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)
370126000472	1351	Lakewood Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2520 Vesson Avenue	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 560-3939	385	36	10.8	99.2%	47 (12.2%)	105 (27.3%)	183 (47.5%)	18 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (8.3%)	$14,031			$1,898			$12,133	15.7	14.5	1343	8
370201000883	1352	Dunn Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	800 W Harnett St	Dunn	28334	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 892-0126	799	62	12.8	99.0%	171 (21.4%)	364 (45.6%)	205 (25.7%)	13 (1.6%)	6 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	38 (4.8%)	$10,796			$1,629			$9,166	15.7	13.2	1366	14
370297000652	1353	University Meadows Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1600 Pavilion Blvd	Charlotte	28262	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(980) 343-3685	757	42	17.8	99.6%	34 (4.5%)	447 (59.0%)	203 (26.8%)	41 (5.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (4.0%)	$10,305			$1,460			$8,845	15.6	11.6	1394	41
370003000201	1354	Hillcrest Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1714 W Davis Street	Burlington	27215	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 570-6120	582	42	13.9	99.5%	70 (12.0%)	250 (43.0%)	195 (33.5%)	6 (1.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (10.0%)	$9,901			$1,732			$8,169	15.6	12.1	1385	31
370297000868	1355	David Cox Road Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4215 David Cox Rd	Charlotte	28269	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(980) 343-6540	697	36	19.4	98.7%	33 (4.7%)	493 (70.7%)	124 (17.8%)	15 (2.2%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	30 (4.3%)	$9,445			$1,098			$8,347	15.5	16.3	1320	35
370126000535	1356	Hillandale Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2730 Hillandale Road	Durham	27705	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 560-3924	537	42	12.7	66.9%	100 (18.6%)	216 (40.2%)	172 (32.0%)	13 (2.4%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	33 (6.1%)	$11,529			$1,010			$10,519	15.5	26.1	1153	203
370162000683	1357	Gardner Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	738 Armstrong Park Road	Gastonia	28054	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 866-6082	521	39	13.5	99.4%	169 (32.4%)	171 (32.8%)	140 (26.9%)	8 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (6.1%)	$9,619			$1,304			$8,314	15.4	21.3	1242	115
370357001462	1358	C.F. Pope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	400 North Wright Street	Burgaw	28425	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 259-0145	532	40	13.4	84.0%	195 (36.7%)	186 (35.0%)	109 (20.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	38 (7.1%)	$9,705			$1,200			$8,505	15.3	26.4	1149	209
370058000226	1359	Gamewell Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2904 Morganton Boulevard	Lenoir	28645	Caldwell County	Caldwell County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 758-1193	495	32	15.3	86.3%	352 (71.1%)	48 (9.7%)	42 (8.5%)	4 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (9.9%)	$9,383			$1,070			$8,312	15.2	21	1244	115
370288001160	1360	South Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	21230 NC Hwy 903	Robersonville	27871	Martin County	Martin County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 795-3910	316	18	17.2	99.1%	60 (19.0%)	190 (60.1%)	52 (16.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.4%)	$12,188			$1,543			$10,645	15.2	19.1	1270	90

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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:

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

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.