Catamount School

Catamount School is the only school in the Catamount School district, a middle school serving grades 6–8 in Cullowhee, North Carolina, with just 64 students enrolled and a free/reduced lunch rate of 37.5%. Because this district contains only one school, there are no local peer schools to compare side by side, so the most useful benchmark is the statewide average in North Carolina. With roughly 20–22 students per grade, the school is small, which makes each student an important part of every proficiency result.

Academically, Catamount School has improved significantly and now stands out as a strong performer. Its state ranking moved from the 46th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 70th percentile in both 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, earning a 4-star rating in the two most recent years. Mathematics is a consistent strength: the school exceeded the state proficiency average in every grade and every year reported. In 2025–2026, 8th grade posted the most impressive results, with 76% proficient in reading (nearly 20 points above the state), 80% in science, and 60% in math, all above state averages. Seventh grade also beat the state in both math (61.9%) and reading (61.9%). The main concern is 6th grade reading, which dropped from 62.5% to 48% and now falls below the state average of 54.8%.

Two other points are worth keeping in mind. First, the small enrollment means a single student equals roughly 4–5 percentage points in a grade-level proficiency rate, so large year-to-year swings, like the 6th grade reading drop, should be interpreted with some caution. Second, chronic absenteeism is elevated: 26.4% of students were chronically absent in 2024–2025, above the statewide rate of 24.2%. Overall, Catamount School is performing above North Carolina trends, with average math and reading proficiency around 62% compared with roughly 56% statewide, and its sustained 4-star ranking suggests recent gains are holding rather than fading.