Burton Elementary vs Spring Valley Elementary

Burton Elementary and Spring Valley Elementary sit 4.4 miles apart in Durham, North Carolina, but occupy very different positions in the state rankings. Burton Elementary holds an overall rating of 9.4/10 and ranks #13 of 2,648 North Carolina schools — placing it in the top 1% statewide. Spring Valley Elementary earns an 8.7/10 and ranks #168, a strong result in its own right but a full 155 positions and 0.7 rating points behind its crosstown peer.

The sharpest divergence between the two schools is academic proficiency. Burton Elementary scores 8.7/10 on academics versus Spring Valley Elementary's 6.3/10 — a 2.4-point gap that represents a meaningful difference in the share of students testing at grade level. That said, growth tells a different story entirely: both Burton Elementary and Spring Valley Elementary post identical growth scores of 9.8/10, placing each school near the top of the state on how much students improve year over year, regardless of where they start.

Burton Elementary is the smaller campus, enrolling 294 students compared to Spring Valley Elementary's 544. The student-teacher ratio reinforces that size difference: Burton Elementary runs 9.5 students per teacher versus 13.0 at Spring Valley Elementary, a gap of 3.5 students per teacher that translates to more individualized attention in the classroom. Free and reduced lunch eligibility differs sharply as well — 99% at Burton Elementary versus 58% at Spring Valley Elementary — reflecting distinct family income profiles across the two communities, even within the same city.

Both schools serve grades PK through 5, so families with children in that range will find the same grade span at either campus. The structural difference is school size and classroom density: Burton Elementary's smaller enrollment and lower student-teacher ratio give it an intimate setting, while Spring Valley Elementary operates at nearly twice the enrollment with a more typical staffing model for a mid-size elementary.