 1081	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	70.9	255 of 1083	76.5%	★★★★☆
2006	62.1	405 of 1071	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2005	47.7	618 of 1062	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	41.3	388 of 591	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	58.4	245 of 579	57.7%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2024	67.4	107 of 355	69.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	54.1	547 of 1100	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	65.7	382 of 1096	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	82.1	153 of 1098	86.1%	★★★★☆
2023	77.0	228 of 1100	79.3%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	65.6	194 of 619	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	81.4	80 of 606	86.8%	★★★★☆
2024	65.4	189 of 580	67.4%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	54.4	493 of 1040	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	67.9	275 of 1046	73.7%	★★★★☆
2024	73.4	210 of 1036	79.7%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	52.3	575 of 1099	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	65.4	392 of 1093	64.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	63.9	419 of 1101	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.2	300 of 1093	72.6%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	59.5	84 of 206	59.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	39.5	133 of 192	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	52.7	111 of 195	43.1%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	54.3	159 of 306	48.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	77.4	47 of 245	80.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2026	52.1	495 of 974	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.5	516 of 973	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	71.8	240 of 979	75.5%	★★★★☆
2023	65.1	340 of 984	65.4%	★★★☆☆

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 (2024)70th percentile-6 vs school

Hispanic (2026)69th percentile+20 vs school

Military Connected (2026)59th percentile+10 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)53rd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2026)50th percentile~ school

White (2026)49th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)48th percentile~ school

Male (2026)48th percentile~ school

African American (2026)34th percentile-15 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics77%+3 vs state

English Reading75%+4 vs state

VA Studies70%-4 vs state

Science59%-10 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, May 28, 2022

My wife and I sent both of our kids to KES in the past year. Overall we had an OK experience with the school, up until a recent concert in which our daughter participated. The theme of the concert (described as an “informance” rather than a performance by the music teacher) was promoting world peace – who could be against that, right?

One of the songs the kids performed was Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” a song not about peace but about broken sexual relationships. To hear lyrics like “remember when I moved in you… and every breath we drew was hallelujah” from the mouths of elementary-age kids was awkward to say the least.

The culminating song of the concert was John Lennon’s “Imagine,” where our kids asked us to imagine a world with “no countries,” “no possessions” and “no religion.” In other words, imagine a world with no Muslims, no Christians, no Jews, no United States of America—wouldn’t that be wonderful? Nevermind that efforts to create a world with no countries, possessions or religion resulted in over 100 million deaths and unspeakable atrocities in the 20th century alone.

When I reached out to the principal to share my concerns, she responded that it was not the school’s intention to promote Marxism or utopianism. Perhaps, but this song selection shows poor judgment and lack of critical thinking on the part of the music teacher and school leadership.

Please don’t misunderstand me: as a university professor, I believe in examining and evaluating diverse perspectives I do not believe in censorship. This is not "the marketplace of ideas." This is a school using taxpayer money to promote bigoted, foolish and historically disastrous ideas and put them in the mouths of impressionable children. Moreover, if the leadership of this school exhibits such a lack of critical thinking, promoting naïve utopianism without stopping to think about its obvious implications, how can we as parents have any confidence that our children will learn how to think critically? Close Quote

Schools Near Kempsville 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 (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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 5th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Kempsville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	570 Kempsville Rd	Virginia Beach	23464	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-2720	498	37	13.5	37.6%	258 (51.8%)	76 (15.3%)	76 (15.3%)	21 (4.2%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	59 (11.8%)	54.4	567^th of 1111 public elementary schools	49.0%		67.5	382^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	65.6%	185	81.8	74.2	74.4	58.9	74.4	78.5	73.3	70.1	$16,164	$1,283	$14,881
Providence Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4968 Providence Rd	Virginia Beach	23464	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-3520	547	36	15.1	40.6%	244 (44.6%)	114 (20.8%)	73 (13.3%)	26 (4.8%)	3 (0.5%)	3 (0.5%)	84 (15.4%)	69.7	354^th of 1111 public elementary schools	68.1%		70.4	349^th of 1110 public elementary schools	68.6%	5	83.0	78.0	81.7	75.3	76.6	83.5	74.2	84.6	$16,391	$806	$15,585
Kempsville Meadows Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	736 Edwin Dr	Virginia Beach	23462	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-2760	438	37	11.7	43.8%	165 (37.7%)	135 (30.8%)	54 (12.3%)	12 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	70 (16.0%)	43.7	694^th of 1111 public elementary schools	37.5%		45.3	665^th of 1110 public elementary schools	40.1%	29	57.9	67.7	71.7	60.0	64.9	72.3	76.7	78.0	$17,394	$1,511	$15,883
Fairfield Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5428 Providence Rd	Virginia Beach	23464	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-2480	478	30	15.7	39.3%	218 (45.6%)	85 (17.8%)	80 (16.7%)	38 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	54 (11.3%)	55.7	543^rd of 1111 public elementary schools	51.1%		69	366^th of 1110 public elementary schools	67.0%	177	77.3	84.3	69.2	62.8	77.3	80.7	73.1	62.8	$15,794	$684	$15,109
Point O' View Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5400 Parliament Dr	Virginia Beach	23462	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 648-3440	692	54	12.8	—	119 (17.2%)	270 (39.0%)	204 (29.5%)	21 (3.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	73 (10.5%)	13.6	998^th of 1111 public elementary schools	10.2%		18	949^th of 1110 public elementary schools	14.5%	49	62.5	53.4	46.8	45.4	56.2	65.4	46.8	43.5	$16,808	$2,151	$14,657
Arrowhead Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5549 Susquehanna Dr	Virginia Beach	23462	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-2040	500	37	13.4	68.4%	223 (44.6%)	133 (26.6%)	79 (15.8%)	10 (2.0%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	52 (10.4%)	67.6	379^th of 1111 public elementary schools	65.9%		60.3	473^rd of 1110 public elementary schools	57.4%	94	73.9	74.7	80.3	75.3	76.5	85.9	78.1	85.2	$16,175	$1,701	$14,474
Indian Lakes Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1240 Homestead Dr	Virginia Beach	23464	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-2680	516	39	13.1	39.5%	226 (43.8%)	114 (22.1%)	83 (16.1%)	22 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	67 (13.0%)	57.4	514^th of 1111 public elementary schools	53.7%		58.5	497^th of 1110 public elementary schools	55.2%	17	66.7	65.7	85.9	75.6	70.2	68.1	80.5	82.9	$16,087	$1,075	$15,012
Woodstock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6016 Providence Rd	Virginia Beach	23464	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-4200	689	46	15.1	68.4%	287 (41.7%)	202 (29.3%)	89 (12.9%)	37 (5.4%)	3 (0.4%)	4 (0.6%)	67 (9.7%)	49.7	613^th of 1111 public elementary schools	44.8%		66.7	395^th of 1110 public elementary schools	64.4%	218	64.9	81.5	68.1	65.6	65.7	81.5	79.8	68.1	$14,564	$843	$13,721
White Oaks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	960 Windsor Oaks Blvd	Virginia Beach	23462	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(757) 648-4040	653	51	12.7	54.5%	207 (31.7%)	172 (26.3%)	140 (21.4%)	34 (5.2%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.8%)	93 (14.2%)	46.3	654^th of 1111 public elementary schools	41.1%		56.2	531^st of 1110 public elementary schools	52.2%	123	70.9	63.5	76.3	66.0	59.2	70.8	78.4	75.6	$15,456	$995	$14,461
Parkway Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4180 O'Hare Dr	Virginia Beach	23453	Virginia Beach city	Virginia Beach City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(757) 648-3280	465	40	11.5	85.2%	77 (16.6%)	225 (48.4%)	66 (14.2%)	31 (6.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	64 (13.8%)	34	804^th of 1111 public elementary schools	27.6%		34.4	781^st of 1110 public elementary schools	29.6%	23	62.5	56.0	68.3	65.1	62.5	64.3	73.0	69.4	$19,619	$2,947	$16,672

Frequently Asked Questions about Kempsville Elementary

How many students attend Kempsville Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 498 students attended Kempsville Elementary.

Is Kempsville Elementary a good school?

Kempsville Elementary ranks 567^th of 1111 Virginia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Kempsville Elementary attend?

Students who attend Kempsville Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Kempsville Middle
High : Kempsville High

What is the racial makeup of Kempsville Elementary?

Students at Kempsville Elementary are 52% White, 15% African American, 15% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 1% Pacific Islander.

What district is Kempsville Elementary in?

Virginia Beach City Public Schools

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Latest Virginia data All new data »

2024–25 school spending dataNewOct 12, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 12, 2026

2025–26 SOL test scoresAug 25, 2026

2021–22 school spending dataFeb 16, 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.