Summary:
Longleaf School of the Arts is a single arts-focused high school in Raleigh, NC, serving grades 9-12 with 405 students, and it also functions as its own district. Academically, the school outperforms the state in most tested subjects, with exceptional English II proficiency of 93.3% in 2025-2026 versus 64.6% statewide, and Biology at 78% versus 58.5% statewide. Its overall EOC proficiency average is roughly 68.9%, about ten points above the North Carolina average, and the school ranked in the 68th percentile statewide in the most recent year.
However, the school has notable challenges. Math I proficiency fell sharply from 47.8% to 35.4% in one year, now trailing the state average of 42.1%. Graduation rate is also a concern: at 78.6% it is more than ten points below the state figure of 88.8%. Chronic absenteeism stands at 27.0%, higher than the state's 24.2% and representing roughly 109 students. Despite these issues, the school's ranking history shows strong performance overall, improving from 231st in 2023-2024 to 164th in 2024-2025 before settling at 215th in 2025-2026. Its district-level ranking is particularly strong, placing in the 79th percentile among 246 districts with a 4-star rating.
For parents, this school offers a high-quality academic environment for humanities and sciences, with very small class sizes and a student-teacher ratio of 12.6:1. The main academic weakness is entry-level math, while students in higher-level math perform in line with the state. The combination of strong test scores with below-average graduation and above-average absenteeism suggests that supporting student attendance and retention through senior year is critical. With a 4-star district rating and a strong foundation in English and Biology, Longleaf School of the Arts remains a solid choice, particularly if your child is interested in the arts or excels in reading and science.
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