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Best Public Schools in Raeford, NC

At a glance

Schools

7,243

Students

5-star school

Top rankedSandHoke Early College High40^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

West Hoke Elementary up 346 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Don D Steed Elementary 11.6 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

J W Turlington School

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

3★

2★

1★

Compare North Carolina cities →See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

Summary:

Raeford, North Carolina is served by 11 public schools spanning elementary through high school, all within the Hoke County Schools district, a 1-star district ranked 183rd out of 246 in the state. The city's schools serve approximately 7,243 students across six elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools. This is an extremely high-poverty area: nine of the 11 schools have more than 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Chronic absenteeism is also a district-wide concern, with a 28.5% district rate that exceeds the state average of 24.2%.

SandHoke Early College High is the district's clear academic standout, ranking in the 94th percentile statewide with a 5-star rating, a 93.4% graduation rate, and near-universal proficiency on state tests — all while serving a student body where over 99% qualify for free lunch. Among elementary schools, Don D Steed Elementary leads the pack at the 61st percentile with strong reading and science scores, while West Hoke Elementary has shown impressive improvement, jumping from the 18th to the 41st percentile. At the other end, J.W. Turlington School, which serves just 26 students in grades 6–12, faces the greatest challenges with 84% chronic absenteeism and a 10th-percentile ranking, though it appears to serve a highly challenging alternative population.

Performance varies widely across the district. Hoke County High, the largest school with 2,110 students, struggles with a 74.8% graduation rate and math proficiency far below state averages. Math is a district-wide weakness. Chronic absenteeism correlates strongly with outcomes: the highest-performing school has the lowest absenteeism rate, while the lowest-performing has the highest. Notably, higher spending does not guarantee better results — SandHoke Early College High spends the least per pupil yet achieves the best outcomes, while J.W. Turlington School spends the most. Several schools, including Rockfish Hoke Elementary and West Hoke Middle, are trending downward, but the success of schools like SandHoke Early College High and Don D Steed Elementary demonstrates that high-poverty schools in the same district can achieve dramatically different outcomes.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th 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
Rockfish Hoke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6251 Rockfish Rd	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 875-9343	606	39	15.7	—	206 (34.0%)	148 (24.4%)	151 (24.9%)	19 (3.1%)	8 (1.3%)	7 (1.2%)	67 (11.1%)	32.3	1051^st of 1492 public elementary schools	29.6%		45.3	824^th of 1490 public elementary schools	44.7%	227					62.1	37.6	46.5				38.9	44.0	52.3				70.6		$7,820	$1,036	$6,784
Upchurch Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	730 Turnpike Road	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-1574	646	40	16.0	—	89 (13.8%)	277 (42.9%)	188 (29.1%)	5 (0.8%)	11 (1.7%)	3 (0.5%)	73 (11.3%)	38.1	941^st of 1492 public elementary schools	36.9%		45.5	823^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	44.8%	118					62.5	50.0	53.2				45.5	47.9	42.9				76.6		$9,060	$1,408	$7,652
Hoke County High	Public	9-12	505 S Bethel Road	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 875-2156	2,110	113	18.7	—	343 (16.3%)	841 (39.9%)	572 (27.1%)	13 (0.6%)	143 (6.8%)	6 (0.3%)	192 (9.1%)	31	471^st of 662 public high schools	28.9%		33.9	420^th of 641 public high schools	34.5%	51	49.8	43.5	15.0	69.2															$10,531	$821	$9,710
J W McLauchlin Elementary	Public	K-5	326 N Main St	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-8721	304	25	12.1	—	71 (23.4%)	115 (37.8%)	72 (23.7%)	3 (1.0%)	13 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.9%)	25.1	1187^th of 1492 public elementary schools	20.4%		30.7	1077^th of 1490 public elementary schools	27.7%	110					54.9	38.6	68.9				37.3	36.4	33.3				57.8		$12,042	$1,365	$10,677
West Hoke Middle	Public	6-8	200 Nc 211 W	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-3411	656	37	17.9	—	90 (13.7%)	240 (36.6%)	165 (25.2%)	2 (0.3%)	81 (12.3%)	2 (0.3%)	76 (11.6%)	22.3	632^nd of 778 public middle schools	18.8%		22.8	610^th of 773 public middle schools	21.1%	22								43.8	43.2	42.2				43.5	38.9	35.7		46.7	$10,848	$1,941	$8,907
Scurlock Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	775 Rockfish Rd	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-4182	611	40	15.3	—	86 (14.1%)	224 (36.7%)	222 (36.3%)	3 (0.5%)	6 (1.0%)	6 (1.0%)	64 (10.5%)	24	1207^th of 1492 public elementary schools	19.1%		33.4	1030^th of 1490 public elementary schools	30.9%	177					63.9	44.0	33.3				47.2	47.7	39.6				46.4		$8,635	$1,313	$7,322
East Hoke Middle	Public	6-8	4702 Fayetteville Rd	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-5048	771	47	16.3	—	141 (18.3%)	300 (38.9%)	228 (29.6%)	4 (0.5%)	20 (2.6%)	4 (0.5%)	74 (9.6%)	22.1	633^rd of 778 public middle schools	18.6%		20	638^th of 773 public middle schools	17.5%	5								42.4	33.1	33.1				43.3	39.6	36.3		63.3	$8,498	$1,310	$7,187
West Hoke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6050 Turnpike Road	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-2584	467	34	13.7	—	97 (20.8%)	184 (39.4%)	105 (22.5%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.1%)	4 (0.9%)	52 (11.1%)	42.3	873^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	41.5%		23	1219^th of 1490 public elementary schools	18.2%	346					56.0	60.9	54.4				45.3	55.1	51.9				67.1		$10,270	$1,466	$8,804
J W Turlington School	Public	6-12	116 W Prospect Ave	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 875-2583	26	6	4.3	88.5%	2 (7.7%)	13 (50.0%)	3 (11.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (23.1%)	11.8	596^th of 662 public high schools	10.0%					(n/a)	38.5	20.0								10.0						10.0		40.0	$19,154	$1,920	$17,234
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	418	19	22.0	—	114 (27.3%)	117 (28.0%)	124 (29.7%)	10 (2.4%)	13 (3.1%)	2 (0.5%)	38 (9.1%)	92.6	40^th of 662 public high schools	94.0%		92	63^rd of 641 public high schools	90.2%	23	96.8	95.4		100.0															$6,937	$371	$6,566
Don D Steed Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	800 Phillipi Church Rd	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 875-1125	628	54	11.6	—	173 (27.5%)	173 (27.5%)	201 (32.0%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.1%)	3 (0.5%)	64 (10.2%)	60	577^th of 1492 public elementary schools	61.3%		68.3	421^st of 1490 public elementary schools	71.7%	156					64.5	60.4	49.4				64.5	61.3	75.3				71.6		$9,923	$1,349	$8,574

Cities Near Raeford

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Red Springs	5.94 mi	4	467^th
Lumber Bridge	7.11 mi	2	330^th
Fayetteville	8.54 mi	69	312^th
Wagram	11.57 mi	1	462^nd
Shannon	11.88 mi	1	463^rd

See the top NC North Carolina cities

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.