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Shelby Middle

Q: Is Shelby Middle a good school?

Shelby Middle ranks 488 th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

488^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 37% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Shelby Middle is a public middle school located in Shelby, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 591 students. It is part of the Cleveland County Schools district, which is ranked 97 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Shelby Middle's performance, as measured by proficiency rates on state assessments, is generally lower than the district and state averages. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined over the past several years, from 242 out of 737 North Carolina middle schools in 2018-2019 to 488 out of 773 in 2024-2025. When compared to nearby middle schools in the Cleveland County Schools district, such as Burns Middle, Kings Mountain Intermediate, Kings Mountain Middle, and Crest Middle, Shelby Middle generally performs worse academically.

Shelby Middle's extremely high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 99.49% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, likely contributes to the school's academic struggles. However, the school performs relatively well for African American and Hispanic students, ranking in the top 50% of North Carolina middle schools in those categories, suggesting that the school may have effective strategies or programs in place to support those populations. Addressing the school's overall challenges will be crucial for Shelby Middle to improve its standing and provide a high-quality education for all its students.

588

Students ?

16.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,218

Per pupil spending ?

99.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1480 South Dekalb Street
Shelby, NC 28152

(704) 476-8328

District: Cleveland County Schools

Students who attend Shelby Middle usually attend:

High:	Cleveland ECHS
	Shelby High

Feeder schools for Shelby Middle:

Elementary:	Elizabeth Elementary
	James Love Elementary
	Jefferson Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.8%

White:

30.3%

Hispanic:

12.6%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Shelby Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 30th percentile in 2015 → 37th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (47% vs 54% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Science scores 17 pts below the North Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school47%

District avg54%

North Carolina avg54%

488^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 37%▲ up 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 30% (2015) to bottom 37% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 4Middle Schools in the Cleveland County Schools

97^th of 242Cleveland County Schools among North Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	37.6	488 of 773	36.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.9	570 of 793	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.7	561 of 784	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.3	482 of 786	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.0	519 of 741	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	65.7	242 of 737	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	59.6	286 of 691	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2017	37.5	458 of 694	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2016	47.5	375 of 692	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	33.0	493 of 705	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2014	41.5	366 of 627	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	44.9	362 of 673	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	46.6	420 of 662	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	37.2	465 of 648	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	49.2	395 of 640	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2009	58.4	314 of 630	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2008	52.2	328 of 620	47.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	56.5	303 of 606	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2006	48.5	364 of 598	39.1%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.0	271 of 546	50.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.6	354 of 560	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.6	316 of 559	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.9	242 of 550	56.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	32.2	373 of 533	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	75.0	75 of 519	85.5%	★★★★☆
2018	68.2	96 of 494	80.6%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2021	16.4	470 of 478	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	60.3	128 of 504	74.6%	★★★★☆
2018	65.0	78 of 475	83.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	43.2	425 of 733	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.5	564 of 738	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.8	569 of 731	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.6	440 of 733	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.8	492 of 706	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	60.5	271 of 684	60.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	53.7	325 of 656	50.5%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	56.9	248 of 458	45.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.8	310 of 461	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.6	315 of 452	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.7	380 of 450	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	44.2	321 of 448	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	70.0	73 of 416	82.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	59.4	189 of 562	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	36.5	382 of 564	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	47.7	269 of 553	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	70.8	102 of 541	81.1%	★★★★☆
2021	53.9	204 of 522	60.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	68.3	102 of 493	79.3%	★★★★☆
2018	68.8	98 of 472	79.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.5	393 of 729	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.8	496 of 743	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.3	432 of 735	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.0	354 of 689	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	36.7	402 of 633	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	65.2	172 of 639	73.1%	★★★★☆
2018	61.1	205 of 604	66.1%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.6	513 of 733	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	29.9	551 of 751	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.8	520 of 747	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.4	477 of 748	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.1	517 of 711	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	68.1	204 of 697	70.7%	★★★★☆
2018	63.6	234 of 665	64.8%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	22.7	281 of 328	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.3	237 of 306	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.9	267 of 302	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.6	220 of 283	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.6	189 of 248	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.2	203 of 478	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	34.5	292 of 473	38.3%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	47.6	340 of 649	47.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.2	439 of 652	32.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.3	453 of 656	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.1	344 of 658	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.4	337 of 632	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	69.8	173 of 624	72.3%	★★★★☆
2018	73.4	131 of 596	78.0%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Hispanic (2025)66th percentile+30 vs school

Special Education (2025)58th percentile+21 vs school

African American (2025)50th percentile+13 vs school

White (2025)48th percentile+11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)46th percentile+9 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)46th percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)42nd percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)30th percentile-7 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)14th percentile-23 vs school

Disabled (2021)2nd percentile-28 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics49%-4 vs state

Reading45%-8 vs state

Science44%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Shelby Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)				EOG Reading (2025)				EOG Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Shelby Middle	Public	6-8	1480 South Dekalb Street	Shelby	28152	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 476-8328	588	35	16.6	99.5%	178 (30.3%)	293 (49.8%)	74 (12.6%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.5%)	37.6	488^th of 773 public middle schools	36.9%		28.9	570^th of 793 public middle schools	28.1%	82		51.9	52.5	42.5		39.5	45.0	50.8		43.5	$11,218	$923	$10,295
Crest Middle	Public	6-8	315 Beaver Dam Church Rd	Shelby	28152	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 476-8221	810	50	16.3	98.9%	490 (60.5%)	200 (24.7%)	71 (8.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (5.7%)	60.9	276^th of 773 public middle schools	64.3%		52.5	367^th of 793 public middle schools	53.7%	91		61.3	65.1	57.7		52.7	57.8	61.9		49.0	$8,409	$668	$7,741
Kings Mountain Intermediate	Public	5-6	227 Kings Mountain Boulevard	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 476-8366	601	32	19.0	99.3%	352 (58.6%)	144 (24.0%)	56 (9.3%)	8 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	40 (6.7%)								(n/a)	60.0	66.9			52.7	51.9			60.7		$8,233	$1,444	$6,788
Kings Mountain Middle	Public	7-8	1000 Phifer Road	Kings Mountain	28086	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 476-8340	631	37	16.9	99.5%	348 (55.2%)	162 (25.7%)	58 (9.2%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (8.9%)	54.9	329^th of 773 public middle schools	57.4%		51.1	383^rd of 793 public middle schools	51.7%	54			53.6	47.3			57.3	61.9		52.1	$8,838	$691	$8,147
Burns Middle	Public	6-8	215 Shady Grove Road	Lawndale	28090	Cleveland County	Cleveland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 476-8223	744	43	17.1	99.6%	512 (68.8%)	116 (15.6%)	73 (9.8%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.1%)	53.5	349^th of 773 public middle schools	54.9%		51.9	377^th of 793 public middle schools	52.5%	28		71.6	56.7	38.5		54.1	56.7	52.6		48.7	$9,061	$807	$8,254
John Chavis Middle School	Public	6-8	103 South Chavis Drive	Cherryville	28021	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 836-9606	412	27	14.9	99.3%	296 (71.8%)	38 (9.2%)	56 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.3%)	45.9	427^th of 773 public middle schools	44.8%		52.5	366^th of 793 public middle schools	53.8%	61		45.5	46.3	49.3		40.2	45.6	58.7		68.8	$9,634	$956	$8,678
Bessemer City Middle	Public	6-8	525 Ed Wilson Road	Bessemer City	28016	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 836-9602	497	29	17.1	99.4%	205 (41.2%)	136 (27.4%)	118 (23.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (7.0%)	19.6	641^st of 773 public middle schools	17.1%		28.2	579^th of 793 public middle schools	27.0%	62		27.0	36.8	40.7		33.3	37.4	37.7		41.4	$9,249	$1,434	$7,815
Chase Middle School	Public	6-8	840 Chase High Rd	Forest City	28043	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 247-1043	484	27	18.1	97.1%	338 (69.8%)	30 (6.2%)	80 (16.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.4%)	61.1	275^th of 773 public middle schools	64.4%		61.2	279^th of 793 public middle schools	64.8%	4		70.0	57.5	36.7		60.7	62.5	54.4		63.9	$9,772	$780	$8,991
East Rutherford Middle School	Public	6-8	259 East Church Street	Bostic	28018	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 245-3750	533	27	20.0	98.7%	350 (65.7%)	66 (12.4%)	76 (14.3%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.9%)	37.2	492^nd of 773 public middle schools	36.4%		52	375^th of 793 public middle schools	52.7%	117		54.6	43.1	36.3		40.2	49.7	48.5		52.4	$9,615	$916	$8,699
West Lincoln Middle	Public	6-8	260 Shoal Rd	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 276-1760	563	39	14.4	98.8%	473 (84.0%)	6 (1.1%)	48 (8.5%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.9%)	52.8	359^th of 773 public middle schools	53.6%		63.1	265^th of 793 public middle schools	66.6%	94		55.2	45.6	50.0		55.2	44.8	59.2		67.4	$8,615	$996	$7,618

Frequently Asked Questions about Shelby Middle

Is Shelby Middle a good school?

Shelby Middle ranks 488^th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Shelby Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 588 students attended Shelby Middle.

What high school do graduates of Shelby Middle attend?

Students who attend Shelby Middle usually go on to attend Cleveland ECHS

What district is Shelby Middle in?

Cleveland County Schools

What is the racial makeup of Shelby Middle?

Students at Shelby Middle are 50% African American, 30% White, 13% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

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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.