Best Middle Schools in North Carolina

A teacher high-fives a student in a classroom.

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.

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 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)
370039103375	421	Charlotte Lab School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2045 Suttle Avenue	Charlotte	28208	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte Lab School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 464-3830	991	64	15.4	33.7%	346 (34.9%)	401 (40.5%)	140 (14.1%)	14 (1.4%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	87 (8.8%)								47.4	47.7	398	23
370042003514	422	Town Creek Middle	Public	5-8	6370 Lake Park Drive SE	Bolivia	28479	Brunswick County	Brunswick County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 756-5320	500	30	16.4	99.4%	348 (69.6%)	65 (13.0%)	49 (9.8%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	30 (6.0%)								47	40.8	452	30
370331000383	423	H J MacDonald Middle	Public	6-8	3127 Elizabeth Avenue	New Bern	28562	Craven County	Craven County Board of Education	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 514-6450	712	37	19.4	99.6%	244 (34.3%)	247 (34.7%)	82 (11.5%)	90 (12.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (6.7%)	$8,411			$928			$7,483	46.9	45.5	409	14
370387001551	424	Hamlet Middle	Public	6-8	1406 McDonald Ave	Hamlet	28345	Richmond County	Richmond County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 582-7903	425	28	15.3	99.3%	169 (39.8%)	167 (39.3%)	45 (10.6%)	3 (0.7%)	16 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.9%)	$8,862			$1,556			$7,306	46.6	50.5	373	51
370472002488	425	Dillard Drive Middle	Public	6-8	5200 Dillard Drive	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 233-4228	970	66	14.8	50.4%	390 (40.2%)	238 (24.5%)	252 (26.0%)	42 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (4.8%)	$8,594			$467			$8,126	46.6	41.2	449	24
370387001549	426	Ellerbe Middle	Public	6-8	128 W Ballard Street	Ellerbe	28338	Richmond County	Richmond County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 582-7925	212	15	13.9	98.6%	78 (36.8%)	52 (24.5%)	55 (25.9%)	5 (2.4%)	5 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.0%)	$10,518			$2,016			$8,502	46.4	41.8	440	14
370483001934	427	Bethel Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	138 Bethel School Rd	Sugar Grove	28679	Watauga County	Watauga County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 297-2240	134	18	7.5	53.0%	120 (89.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.0%)	$14,795			$1,301			$13,494	46.3	62.8	262	165
370001102127	428	R Max Abbott Middle	Public	6-8	590 Winding Creek Road	Fayetteville	28305	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 323-2201	759	46	16.4	98.7%	209 (27.5%)	336 (44.3%)	106 (14.0%)	24 (3.2%)	8 (1.1%)	2 (0.3%)	74 (9.7%)	$9,660			$1,186			$8,474	46.3	47.4	400	28
370005502376	429	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%)								45.8	29.9	558	129
370001201505	430	Stokes	Public	PK, KG-8	2683 NC 903 North	Stokes	27884	Pitt County	Pitt County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 752-6907	238	18	13.6	98.7%	136 (57.1%)	58 (24.4%)	31 (13.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.0%)	$13,051			$2,212			$10,840	45.8	42.5	432	2

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 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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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.