Best Elementary Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish North Carolina test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the EOG test scores by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 1505)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
370005502376	831	Kestrel Heights School	Public, Charter	K-8	4700 South Alston Ave.	Durham	27713	Durham County	Kestrel Heights School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 484-1300	424	29	14.3	50.9%	43 (10.1%)	243 (57.3%)	76 (17.9%)	25 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.7%)								45.2	25.5	1163	332
370237001016	832	Four Oaks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	180 Hatcher St	Four Oaks	27524	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 963-2165	1,041	70	14.8	68.6%	559 (53.7%)	120 (11.5%)	304 (29.2%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (5.3%)	$10,186			$1,319			$8,867	45.2	55.5	661	171
370399002227	833	Stoneville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	203 Stone St	Stoneville	27048	Rockingham County	Rockingham County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 445-1999	425	31	13.7	72.7%	274 (64.5%)	34 (8.0%)	73 (17.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (9.9%)	$10,274			$1,658			$8,617	45.1	39.3	947	114
370201002995	834	Overhills Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2626 Ray Road	Spring Lake	28390	Cumberland County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 436-3545	930	65	14.2	52.9%	323 (34.7%)	297 (31.9%)	183 (19.7%)	11 (1.2%)	6 (0.6%)	6 (0.6%)	104 (11.2%)	$8,755			$1,118			$7,637	45	30.9	1074	240
370354001455	835	J C Sawyer Elementary	Public	K-5	1007 Park St	Elizabeth City	27909	Pasquotank County	Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 338-1012	368	26	14.1	99.2%	99 (26.9%)	204 (55.4%)	39 (10.6%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	20 (5.4%)	$10,349			$1,235			$9,114	44.9	19.8	1257	422
370309001327	836	Southern Pines Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	115 South Carlisle Street	Southern Pines	28987	Moore County	Moore County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 947-8077	612	42	14.4	53.4%	259 (42.3%)	222 (36.3%)	68 (11.1%)	7 (1.1%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (8.5%)	$10,663			$1,069			$9,594	44.9	46.9	815	21
370001202140	837	Elmhurst Elementary	Public	K-5	1815 W Berkley Rd	Greenville	27858	Pitt County	Pitt County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 756-0180	460	30	15.1	58.5%	177 (38.5%)	237 (51.5%)	17 (3.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (5.9%)	$10,442			$1,421			$9,021	44.9	35.7	995	158
370297001278	838	Steele Creek Elementary	Public	K-5	4100 Gallant Ln	Charlotte	28273	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	No	(980) 343-3810	442	31	14	54.5%	21 (4.8%)	149 (33.7%)	228 (51.6%)	27 (6.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (3.2%)	$9,484			$699			$8,785	44.8	36.1	990	152
370009000034	839	Sugar Loaf Elementary	Public	K-5	3600 NC Hwy 16N	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 632-2192	206	13	15.8	55.8%	184 (89.3%)	4 (1.9%)	6 (2.9%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.9%)	$10,272			$854			$9,417	44.8	76.1	297	542
370045000140	840	Candler Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	121 Candler School Road	Candler	28715	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 670-5018	361	28	12.9	72.3%	255 (70.6%)	13 (3.6%)	83 (23.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.2%)	$11,201			$1,431			$9,770	44.7	52.7	724	116

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NC student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Gifted and Talented Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on EOG Mathematics, EOG Reading, EOG Science test scores released by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on September 4, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.