Summary:
Cleveland County Schools is a unified North Carolina district serving 28 schools — 15 elementary, 5 middle, 6 high, and 2 alternative/specialized schools — with roughly 14,500 students, and it is rated 3 stars, ranking 82nd out of 246 districts statewide.
The district's standout performers include Cleveland ECHS, which ranks in the 92nd percentile among North Carolina high schools with 96.2% English II proficiency, 91.4% Math I proficiency, and a 93.3% graduation rate — the strongest results in the district despite near-universal poverty. Among elementary schools, Casar Elementary ranks in the 95th percentile with 5th grade math proficiency of 91.7%, while Springmore Elementary (85th percentile) and Boiling Springs Elementary (83rd percentile) are consistent four-star performers with strong science results. Crest Middle and Burns Middle are the strongest traditional middle schools, with Burns posting 73.4% 6th grade math proficiency. Burns High stands out for its biology proficiency of 91.1%, a dramatic jump from the prior year.
The district's clearest academic strength is math across all levels; its major vulnerability is literacy, particularly English II and 5th/7th grade reading. Chronic absenteeism is highest in middle school, with rates near or above 29% at most middle schools, compared with roughly 20% at elementary schools. Enrollment ranges from just 76 students at North Shelby to 1,305 at Kings Mountain High, and per-pupil spending varies widely, with Cleveland ECHS spending the least yet producing the best outcomes. High-poverty schools span the performance spectrum — Casar Elementary demonstrates top-tier success while Township Three Elementary, serving similar demographics, languishes near the bottom, suggesting that school-level practices matter enormously in this district.
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