Best Public Schools in Taylorsville, NC

Summary:

The city of Taylorsville, North Carolina is home to 8 schools, including 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, and 2 high schools. The schools in this area serve a community with high rates of economic disadvantage, as evidenced by the extremely high free/reduced lunch rates across all schools.

Within the Taylorsville school system, a few schools stand out as top performers. West Alexander Middle School consistently ranks among the top 20% of middle schools in North Carolina, with strong math performance. Alexander Early College is a high-performing high school, ranking in the top 15% statewide and earning exceptional scores on end-of-course exams. In contrast, several elementary schools in the Alexander County School District are in the bottom half of the state rankings, indicating room for improvement across the district.

The data reveals a wide range in school performance and spending within the Taylorsville area. While some schools like Bethlehem Elementary have strong test scores, particularly in math and science, the student-teacher ratios vary significantly, with Alexander Early College having a notably higher ratio of 24.1 students per teacher. Overall, the Taylorsville school system faces challenges in providing equitable support and resources to all students, but there are also examples of academic excellence that the district can build upon.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	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	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
Alexander Central High	Public	9-12	223 School Drive	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 632-7063	1,254	79	15.9	99.8%	992 (79.1%)	59 (4.7%)	129 (10.3%)	10 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (4.9%)	48.8	310^th of 641 public high schools	51.6%		54.2	269^th of 640 public high schools	58.0%	41	41.5	57.1	39.9	76.0															$10,255	$776	$9,479
Bethlehem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7900 NC Hwy 127	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 495-8198	435	26	16.9	99.1%	335 (77.0%)	11 (2.5%)	43 (9.9%)	19 (4.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.0%)	73.3	340^th of 1490 public elementary schools	77.2%		74	344^th of 1505 public elementary schools	77.1%	4					76.8	56.7	69.6				58.0	61.2	62.0				84.6		$9,332	$688	$8,643
Taylorsville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	100 7th Street SW	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 632-3072	241	14	17.7	98.8%	131 (54.4%)	36 (14.9%)	39 (16.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (14.5%)	48.4	769^th of 1490 public elementary schools	48.4%		63.5	518^th of 1505 public elementary schools	65.6%	251					84.8	72.5	48.4				45.5	52.5	41.9				32.3		$12,141	$1,707	$10,434
Ellendale Elementary	Public	K-5	175 Ellendale Park Lane	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 632-4866	168	11	14.9	98.2%	144 (85.7%)	5 (3.0%)	4 (2.4%)	4 (2.4%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.0%)	40	918^th of 1490 public elementary schools	38.4%		40.8	917^th of 1505 public elementary schools	39.1%	1					63.6	35.7	62.5				39.4	53.6	50.0				50.0		$12,059	$1,416	$10,642
Sugar Loaf Elementary	Public	K-5	3600 NC Hwy 16N	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 632-2192	196	12	16.8	98.5%	162 (82.7%)	11 (5.6%)	6 (3.1%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (8.2%)	42.3	873^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	41.4%		44.8	839^th of 1505 public elementary schools	44.3%	34					55.6	54.5	63.3				25.0	54.5	50.0				63.3		$10,272	$854	$9,417
West Alexander Middle	Public	6-8	85 Bulldog Lane	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 495-4611	467	29	16.3	99.4%	382 (81.8%)	10 (2.1%)	39 (8.4%)	12 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.7%)	79.5	141^st of 773 public middle schools	81.8%		76.7	156^th of 793 public middle schools	80.3%	15								67.7	80.7	69.1				57.5	62.3	71.3		75.7	$8,079	$717	$7,362
Wittenburg Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7300 Church Road	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 632-2395	294	17	17.3	99.0%	228 (77.6%)	11 (3.7%)	37 (12.6%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.4%)	33.6	1022^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	31.4%		24.2	1204^th of 1505 public elementary schools	20.0%	182					52.8	61.5	42.6				36.1	51.3	40.4				53.2		$10,578	$975	$9,603
Alexander Early College	Public	9-12	345 Industrial Blvd	Taylorsville	28681	Alexander County	Alexander County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 632-8221	172	6	28.6	98.3%	122 (70.9%)	3 (1.7%)	34 (19.8%)	9 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.3%)	87.2	96^th of 641 public high schools	85.0%		86.3	106^th of 640 public high schools	83.4%	10	66.7	85.4	78.1	97.5															$6,455	$116	$6,339

Cities Near Taylorsville

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Hiddenite	6.44 mi	2	303^rd
Hickory	7.03 mi	17	200^th
Claremont	7.57 mi	5	337^th
Conover	8.59 mi	5	293^rd
Granite Falls	8.71 mi	6	184^th

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.