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)
370042503458	501	The Experiential School of Greensboro	Public, Charter	K-8	301 S Church St	Greensboro	27401	Guilford County	The Experiential School of Greensboro	Yes	No	No	No	(336) 890-8374	339	24	13.9		125 (36.9%)	139 (41.0%)	32 (9.4%)	3 (0.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (11.2%)								38.5	37.8	483	18
370058000230	502	Happy Valley Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	1350 Yadkin River Road	Lenoir	28645	Caldwell County	Caldwell County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 754-3496	222	16	13.9	71.6%	204 (91.9%)	5 (2.3%)	3 (1.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.6%)	$10,168			$1,178			$8,990	38.4	25.8	602	100
370037203324	503	A.C.E. Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	7807 Caldwell Road	Harrisburg	28075	Cabarrus County	A.C.E. Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 456-7153	419	25	16.9	58.9%	9 (2.1%)	317 (75.7%)	62 (14.8%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (6.4%)								38.4	36.7	493	10
370297001239	504	McClintock Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1925 Rama Rd	Charlotte	28212	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(980) 343-6425	1,079	63	17.2	99.1%	119 (11.0%)	417 (38.6%)	452 (41.9%)	51 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (3.7%)	$8,800			$1,014			$7,786	38	33.2	528	24
370180000741	505	G. C. Hawley Middle	Public	6-8	305 East Wilton Avenue	Creedmoor	27522	Granville County	Granville County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 528-2313	486	23	21.4	59.1%	235 (48.4%)	129 (26.5%)	96 (19.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.9%)	$8,177			$434			$7,743	37.9	36.7	494	11
370240003496	506	Jones Senior High School	Public	6-12	1378 Hwy 58 South	Trenton	28585	Jones County	Jones County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 448-2451	557	44	12.6	99.5%	243 (43.6%)	183 (32.9%)	84 (15.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (8.4%)								37.9	39.9	463	43
370297001232	507	Kennedy Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	4000 Gallant Ln	Charlotte	28273	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(980) 343-5540	923	53	17.4	45.3%	78 (8.5%)	383 (41.5%)	367 (39.8%)	65 (7.0%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	28 (3.0%)	$8,305			$735			$7,571	37.8	34.5	517	10
370225000970	508	West Hoke Middle	Public	6-8	200 Nc 211 W	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-3411	576	42	13.7	99.5%	80 (13.9%)	243 (42.2%)	130 (22.6%)	6 (1.0%)	61 (10.6%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (9.7%)	$10,848			$1,941			$8,907	37.8	45	414	94
370459002650	509	Columbia Middle	Public	6-8	920 Main Street	Columbia	27925	Tyrrell County	Tyrrell County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 796-0369	111	8	14.5	97.3%	35 (31.5%)	35 (31.5%)	31 (27.9%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.2%)	$13,061			$1,221			$11,840	37.6	32.9	530	21
370012302597	510	KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	320 Pleasant Hill Road	Gaston	27832	Northampton County	KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 308-6932	1,286	69	18.6	97.7%	81 (6.3%)	1,033 (80.3%)	85 (6.6%)	11 (0.9%)	8 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (5.2%)								37.6	32.9	529	19

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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:

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

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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.