Best High Schools in North Carolina

A teacher and two students give a thumbs-up in a classroom.

Find the best North Carolina high 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 EOC test scores by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 640)	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)
370001203359	31	PCS Early College High School	Public	9-12	2064 Warren Drive	Winterville	28590	Pitt County	Pitt County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 493-7821	322	15	22	99.1%	111 (34.5%)	114 (35.4%)	82 (25.5%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.7%)	$7,489			$876			$6,613	94.4	95.6	17	14
370502003097	32	Wilson Early College Academy	Public	9-12	902 Herring St	Wilson	27893	Wilson County	Wilson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 246-1418	245	12	20	42.9%	96 (39.2%)	88 (35.9%)	41 (16.7%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	15 (6.1%)	$6,572			$272			$6,300	94.3	93.7	42	10
370462001806	33	Central Academy of Technology and Arts	Public	9-12	600 Brewer Dr	Monroe	28112	Union County	Union County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 296-3088	821	52	15.9	15.8%	528 (64.3%)	76 (9.3%)	106 (12.9%)	75 (9.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (4.4%)	$9,519			$417			$9,102	94.3	94.3	36	3
370414003086	34	Sampson Early College High	Public	9-12	1801 Sunset Ave	Clinton	28329	Sampson County	Sampson County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 900-4046	233	10	23.3	98.7%	47 (20.2%)	20 (8.6%)	153 (65.7%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	9 (3.9%)	$7,255			$590			$6,666	94.2	94.3	35	1
370256002868	35	Lee Early College	Public	9-12	1105 Kelly Drive	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 888-4502	272	12	22.6	43.8%	90 (33.1%)	30 (11.0%)	122 (44.9%)	11 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (7.0%)	$5,908			$41			$5,867	94.1	94.9	29	6
370378002883	36	Randolph Early College High School	Public	9-12	629 Industrial Park Avenue	Asheboro	27205	Randolph County	Randolph County School System	No	No	No	No	(336) 625-1137	354	13	27.2	46.3%	201 (56.8%)	13 (3.7%)	111 (31.4%)	21 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.3%)	$5,706			$159			$5,547	94.1	94.1	37	1
370126002726	37	J D Clement Early College High School	Public	9-12	1801 Fayetteville Street	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2696	395	15	26.2	44.8%	14 (3.5%)	219 (55.4%)	133 (33.7%)	10 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	$8,162			$393			$7,769	94.1	89.7	73	36
370225002897	38	SandHoke Early College High	Public	9-12	1110 East Central Avenue	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 878-5806	446	21	21.2	99.3%	119 (26.7%)	127 (28.5%)	137 (30.7%)	7 (1.6%)	18 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (8.3%)	$6,937			$371			$6,566	94	92	51	13
370004902365	39	Sallie B Howard School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1004 Herring Avenue E	Wilson	27893	Wilson County	Sallie B Howard School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 293-4150	1,204	74	16.1	98.8%	29 (2.4%)	692 (57.5%)	434 (36.0%)	9 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (3.3%)								94	93.8	41	2
370001103228	40	Cumberland International Early College	Public	9-12	1200 Murchison Rd	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 226-6485	269	13	21.3	55.0%	33 (12.3%)	149 (55.4%)	50 (18.6%)	12 (4.5%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	23 (8.6%)	$7,428			$562			$6,866	94	92.9	45	5

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

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 EOC Biology, EOC English II, EOC Math I, EOC Math III 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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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

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.