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Best High Schools in Durham County, NC

New rankings! North Carolina test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

Schools

12,592

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedCity of Medicine Academy39^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

The School for Creative Studies up 55 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Durham's Performance Learning Center 7.3 students per teacher

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Newly ranked this year

Durham Early College of Health Sciences and 1 more

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

2★

1★

0★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

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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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Research Triangle High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3106 East NC Highway 54	Durham	27713	Durham County	Research Triangle High School	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 998-6757	572	43	13.3		201 (35.1%)	90 (15.7%)	84 (14.7%)	126 (22.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (12.2%)	68.9	194^th of 662 public high schools	70.7%		78	142^nd of 641 public high schools	77.8%	52	70.2	87.2	41.5	78.5
Discovery Charter	Public, Charter	6-12	501 Orange Factory Road	Bahama	27722	Durham County	Discovery Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(984) 888-5504	453	29	15.4		230 (50.8%)	114 (25.2%)	58 (12.8%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (10.2%)	39	409^th of 662 public high schools	38.2%					(n/a)	50.7	56.6	44.2	64.3	62.2	53.4	57.0	55.1	62.1	59.1	78.5
Hillside High	Public, Magnet	9-12	3727 Fayetteville St	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3925	1,433	82	17.3	99.8%	27 (1.9%)	859 (59.9%)	460 (32.1%)	19 (1.3%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	62 (4.3%)	19.6	556^th of 662 public high schools	16.0%		15.3	558^th of 641 public high schools	12.9%	2	43.6	46.3	25.6	43.9								$11,407	$967	$10,441
C E Jordan High	Public	9-12	6806 Garrett Road	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-3912	2,189	105	20.9	99.9%	628 (28.7%)	653 (29.8%)	660 (30.2%)	90 (4.1%)	3 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	154 (7.0%)	44.4	373^rd of 662 public high schools	43.7%		45.9	331^st of 641 public high schools	48.4%	42	54.4	62.4	36.0	71.2								$9,868	$693	$9,175
The School for Creative Studies	Public, Magnet	6-12	5001 Red Mill Rd	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3535	350	34	10.2	98.9%	46 (13.1%)	171 (48.9%)	112 (32.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.4%)	42.1	389^th of 662 public high schools	41.2%		30.2	444^th of 641 public high schools	30.7%	55	34.4	65.4		72.3	72.7	45.7	53.7	66.7	50.0	58.5	73.2	$12,022	$1,332	$10,689
Northern High	Public	9-12	4622 N Roxboro Street	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-3956	1,281	70	18.3	99.8%	197 (15.4%)	498 (38.9%)	517 (40.4%)	23 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (3.4%)	13.1	592^nd of 662 public high schools	10.6%		23.5	502^nd of 641 public high schools	21.7%	90	23.6	39.5	17.5	52.3								$10,719	$535	$10,184
Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi	Public, Magnet	9-12	800 Clayton Road	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3968	1,384	65	21.2	99.8%	32 (2.3%)	624 (45.1%)	668 (48.3%)	7 (0.5%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	46 (3.3%)	8.9	607^th of 662 public high schools	8.3%		10.4	596^th of 641 public high schools	7.0%	11	20.8	39.2	23.9	28.4								$11,432	$509	$10,923
Durham School of the Arts	Public, Magnet	6-12	401 North Duke Street	Durham	27701	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3926	1,764	100	17.6	99.2%	612 (34.7%)	437 (24.8%)	542 (30.7%)	50 (2.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	122 (6.9%)	77.1	154^th of 662 public high schools	76.7%		85.1	111^th of 641 public high schools	82.7%	43	78.6	84.4	64.6	81.3	72.8	71.6	79.2	73.7	73.4	82.4	86.4	$10,260	$523	$9,737
Riverside High	Public	9-12	3218 Rose of Sharon Road	Durham	27712	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-3965	1,900	94	20.3	99.8%	490 (25.8%)	534 (28.1%)	728 (38.3%)	50 (2.6%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (5.0%)	28.6	485^th of 662 public high schools	26.7%		25.2	492^nd of 641 public high schools	23.2%	7	50.6	55.0	22.2	54.7								$10,389	$739	$9,651
Lakeview School	Public	6-12	3507 Dearborn Drive	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2520	52	19	2.8	94.2%	3 (5.8%)	32 (61.5%)	8 (15.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (17.3%)								(n/a)		6.3				9.1		8.3	18.2	8.3	16.7	$45,258	$734	$44,524
J D Clement Early College High School	Public	9-12	1801 Fayetteville Street	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2696	380	14	26.2	99.2%	16 (4.2%)	214 (56.3%)	119 (31.3%)	12 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.7%)	90.5	69^th of 662 public high schools	89.6%		94.8	26^th of 641 public high schools	95.9%	43	92.2	91.8	79.5	98.8								$8,162	$393	$7,769
Durham Early College of Health Sciences	Public	9-12	41 Moore Drive	Durham	27709	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 536-7203	164	7	23.4	98.2%	53 (32.3%)	46 (28.0%)	46 (28.0%)	5 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	13 (7.9%)	66.3	211^th of 662 public high schools	68.1%					(n/a)	81.8	69.8	50.0	100.0								$8,584	$195	$8,389
Durham School of Technology	Public	9-12	3727 Fayetteville St	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-9183	219	16	13.5	98.6%	13 (5.9%)	146 (66.7%)	49 (22.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)	69.9	188^th of 662 public high schools	71.6%		78.9	139^th of 641 public high schools	78.3%	49	77.8	81.3	54.8	75.4								$8,663	$236	$8,427
Durham's Performance Learning Center	Public	9-12	401 North Driver Street	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-9190	122	17	7.3	90.2%	3 (2.5%)	61 (50.0%)	52 (42.6%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.1%)	8	613^th of 662 public high schools	7.4%		3.6	628^th of 641 public high schools	2.0%	15	25.0	26.7		43.3								$15,776	$849	$14,927
City of Medicine Academy	Public	9-12	301 Crutchfield St	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2001	329	20	16.6	98.5%	24 (7.3%)	121 (36.8%)	157 (47.7%)	11 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.9%)	92.8	39^th of 662 public high schools	94.1%		94.9	25^th of 641 public high schools	96.1%	14	97.8	94.0	89.3	98.8								$12,056	$1,005	$11,051
Holton Career and Resource Center	Public	9-12	401 North Driver St	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2219	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

SchoolDigger rankings lists for North Carolina:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts 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.