Best Middle Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina middle 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 793)	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)
370333003210	221	Holly Shelter Middle	Public	6-8	3921 Roger Haynes Dr	Castle Hayne	28429	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 602-4046	858	55	15.5	99.7%	415 (48.4%)	198 (23.1%)	175 (20.4%)	19 (2.2%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	46 (5.4%)	$10,215			$1,188			$9,026	68.2	70.8	200	21
370043803459	222	Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County	Public, Charter	6-12	283 Harvey Faulk Road	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 842-5411	547	40	13.8		307 (56.1%)	70 (12.8%)	103 (18.8%)	6 (1.1%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (10.4%)								68.1	68.8	215	7
370333001372	223	Emma B Trask Middle	Public	6-8	2900 N College Rd	Wilmington	28405	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 350-2142	673	48	14.1	99.6%	379 (56.3%)	81 (12.0%)	137 (20.4%)	17 (2.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (8.5%)	$9,683			$828			$8,854	67.9	65.3	240	17
370042000131	224	Waccamaw	Public	K-8	5901 Waccamaw School Road NW	Ash	28420	Brunswick County	Brunswick County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 756-5560	430	30	14.3	99.3%	258 (60.0%)	65 (15.1%)	83 (19.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (4.9%)	$10,391			$955			$9,435	67.8	72	188	36
370001203668	225	Pitt County Virtual	Public, Alternative	K-12	1717 West 5th Street	Greenville	27834	Pitt County	Pitt County Schools	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(252) 830-4200	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								67.7			(n/a)
370044103465	226	Jackson Day School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1209 Little Rock Rd	Charlotte	28214	Mecklenburg County	Jackson Day School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 391-5516	817	50	16.2		359 (43.9%)	251 (30.7%)	87 (10.6%)	27 (3.3%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	91 (11.1%)								67.6	73.9	173	53
370011102548	227	Millennium Charter Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	500 Old Springs Rd	Mount Airy	27030	Surry County	Millennium Charter Academy	Yes	No	No	No	(336) 789-7570	687	47	14.4		568 (82.7%)	20 (2.9%)	71 (10.3%)	12 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.2%)								67.6	71.6	191	36
370495002072	228	Central Wilkes Middle School	Public	6-8	3541 South NC Hwy 16	Moravian Falls	28654	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 903-4180	576	36	15.8	99.3%	317 (55.0%)	45 (7.8%)	144 (25.0%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (10.9%)	$9,136			$1,152			$7,984	67.4	56.6	318	90
370003002566	229	Hawfields Middle	Public	6-8	1951 S Nc 119	Mebane	27302	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 563-5303	706	40	17.4	55.5%	290 (41.1%)	149 (21.1%)	172 (24.4%)	20 (2.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (10.5%)	$8,568			$559			$8,009	67.2	76	163	66
370204000897	230	Canton Middle	Public	6-8	60 Penland St	Canton	28716	Haywood County	Haywood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 646-3467	449	33	13.5	99.3%	377 (84.0%)	8 (1.8%)	44 (9.8%)	4 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.3%)	$9,141			$940			$8,202	67.1	66.2	234	4

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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.