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High Schools in Catawba County Schools

At a glance

DistrictCatawba County Schools87^th of 246 North Carolina districtsFull district overview →

Schools

5,206

Students

5-star school

Top rankedChallenger Early College High20^th of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Smallest classes

Maiden High 20.7 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

3★

2★

1★

Compare North Carolina districts →See the top-ranked North Carolina schools →

Summary:

The six high schools in Catawba County Schools serve grades 9-12 and enroll roughly 5,200 students across this western North Carolina district, which earns an overall 3-star rating but contains an exceptionally wide range of school-level outcomes — from #20 statewide to #518 out of 662.

Challenger Early College High stands far above the rest of the area, ranking #20 of 662 with a 5-star rating and a 97.7 percent average EOC proficiency across Biology, English II, Math I, and Math III; many of its results are near perfect, including 100 percent in English II and 98.9 percent in Biology. For families considering a traditional high school, Bandys High is the strongest and most consistent performer, ranking in the 69th percentile with the district's highest graduation rate (94.0 percent), low chronic absenteeism (16.3 percent), the lowest free-and-reduced-lunch rate (40.5 percent), and above-district scores in every tested subject. Fred T Foard High and Maiden High sit in the middle, with strong attendance and graduation rates but mixed EOC results; Foard posts the best Math I proficiency among traditional schools at 63.7 percent, while Maiden has slipped from the 63rd percentile in 2023-24 to the 48th percentile in 2025-26.

Saint Stephens High and Bunker Hill High face the greatest challenges. Both serve student bodies where essentially every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch, and Saint Stephens has a chronic absenteeism rate of 41.5 percent — more than double the district rate. Saint Stephens still manages to meet or exceed state averages in Biology and Math III, while Bunker Hill, ranked in the 22nd percentile with a 1-star rating, falls below district and state averages in every subject. The biggest district-wide opportunities for improvement are reducing chronic absenteeism at Saint Stephens, strengthening Math I/Algebra I instruction at Saint Stephens, Maiden, and Bunker Hill, and reversing the downward ranking trends at Maiden and Bunker Hill before they become entrenched.

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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)	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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	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	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Bandys High	Public	9-12	5040 E Bandys Road	Catawba	28609	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 241-1471	935	40	23.1	40.5%	696 (74.4%)	42 (4.5%)	116 (12.4%)	17 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.8%)	66.7	206^th of 662 public high schools	68.9%		69.2	181^st of 641 public high schools	71.8%	25	63.8	73.8	60.2	83.0	$8,843	$732	$8,111
Bunker Hill High	Public	9-12	4675 Oxford School Road	Claremont	28610	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 241-3355	845	40	21.1	—	457 (54.1%)	69 (8.2%)	179 (21.2%)	86 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (6.4%)	25.4	518^th of 662 public high schools	21.8%		30.3	441^st of 641 public high schools	31.2%	77	42.5	53.8	39.1	44.9	$8,880	$745	$8,136
Fred T Foard High	Public	9-12	3407 Plateau Road	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 462-1496	930	43	21.8	46.9%	684 (73.5%)	30 (3.2%)	98 (10.5%)	48 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	67 (7.2%)	53.1	303^rd of 662 public high schools	54.2%		52.6	274^th of 641 public high schools	57.3%	29	63.5	62.7	63.7	61.1	$8,769	$744	$8,025
Maiden High	Public	9-12	600 West Main Street	Maiden	28650	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 428-8197	852	41	20.7	49.1%	528 (62.0%)	54 (6.3%)	150 (17.6%)	57 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (7.4%)	48.3	342^nd of 662 public high schools	48.3%		47.8	320^th of 641 public high schools	50.1%	22	54.3	63.7	49.2	69.9	$9,016	$684	$8,333
Saint Stephens High	Public	9-12	3205 34th Street Drive NE	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 256-9841	1,268	57	22.0	—	560 (44.2%)	109 (8.6%)	442 (34.9%)	62 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (7.5%)	49.9	330^th of 662 public high schools	50.2%		58	243^rd of 641 public high schools	62.1%	87	64.7	62.9	42.2	68.9	$8,502	$740	$7,761
Challenger Early College High	Public	9-12	2550 Hwy 70 SE	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 485-2980	376	11	33.5	49.5%	131 (34.8%)	10 (2.7%)	122 (32.4%)	72 (19.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	40 (10.6%)	93.6	20^th of 662 public high schools	97.0%		95.5	16^th of 641 public high schools	97.5%	4	98.9	100.0	96.2	95.7	$6,093	$246	$5,847

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Newton Conover City Schools	5.94 mi	7	72^nd
Lincoln County Schools	6.67 mi	23	75^th
Iredell-Statesville Schools	10.42 mi	37	121^st
West Lake Preparatory Academy	11.54 mi	1
Lincoln Charter School	12.31 mi	1

See the top NC North Carolina districts

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.