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Best Public Schools in Lincoln County, NC

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its North Carolina rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

14,719

Students

Districts

5-star school

Top rankedRock Springs Elementary118^th of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

North Lincoln High up 77 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Love Memorial Elementary 12.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

1★

4 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 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
Lincoln Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	7834 Galway Lane	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 483-6611	2,316	141	16.4		1,721 (74.3%)	129 (5.6%)	319 (13.8%)	43 (1.9%)	9 (0.4%)	3 (0.1%)	92 (4.0%)								(n/a)	60.1	83.2	53.1	85.9	84.6	81.3	76.2	80.2	74.0	78.6	72.5	74.0	76.2	77.2	73.5	79.6	78.8	92.5
West Lake Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-9	1691 Forney Creek	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	West Lake Preparatory Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 966-2202	402	7	54.3	54.2%	205 (51.0%)	75 (18.7%)	90 (22.4%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.2%)								(n/a)					44.4	78.3	56.8	64.0	45.8	41.2	37.8	65.2	32.4	60.0	45.8	70.6	58.3	70.6
Banoak Elementary	Public	K-6	7651 W NC 10 Hwy	Vale	28168	Lincoln County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 462-2849	291	17	16.6	99.0%	230 (79.0%)	5 (1.7%)	25 (8.6%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (7.6%)	59.7	589^th of 1492 public elementary schools	60.5%		65	485^th of 1490 public elementary schools	67.4%	104					67.7	62.3	68.4	56.5			58.1	69.8	47.4	54.3			76.3		$9,603	$1,411	$8,191
Battleground Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	301 Jeb Seagle Dr	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 736-1626	420	32	13.1	97.1%	190 (45.2%)	66 (15.7%)	118 (28.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (10.7%)	72.2	374^th of 1492 public elementary schools	74.9%		71.3	369^th of 1490 public elementary schools	75.2%	5					88.2	71.0	87.1				70.6	54.8	48.4				80.6		$9,785	$1,121	$8,664
GE Massey Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	130 Newbold St	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 735-2322	370	27	13.6	99.2%	175 (47.3%)	63 (17.0%)	103 (27.8%)	7 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.9%)	31.1	1071^st of 1492 public elementary schools	28.2%		31.2	1070^th of 1490 public elementary schools	28.2%	1					70.2	55.4	41.5				43.9	41.5	41.5				53.7		$9,086	$1,289	$7,797
East Lincoln High	Public	9-12	6471 Hwy 73	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1860	1,047	55	19.0	31.8%	758 (72.4%)	84 (8.0%)	117 (11.2%)	18 (1.7%)	6 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.1%)	65.3	221^st of 662 public high schools	66.6%		72.3	169^th of 641 public high schools	73.6%	52	69.2	68.8	68.3	75.4															$7,000	$484	$6,516
East Lincoln Middle	Public	6-8	4137 Hwy 73	Iron Station	28080	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 732-0761	738	45	16.2	37.8%	532 (72.1%)	53 (7.2%)	90 (12.2%)	7 (0.9%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (7.0%)	69.3	216^th of 778 public middle schools	72.2%		67.9	223^rd of 773 public middle schools	71.2%	7								73.8	62.8	66.3				62.7	55.6	58.9		79.1	$7,305	$426	$6,879
Iron Station Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4207 Hwy 27 E	Iron Station	28080	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 736-4292	367	29	12.6	98.6%	279 (76.0%)	16 (4.4%)	43 (11.7%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.1%)	61.1	563^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	62.3%		77.3	288^th of 1490 public elementary schools	80.7%	275					71.0	74.5	68.9				40.3	59.6	62.2				77.8		$10,349	$1,187	$9,162
Lincolnton High	Public	9-12	803 N Aspen St	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 735-3089	797	47	16.9	99.5%	350 (43.9%)	138 (17.3%)	235 (29.5%)	8 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (8.2%)	39.4	407^th of 662 public high schools	38.5%		47.2	328^th of 641 public high schools	48.8%	79	40.9	57.1	40.5	75.4															$9,236	$894	$8,342
Lincolnton Middle	Public	6-8	2361 Startown Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 735-1120	563	41	13.8	99.5%	250 (44.4%)	79 (14.0%)	166 (29.5%)	10 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (10.3%)	35.3	512^th of 778 public middle schools	34.2%		29.8	551^st of 773 public middle schools	28.7%	39								47.4	46.2	49.7				44.8	44.5	42.9		68.3	$8,847	$1,187	$7,659
Love Memorial Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1463 Love Memorial Sch Rd	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 735-5649	315	25	12.4	99.0%	244 (77.5%)	10 (3.2%)	38 (12.1%)	2 (0.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.0%)	18.7	1304^th of 1492 public elementary schools	12.6%		24.6	1194^th of 1490 public elementary schools	19.9%	110					61.5	35.1	39.5				53.8	29.7	32.6				39.5		$12,264	$1,597	$10,666
Rock Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3633 Hwy 16 N	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 483-2281	639	40	16.1	21.4%	520 (81.4%)	28 (4.4%)	49 (7.7%)	8 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.2%)	89.8	118^th of 1492 public elementary schools	92.1%		91.1	96^th of 1490 public elementary schools	93.6%	22					87.5	80.9	85.5				77.5	70.2	71.8				90.6		$7,824	$403	$7,420
S Ray Lowder Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	350 Kennedy Dr	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 735-2741	306	23	13.4	97.4%	152 (49.7%)	50 (16.3%)	71 (23.2%)	6 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (8.8%)	41.8	883^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	40.8%		47.2	798^th of 1490 public elementary schools	46.4%	85					51.1	65.2	51.4				46.8	58.7	51.4				62.9		$10,042	$1,245	$8,797
Union Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4875 Reepsville Rd	Vale	28168	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 276-1493	342	22	15.2	99.1%	310 (90.6%)	2 (0.6%)	15 (4.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.1%)	76	302^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	79.8%		72.4	356^th of 1490 public elementary schools	76.1%	54					74.1	72.6	77.6				58.6	69.4	61.2				89.8		$10,166	$909	$9,257
West Lincoln High	Public	9-12	172 Shoal Rd	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-9453	731	45	16.1	99.3%	612 (83.7%)	9 (1.2%)	78 (10.7%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (3.7%)	53	306^th of 662 public high schools	53.8%		58.1	242^nd of 641 public high schools	62.2%	64	62.3	60.2	48.1	77.8															$8,213	$515	$7,699
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%)	57.8	324^th of 778 public middle schools	58.4%		52.8	359^th of 773 public middle schools	53.6%	35								57.4	53.8	56.7				56.5	56.5	58.8		77.8	$8,615	$996	$7,618
Catawba Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	206 North Little Egypt Rd	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1895	543	33	16.3	34.4%	371 (68.3%)	43 (7.9%)	59 (10.9%)	16 (2.9%)	7 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (8.5%)	80.8	233^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	84.4%		84.1	189^th of 1490 public elementary schools	87.3%	44					84.4	74.5	72.2				67.8	73.4	69.1				76.3		$7,867	$484	$7,383
North Brook Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	642 Hwy 274	Vale	28168	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 276-2479	344	24	14.5	99.1%	296 (86.0%)	6 (1.7%)	23 (6.7%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.7%)	64.3	513^th of 1492 public elementary schools	65.6%		63.1	510^th of 1490 public elementary schools	65.8%	3					80.3	74.5	66.7				65.2	60.0	41.2				68.6		$9,492	$999	$8,493
Asbury Academy	Public	6-12	221 Salem Church Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-4766	34	9	3.7	91.2%	23 (67.6%)	4 (11.8%)	1 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (17.6%)								(n/a)	341.9																		$21,466	$469	$20,997
Pumpkin Center Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	3970 King Wilkinson Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1394	325	24	13.6	99.1%	260 (80.0%)	10 (3.1%)	32 (9.8%)	11 (3.4%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.1%)								(n/a)																			$9,198	$156	$9,042
North Lincoln Middle	Public	6-8	1503 Amity Church Road	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-0262	774	45	17.1	28.9%	626 (80.9%)	28 (3.6%)	70 (9.0%)	10 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	38 (4.9%)	76.3	165^th of 778 public middle schools	78.8%		78.8	143^rd of 773 public middle schools	81.5%	22								74.4	70.3	65.6				64.6	69.9	66.1		73.6	$7,347	$446	$6,901
North Lincoln High	Public	9-12	2737 Lee Lawing Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1969	1,126	52	21.5	25.3%	921 (81.8%)	30 (2.7%)	120 (10.7%)	9 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (4.1%)	77.8	151^st of 662 public high schools	77.2%		59.6	228^th of 641 public high schools	64.4%	77	73.2	79.2	76.5	87.7															$7,071	$386	$6,685
St James Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1774 St James Church Road	Denver	28037	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1958	653	43	15.2	27.0%	520 (79.6%)	23 (3.5%)	62 (9.5%)	8 (1.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (5.8%)	69	435^th of 1492 public elementary schools	70.8%		79	264^th of 1490 public elementary schools	82.3%	171					71.3	70.1	68.7				60.2	61.5	60.9				80.0		$7,459	$375	$7,084
Childers Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2595 Rock Dam Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 736-9610	418	30	13.7	97.1%	306 (73.2%)	10 (2.4%)	81 (19.4%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.5%)	30.6	1078^th of 1492 public elementary schools	27.7%		42.6	868^th of 1490 public elementary schools	41.7%	210					40.7	49.3	66.2				33.9	40.3	43.1				69.2		$9,897	$1,409	$8,488
Pumpkin Center Intermediate	Public	3-5	3980 King Wilkinson Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 736-1504	295	19	15.9	99.0%	239 (81.0%)	4 (1.4%)	31 (10.5%)	8 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.4%)	57.2	623^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	58.2%		59.6	571^st of 1490 public elementary schools	61.7%	52					60.5	48.2	69.8				54.7	49.4	65.1				83.0		$9,377	$670	$8,707

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.