Enrollment
680
Virginia · 2024-25 NCES data
2024-25 NCES data Other / mixed grade configuration NCES 510126000442
Cardinal Forest Elementary — Springfield, VA
Federal NCES profile for Cardinal Forest Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators — Resource Investment Index 47/100.
👥 Class size 41
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 9
📋 Attendance 66
How this works: Each indicator above is scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC data, then averaged into the Resource Investment Index. This measures resource allocation — staffing, programs, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes. Full methodology →
School address
District: Fairfax County Public Schools · Virginia
Public location data per NCES (National Center for Education Statistics) Common Core of Data. Verify the school's current address on the NCES CCD record.
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
14.7:1
vs 14:1 Virginia avg
+5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
23.4%
vs 59.9% Virginia avg
-61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Cardinal Forest Elementary compares with Virginia and U.S. medians
The federal record — no proprietary index, no editorial formula.
PlainSchools publishes the actual federal measurements — enrollment, staffing, demographics, discipline, and finance — straight from the NCES Common Core of Data, CRDC, and F-33 surveys. No composite rating, no opinion-based score on top. You get the same raw numbers researchers and policymakers use, with benchmarks, spending context, and equity indicators computed from the same federal datasets. Full methodology linked below.
What this school's NCES data tells you
Cardinal Forest Elementary reports 680 enrolled students to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) alongside 43.0 full-time-equivalent teachers, producing a 14.7:1 student-teacher ratio. That figure sits 5% above the Virginia state mean of 14:1, signalling larger average class loads than peers in the same state. Against the national 2024-25 average of 15.9:1, it is 8% lower, a useful calibration for families comparing districts across state lines.
Title I and federal lunch eligibility offer another window into the student body: 23.4% of pupils qualify for free meals, a proxy for household income that federal programs use to direct funding. The free-lunch share is 61% below the Virginia average and 55% below the national baseline. Counselor coverage works out to roughly 453 students per counselor, above the ASCA-recommended ceiling of 250:1. Chronic absenteeism — missing 10% or more of school days — stands at 13.7% according to the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
On the finance side, the surrounding Fairfax County Public Schools spends $19,816 per pupil district-wide, above the Virginia average of $16,211 and above the national average of $19,490. Revenue comes 66.6% from local sources (property taxes), 23.3% from the state, and 10.1% from federal programs per the NCES F-33 finance survey. Taken together, these measurements produce a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D), calculated from 4 distinct NCES and CRDC indicators measuring resource allocation rather than academic outcomes.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Cardinal Forest Elementary compares
Cross-validating school-level NCES values against Virginia state and U.S. national means lets readers see whether this school is an outlier or in line with peers.
| Metric | This school | vs Virginia | Virginia avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 14.7:1 | ▲ 5% | 14:1 | 15.9:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 23.4% | ▼ 61% | 59.9% | 51.8% |
| Enrollment | 680 | top 66% | — | — |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
What the federal data reveals about equity at this school
Federal measurements — not ratings — surface the resource and opportunity picture. Below are the indicators that researchers, civil-rights monitors, and funding formulas use to assess equity.
Economic need
23.4%
free-lunch eligible
— 61% below the Virginia average of 59.9%
Below the 40% Title I threshold — federal aid targets individual qualifying students rather than schoolwide programs.
Staffing depth
14.7:1
students per teacher
— 5% above state mean
Top 65% in Virginia — lower ratio than 35% of state schools
Below the 15:1 benchmark — typical of schools with smaller class sizes and more individualized attention.
Engagement
13.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
Between 10–20% — above the pre-pandemic baseline of ~15% nationally but within the current U.S. range.
Funding equity
$19,816
per pupil, district-wide
— above Virginia avg of $16,211
Above the U.S. public-school average, reflecting higher local or state investment per enrolled student.
Support staff
Counselors1.5 FTE
Per 453 students — the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
4
in-school suspensions + 2 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.6 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.9 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
Enrollment 680 Top 66% in Virginia — larger than 34% of 1,869 state schools
Teachers (FTE) 43.0
Students per teacher 14.7:1 +5% vs state
Free-lunch eligible 23.4% -61% vs state
NCES ID 510126000442
Student demographics
White 43.1%
Hispanic or Latino 23.7%
Asian 15.3%
African American 11.8%
Two or More 6.0%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: White at 43.1% of enrollment.
Programs & staff
Gifted & talented Yes
Counselors (FTE) 1.5
Students per counselor 453:1
Discipline & special education
Chronically absent 13.7%
In-school suspensions 4
Out-of-school suspensions 2
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Fairfax County Public Schools, which includes Cardinal Forest Elementary.
$19,816
Per student
+22%
vs Virginia
Avg $16,211
+2%
vs U.S.
Avg $19,490
Revenue mix
Local 66.6%
State 23.3%
Federal 10.1%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 4,411
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Enrollment
- 3,710
- Students per teacher
- 16.6:1
- Enrollment
- 3,256
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Enrollment
- 2,937
- Students per teacher
- 16.2:1
- Enrollment
- 2,799
- Students per teacher
- 17.6:1
Similar other schools in Springfield
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Sangster Elementary
Standard public school
928 students 17.8:1 students per teacher
Orange Hunt Elementary
Standard public school
874 students 16.1:1 students per teacher
Keene Mill Elementary
Standard public school
813 students 17.5:1 students per teacher
Hunt Valley Elementary
Standard public school
735 students 15.6:1 students per teacher
Kings Park Elementary
Standard public school
653 students 14.3:1 students per teacher
Saratoga Elementary
Standard public school
612 students 12.7:1 students per teacher
Educator & family resources
In-depth guides on understanding NCES data, school choice, and education funding.
Understanding NCES data
How CCD, CRDC and EDFacts feed every public-school number you see.
Choose a school district
Eight signals that matter more than the overall ranking number.
How schools are funded
Title I, F-33, state aid formulas and what per-pupil spending really means.
Chronic absenteeism
Why missing 10% of school matters and how it varies by district.
Magnet vs charter vs traditional
Three school types, three funding models, three sets of trade-offs.
School discipline data
What CRDC suspension and expulsion records do and don't reveal.
Frequently asked questions about Cardinal Forest Elementary
How many students attend Cardinal Forest Elementary?
Cardinal Forest Elementary has 680 students enrolled. It is a other school in Springfield, VA.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cardinal Forest Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Cardinal Forest Elementary is 14.7:1, which is 5% higher than the Virginia average of 14:1 and 8% lower than the national average of 15.9:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Cardinal Forest Elementary?
23.4% of students at Cardinal Forest Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Virginia average of 59.9%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Cardinal Forest Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Cardinal Forest Elementary is White at 43.1%. The school serves a diverse student body in Springfield, VA.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Cardinal Forest Elementary?
Cardinal Forest Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 47/100 (D) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. This index measures federal resource allocation — staffing levels, program availability, and support services — not standardized test scores or academic outcomes.