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Orange County Schools

At a glance

87^thof 242 North Carolina districts▲ 38

Better than 64% of North Carolina districts

Elementary 7 Middle 3 High 3Grades PK, KG-12

200 E King St
Hillsborough, NC 27278-2570·(919) 732-8126·All North Carolina district rankings →

Statewide performance 2017–2025

2025: better than 64% of districts

Schools

6,982

Students

5-star school

Top rankedHillsborough Elementary98^th of 1,490 North Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Pathways Elementary up 477 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Central Elementary 11.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

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

Summary:

The Orange County Schools district in North Carolina consists of 13 schools, including 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools. The district as a whole is ranked 87 out of 242 in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

A few schools stand out in the district. Hillsborough Elementary is the highest-performing school, ranked 98 out of 1,490 elementary schools in North Carolina and earning a 5-star rating. It consistently outperforms the district and state averages on standardized tests, particularly in mathematics and reading. Another high-achieving school is River Park Elementary, which is ranked 234 out of 1,490 and has a 4-star rating. In contrast, Partnership Academy, a high school, has the lowest performance in the district, ranking 613 out of 641 high schools in the state and receiving a 0-star rating.

The district generally performs above the state average on End-of-Course and End-of-Grade assessments, particularly in Math III and 8th grade Science. However, there are some areas of concern, such as lower performance in Math I and English II compared to the state. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch varies widely across the schools, from 17.97% at Hillsborough Elementary to 93.02% at Partnership Academy. The district's spending per student ranges from $9,879 to $14,700, with the highest spending at Pathways Elementary.

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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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (2025)		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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
A L Stanback Middle	Public	6-8	3700 NC 86 South	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 644-3200	648	45	14.4	57.7%	238 (36.7%)	69 (10.6%)	284 (43.8%)	12 (1.9%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (6.5%)	51.9	371^st of 773 public middle schools	52.0%		49	405^th of 793 public middle schools	48.9%	34								49.5	50.3	55.9				42.9	52.3	54.5		69.2	$11,425	$789	$10,636
River Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	240 St. Mary's Road	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 732-9326	523	36	14.4	37.5%	309 (59.1%)	27 (5.2%)	131 (25.0%)	10 (1.9%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.6%)	81	234^th of 1490 public elementary schools	84.3%		70.7	390^th of 1505 public elementary schools	74.1%	156					78.2	71.3	76.0				56.4	70.6	71.0				73.0		$10,994	$454	$10,540
Central Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	154 Hayes St	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 732-3622	261	23	11.1	98.9%	105 (40.2%)	72 (27.6%)	63 (24.1%)	4 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.5%)	34.1	1017^th of 1490 public elementary schools	31.7%		29.8	1102^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	26.8%	85					54.0	58.1	52.7				36.0	41.9	45.5				50.9		$14,465	$1,168	$13,297
Orange Middle	Public	6-8	308 Orange High Rd	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 732-6121	514	38	13.4	43.4%	300 (58.4%)	69 (13.4%)	104 (20.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (7.4%)	68.2	219^th of 773 public middle schools	71.7%		65	249^th of 793 public middle schools	68.6%	30								60.8	75.6	49.4				62.9	62.8	57.1		64.1	$10,665	$408	$10,256
Efland Cheeks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4401 Fuller Rd	Efland	27243	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 245-4042	532	36	14.7	99.4%	175 (32.9%)	129 (24.2%)	154 (28.9%)	26 (4.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (8.8%)	61.9	533^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	64.2%		42.1	884^th of 1505 public elementary schools	41.3%	351					75.0	78.7	56.1				50.6	67.4	54.1				52.0		$11,292	$882	$10,410
Grady Brown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1100 New Grady Brown Rd	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 732-6138	406	31	13.2	59.6%	170 (41.9%)	46 (11.3%)	146 (36.0%)	12 (3.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.6%)	49.3	757^th of 1490 public elementary schools	49.2%		30.2	1094^th of 1505 public elementary schools	27.3%	337					65.7	58.6	51.5				49.3	55.7	50.0				55.9		$12,441	$1,012	$11,429
Orange High	Public	9-12	500 Orange High Rd	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 732-6133	1,161	59	19.6	46.3%	596 (51.3%)	193 (16.6%)	285 (24.5%)	15 (1.3%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (6.0%)	48	316^th of 641 public high schools	50.7%		50.7	294^th of 640 public high schools	54.1%	22	50.4	55.5	28.0	75.2															$9,879	$469	$9,410
Hillsborough Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	402 North Nash Street	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 732-6137	435	30	14.6	17.5%	337 (77.5%)	28 (6.4%)	30 (6.9%)	11 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (6.7%)	90.8	98^th of 1490 public elementary schools	93.4%		90.6	108^th of 1505 public elementary schools	92.8%	10					88.9	75.0	74.3				68.1	80.6	82.4				87.8		$11,531	$386	$11,145
New Hope Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1900 New Hope Church Rd	Chapel Hill	27514	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 942-9696	528	46	11.5	99.1%	142 (26.9%)	62 (11.7%)	273 (51.7%)	10 (1.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.6%)	47.4	791^st of 1490 public elementary schools	46.9%		42.9	872^nd of 1505 public elementary schools	42.1%	81					67.8	65.4	58.5				36.8	56.8	39.4				58.5		$13,203	$1,160	$12,043
Pathways Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	431 Strouds Creek Road	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 732-9136	371	27	13.7	54.4%	204 (55.0%)	66 (17.8%)	57 (15.4%)	6 (1.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (10.0%)	80.8	238^th of 1490 public elementary schools	84.0%		52	715^th of 1505 public elementary schools	52.5%	477					82.5	78.0	74.6				62.5	70.0	56.7				79.1		$14,700	$1,138	$13,561
Cedar Ridge High	Public	9-12	1125 New Grady Brown Sch Rd	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 245-4000	1,148	47	24.2	47.2%	528 (46.0%)	117 (10.2%)	411 (35.8%)	20 (1.7%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (5.9%)	54.2	268^th of 641 public high schools	58.2%		54	273^rd of 640 public high schools	57.3%	5	50.6	65.7	34.3	72.8															$10,912	$399	$10,512
Partnership Academy	Public	9-12	920 Corporate Drive	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 245-4030	40	4	10.5	92.5%	16 (40.0%)	9 (22.5%)	6 (15.0%)	1 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (20.0%)	6.7	613^th of 641 public high schools	4.4%		14.4	554^th of 640 public high schools	13.4%	59	15.4	25.0																	$22,657	$918	$21,740
Gravelly Hill Middle	Public	6-8	4801 West Ten Road	Efland	27243	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 245-4050	415	31	13.4	56.4%	187 (45.1%)	86 (20.7%)	99 (23.9%)	11 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.7%)	48.3	399^th of 773 public middle schools	48.4%		42.9	461^st of 793 public middle schools	41.9%	62								55.6	38.5	52.6				45.1	47.5	60.9		61.7	$11,455	$480	$10,975

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
The Expedition School	3.48 mi	1	7^th
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools	4.41 mi	20	30^th
Durham Public Schools	5.48 mi	57	163^rd
Eno River Academy	5.55 mi	1
Community School of Digital and Visual A	7.55 mi	1	226^th

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.