- Address
- 4340 Beaty Road, Gastonia, NC 28056
Open in Maps → - Phone
- (704) 866-6075
- Grades served
- PK-5
- NCES school ID
- 370162002156
School calendar
W A Bess Elementary School's own events for the year — school events, holidays, breaks and teacher workdays — with a printable PDF and a calendar file you can subscribe to.
View the calendar →Attendance zone
Gaston County SchoolsThe area Gaston County Schools assigns to W A Bess Elementary School. Zones change, and addresses near a boundary are often decided case by case - confirm with the district before making plans.
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Zone boundary published by Gaston County Schools as “AdminBnds/GastonCountySchoolDistricts”, last updated 2026-09-12.
How W A Bess Elementary School compares
Its 2024–25 performance score of 70 against comparable schools. Percentile is the share of that group scoring lower.
Chronic absence is lower here than at 81% of the 2,482 North Carolina schools reporting it.
Performance score since 2014
Score down 8 points since 2014 (78 → 70). Met or exceeded expected growth in 9 of 10 years, exceeding it in 5. No grades were issued for 2020 or 2021.
| Year | Score | Grade | Growth | Achievement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 70 | B | Met | 67.1 |
| 2024 | 61 | C | Not Met | 59.6 |
| 2023 | 68 | C | Met | 65.3 |
| 2022 | 70 | B | Exceeded | 65.6 |
| 2019 | 81 | B | Exceeded | 77.5 |
| 2018 | 79 | B | Exceeded | 76.4 |
| 2017 | 76 | B | Met | 74 |
| 2016 | 74 | B | Met | 71 |
| 2015 | 76 | B | Exceeded | 72 |
| 2014 | 78 | B | Exceeded | 73 |
Rankings and trends are calculated by Back To School NC from NC DPI report card results; NC DPI publishes each school's own figures but not its standing among peers. See Gaston County Schools for district totals.
Student Demographics
Gender Distribution
Total Students: 674Student counts for W A Bess Elementary School, 2024-2025, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Percentages are of 674 students and may not total 100% because of rounding.
Students
Student Population
Students Counted: 725Student indicators for W A Bess Elementary School, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Attendance is out of the 725 students DPI counted. A student is chronically absent after missing 10% or more of the days enrolled; the other measures overlap it and each other.
Teachers
Licensing & Certification
Total Teachers: 31.9 FTETeacher figures for W A Bess Elementary School, 2024-2025, from the North Carolina School Report Cards. Counts are full-time equivalents, not headcount. Licensing and certification percentages are each out of 31.9 FTE.
NC School Report Card
2024-2025Student performance by subject
| Subject | Grade-level proficient | Career & college ready |
|---|---|---|
| Science (grades 5 & 8) | 70.2% | 34.6% |
| Mathematics (grades 3–8) | 69.2% | 42.7% |
| Reading (grades 3–8) | 59.5% | 34.5% |
Grade-level proficient is levels 3–5; career and college ready is the higher bar of levels 4–5.
Achievement levels
| Subject | Not Proficient | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics (grades 3–8) | 30.8% | 26.5% | 26.2% | 16.5% |
| Reading (grades 3–8) | 40.5% | 25.1% | 22.2% | 12.3% |
| Science (grades 5 & 8) | 29.8% | 35.6% | 27.9% | 6.7% |
Academic growth
| Measure | Status | Growth index | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Meets Expected Growth | 1.18 | 82.9 |
Teachers
Reported as full-time-equivalent staff, so figures carry decimals.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Total teachers | 31.87 |
| Experienced teachers | 26.34 (83%) |
| Beginning teachers | 5.53 (17%) |
| Holding a standard license | 31.87 (100%) |
| Emergency or provisional licenses | 0 (0%) |
| National Board certified | 5 |
Students
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Chronically absent (98 of 725) | 13.5% |
| Economically disadvantaged | 38.6% |
| English learners making progress (of 58) | 55.2% |
School environment
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Devices per student | 0.6 |
| Library books per student | 16.43 |
| Students have device access | Yes |
| Devices may go home | Yes |
| Wireless access points per classroom | 1.16 |
Federal & state designations
| Designation | Applies |
|---|---|
| Low-performing school | No |
| Recurring low-performing | No |
| CSI — low performing | No |
| CSI — low graduation rate | No |
| TSI — at risk | Yes |
| TSI — consistently underperforming | No |
CSI is Comprehensive Support and Improvement; TSI is Targeted Support and Improvement, both federal ESSA categories.
Download this report card
W A Bess Elementary School's 2024-2025 report card as an interactive PDF — bookmarked sections, donut and bar charts for performance, attendance and achievement levels, and the NC DPI and NCES sources cited with working links.
Other elementary schools in this district
All 56 schools →Belmont Central Elementary
Bessemer City Central Elem
Bessemer City Primary
Brookside Elementary
Carr Elementary
Catawba Heights Elementary
Enrollment and staffing come from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD), U.S. Department of Education for 2024-2025; performance, attendance and economic-need figures are the state's NC School Report Card for the same year. Contact the school to confirm current details.