Graham County Schools

Graham County Schools is a small, rural district based in Robbinsville, North Carolina, serving about 1,096 students across three schools: Robbinsville Elementary (PK–5), Robbinsville Middle (6–8), and Robbinsville High (9–12). The district ranks 228th of 246 North Carolina districts — the 7th percentile — and nearly every student across all three schools qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting an extremely high-poverty community.

Among the three schools, Robbinsville High stands out for its recent strengths — it earned 2-star ratings in both 2023-2024 and 2024-2025, and its English II proficiency actually topped the state average in 2024-2025. However, its most recent results fell sharply, dropping the school to the 15th percentile. Robbinsville Elementary currently offers the strongest academic performance of the three and is one of only a few grade and subject areas to match the state average in 5th grade math. Robbinsville Middle is the district's greatest concern, posting the lowest proficiency averages, the lowest rank at the 10th percentile, and a 40.4 percent chronic absenteeism rate — far above the state's 24.2 percent.

For parents, the key takeaways are clear: chronic absenteeism — particularly at the middle school — and weak math performance are the biggest challenges facing the district. Eighth grade math at Robbinsville Middle was the single lowest score in the entire data set, though it did improve in the latest year, and math struggles continue into high school with low Math I proficiency. Science is a notable bright spot, with Robbinsville Middle's 8th grade science beating the state average in 2024-2025. It is also worth remembering that with only one school per grade band, year-to-year test swings can be driven by a single cohort of students. On a reassuring note, Robbinsville High's graduation rate of 88.5 percent is close to the state average of 88.8 percent, even as test scores remain below state benchmarks.