Summary:
Bailey, North Carolina is served by two public schools within the Nash County Public Schools district — Southern Nash High (grades 9–12, 1,048 students) and Bailey Elementary (grades PK–5, 580 students) — with no middle school located in the immediate area. Despite sharing the same district, which ranks in the 36th percentile statewide, these two schools are heading in very different directions.
Southern Nash High is the standout for positive momentum. Its statewide ranking has climbed from the 41st percentile (2 stars) in 2023–2024 to the 52nd percentile (3 stars) in the latest data, placing it above the middle of North Carolina high schools. The school improved in every end-of-course subject year over year, with Math I proficiency jumping from 36.2% to 57.5% and Math III reaching 78.7% — both well above district and state averages. By contrast, Bailey Elementary has fallen sharply from the 63rd to the 30th percentile over the same period, dropping from 3 stars to 2. Its test scores declined in six of seven end-of-grade areas, with 5th grade reading plunging 15.6 percentage points to just 39.5% proficiency.
Both schools serve student populations where over 99% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet their results could hardly be more different. Bailey Elementary now scores below the state average in every tested grade and subject, despite having a lower student-teacher ratio (18.3 vs. 23.8) and slightly higher per-student spending ($9,761 vs. $9,274) than the high school. On a positive note, both schools post chronic absenteeism rates around 23%, which is better than the district rate of 25.9% and the state rate of 24.2%. Southern Nash's graduation rate of 87.8% also narrowly exceeds the district average. This split between a rising high school and a slipping elementary school suggests that school-level leadership and instructional factors, rather than district-wide conditions, are driving performance in Bailey.
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