Tar River Academy

Summary:

Tar River Academy is a small public high school in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, serving grades 9-12 and part of the Nash County Public Schools district, which is ranked 193 out of 243 districts in the state.

Tar River Academy consistently ranks among the lowest-performing high schools in North Carolina, with 93.26% of its predominantly African American (64.04%) student population coming from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The school's academic performance is significantly below the state and district averages, and it has a relatively low student-teacher ratio of 8.6, which may suggest challenges in attracting and retaining qualified teachers. In contrast, nearby schools like NRM Early College High School and CITI High School have higher academic achievement and more diverse student populations.

The analysis of Tar River Academy's data reveals a school that is struggling to provide a quality education to its predominantly low-income, African American student population. The school's consistently poor academic performance, high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, and stark contrast with nearby schools suggest that Tar River Academy may face significant challenges in addressing the educational needs of its students. Addressing these challenges will likely require a comprehensive, multi-faceted approach that addresses both academic and non-academic factors.


Detail:

Public 9-12

 906 Hammond Street
       Rocky Mount, NC  27804


(252) 451-2875

District: Nash County Public Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $22,339 Help


Student/teacher ratio:  7.2 Help
Number of students:  67

Racial breakdown:

African American:
61.2%
Hispanic:
20.9%
Two or more races:
10.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  95.5% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Tar River Academy is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2022 the calculated Average Standard Score was 22.47. (See more...)
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Compare Details Tar River Academy is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2022 the calculated Average Standard Score was 45.29. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details Tar River Academy is not ranked due for the most recent year due to insufficient test score data. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2023 the calculated Average Standard Score was 2.28. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Tar River Academy has the smallest high school student body size in the Nash County Public Schools District. Racial makeup is: African American (61.2%), Hispanic (20.9%), two or more races (10.4%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 95.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Tar River Academy is 7.2, which is the lowest among 7 high schools in the Nash County Public Schools District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Tar River Academy employs 9.2 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Tar River Academy is $22,339, which is the highest among 7 high schools in the Nash County Public Schools District!
Schooldigger Rankings:

Tar River Academy was not ranked this year due to insufficient test score data.

Nash County Public Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Nash County Public Schools 177th of 242 North Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Tar River Academy

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 22.47 1218th 1514 19.6%
See the entire list of North Carolina High School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 28.56 1062nd 1366 22.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 33.39 1004th 1458 31.1%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 18.04 1269th 1464 13.3%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 40.23 543rd 927 41.4%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Tar River Academy

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Rank History for all middle school students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 2.29 584th 598 2.3%
2007 6.95 574th 606 5.3%
2008 15.04 550th 620 11.3%
2009 0.83 620th 630 1.6%
2010 0.19 635th 640 0.8%
2011 0.14 646th 648 0.3%
2012 2.50 637th 662 3.8%
2013 5.94 643rd 673 4.5%
2015 2.42 690th 705 2.1%
2016 1.25 685th 692 1.0%
2022 45.29 421st 786 46.4%
See the entire list of North Carolina High School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 47.11 332nd 689 51.8%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 47.70 370th 733 49.5%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 42.37 432nd 748 42.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 47.47 244th 550 55.6%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for middle school White students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 34.00 451st 658 31.5%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Tar River Academy

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Rank History for all high school students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2006 7.05 406th 431 5.8%
2007 3.43 436th 453 3.8%
2008 4.09 449th 477 5.9%
2009 5.29 459th 490 6.3%
2010 1.78 483rd 499 3.2%
2011 10.52 447th 506 11.7%
2012 0.01 502nd 502 0.0%
2013 5.10 495th 505 2.0%
2015 2.06 518th 531 2.4%
2016 1.27 498th 507 1.8%
2023 2.28 621st 626 0.8%
See the entire list of North Carolina High School Rankings!

Rank History for high school Low Socio Economic Status students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 9.89 536th 544 1.5%
2023 4.01 596th 597 0.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for high school Male students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 2.12 601st 602 0.2%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for high school African American students at Tar River Academy

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked High Schools NC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2023 7.77 431st 434 0.7%
See the entire list of Best North Carolina High Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Tar River Academy Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 



Data source: North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction

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Enrollment information for Tar River Academy

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1995 19 39 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 58
1996 19 39 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 58
1997 18 30 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 48
1998 24 23 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 48
1999 19 22 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 42
2000 30 16 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 46
2001 10 25 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 35
2002 12 69 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 83
2003 12 69 1 1 0 n/a n/a 0 83
2004 6 50 0 1 1 n/a n/a 0 58
2005 14 50 1 2 0 n/a n/a 0 67
2006 8 55 0 0 1 n/a n/a 0 64
2007 5 67 0 2 1 n/a n/a 2 77
2008 13 67 1 1 0 n/a n/a 1 83
2009 8 56 0 3 1 n/a n/a 0 68
2010 12 78 1 3 1 n/a n/a 0 95
2011 15 69 0 2 0 0 9 0 95
2012 16 73 0 2 3 0 7 0 101
2013 9 81 0 3 0 0 7 0 100
2014 13 76 0 4 1 0 10 0 104
2015 17 83 0 5 1 0 9 0 115
2016 16 79 0 8 0 0 5 0 108
2017 5 57 0 9 0 0 5 0 76
2018 6 46 0 5 0 0 7 0 64
2019 5 57 0 5 1 0 3 0 71
2020 8 45 0 9 1 0 2 0 65
2021 6 50 0 3 0 0 3 0 62
2022 87 213 6 31 2 0 15 0 354
2023 10 57 0 15 0 0 7 0 89
2024 5 41 0 14 0 0 7 0 67

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Tar River Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1995 58 6.0 9.7 19
1996 58 6.0 9.7 19
1997 48 9.0 5.3 37.5
1998 48 8.0 6.0 29.2
1999 42 8.0 5.3 40.5
2000 46 8.0 5.8 41.3
2001 35 8.0 4.4 57.1
2002 83 8.0 10.4 0
2003 83 8.0 10.4 0
2004 58 12.0 4.8 94.8
2005 67 12.0 5.6 82.1
2006 64 12.0 5.3 95.3
2007 77 12.0 6.4 66.7
2008 83 8.0 10.4 63.4
2009 68 12.0 5.7 n/a
2010 95 12.0 7.9 80
2011 95 22.9 4.1 96.8
2012 101 19.5 5.1 82.2
2013 100 21.0 4.7 97
2014 104 20.0 5.2 95.2
2015 115 18.0 6.3 94.8
2016 108 18.0 6.0 98.1
2017 76 13.0 5.8 96.1
2018 64 9.5 6.7 95.3
2019 71 8.6 8.2 95.8
2020 65 9.5 6.7 95.4
2021 62 10.0 6.2 95.2
2022 354 23.0 15.3 56.8
2023 89 10.2 8.6 93.3
2024 67 9.2 7.2 95.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Tar River Academy

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1995 58 6.0 9.7 19
1996 58 6.0 9.7 19
1997 48 9.0 5.3 37.5
1998 48 8.0 6.0 29.2
1999 42 8.0 5.3 40.5
2000 46 8.0 5.8 41.3
2001 35 8.0 4.4 57.1
2002 83 8.0 10.4 0
2003 83 8.0 10.4 0
2004 58 12.0 4.8 94.8
2005 67 12.0 5.6 82.1
2006 64 12.0 5.3 95.3
2007 77 12.0 6.4 66.7
2008 83 8.0 10.4 63.4
2009 68 12.0 5.7 n/a
2010 95 12.0 7.9 80
2011 95 22.9 4.1 96.8
2012 101 19.5 5.1 82.2
2013 100 21.0 4.7 97
2014 104 20.0 5.2 95.2
2015 115 18.0 6.3 94.8
2016 108 18.0 6.0 98.1
2017 76 13.0 5.8 96.1
2018 64 9.5 6.7 95.3
2019 71 8.6 8.2 95.8
2020 65 9.5 6.7 95.4
2021 62 10.0 6.2 95.2
2022 354 23.0 15.3 56.8
2023 89 10.2 8.6 93.3
2024 67 9.2 7.2 95.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Tar River Academy

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $2,188 (9.8%) $20,151 (90.2%) $22,339

Data source: North Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Tar River Academy

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
7th Grade Reading (Tar River Academy)7.168.4
 61.3%
   7th Grade Reading (Nash County Public Schools)46.333.9
 12.4%
   7th Grade Reading (North Carolina)58.848.9
 9.9%
End of Course Biology (Tar River Academy)014.3
 14.3%
   End of Course Biology (Nash County Public Schools)40.342.2
 1.9%
   End of Course Biology (North Carolina)59.654.1
 5.5%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students7189
 25.4%
African American5757
American Indian10
 100%
Asian00
Hispanic515
 200%
Pacific Islander00
White510
 100%
Two or More Races37
 133.3%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients95.8%93.3%
 2.5%


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Frequently Asked Questions about Tar River Academy

In the 2023-24 school year, 67 students attended Tar River Academy.

Students at Tar River Academy are 61% African American, 21% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 7% White.


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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.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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