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Orange County Schools

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its North Carolina rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

69^thof 246 North Carolina districts▲ 18

Better than 71% 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 2018–2026

2026: better than 72% of districts

Schools

6,982

Students

5-star school

Top rankedHillsborough Elementary103^rd of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Grady Brown Elementary up 147 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Central Elementary 11.1 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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

Summary:

Orange County Schools is a North Carolina district serving roughly 6,982 students across 13 public schools — 7 elementary schools, 3 middle schools, and 3 high schools — and it earns a 4-star district rating, ranking 69th of 246 districts statewide in the 72nd percentile.

Families looking at elementary options will find a clear standout: Hillsborough Elementary ranks 103rd of 1,492 elementary schools in the state (93rd percentile, 5 stars), with the district's lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 9.1% and strong math and reading proficiency across grades 3-5. Pathways Elementary is also impressive, ranking in the 87th percentile despite a 54.5% free/reduced lunch rate, and it has improved dramatically from the 52nd percentile two years ago. Among middle schools, Orange Middle is the clear leader at the 75th percentile, exceeding state averages in every tested subject, including a strong 79.4% proficiency in 8th-grade science. At the high school level, Orange High outperforms Cedar Ridge High with a 88.0% graduation rate and notably strong Math III proficiency at 80.8%, while the two schools otherwise share similar sizes, demographics, and district context.

The district's biggest challenges center on a few specific areas: Math I proficiency lags at 36.9% versus the state's 42.1%, with Cedar Ridge High particularly affected at 34.3%, and chronic absenteeism runs above the state average at 25.3%. Partnership Academy is a very small high-need high school with just 40 students and requires special context given its 92.5% poverty rate and 62.9% graduation rate. Encouragingly, several high-poverty elementary schools are improving sharply — Efland Cheeks Elementary (99.4% free/reduced lunch) climbed from the 41st to the 65th percentile, and Grady Brown Elementary rose from the 27th to the 59th percentile. The picture shows a district where economic disadvantage is important context, but schools like Pathways and Efland Cheeks prove that high-poverty schools in Orange County Schools can still succeed academically.

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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)	EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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	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%)	43.4	449^th of 778 public middle schools	42.3%		51.9	371^st of 773 public middle schools	52.0%	78								55.1	48.2	59.3				48.7	47.7	51.3		62.1	$11,425	$789	$10,636
River Park Elementary	Public	K-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%)	76.5	296^th of 1492 public elementary schools	80.2%		81	234^th of 1490 public elementary schools	84.3%	62					66.3	75.0	80.9				66.3	70.0	67.0				76.6		$10,994	$454	$10,540
Central Elementary	Public	K-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%)	33.4	1038^th of 1492 public elementary schools	30.4%		34.1	1017^th of 1490 public elementary schools	31.7%	21					48.6	58.7	47.5				43.2	43.5	52.5				65.0		$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%)	72.3	196^th of 778 public middle schools	74.8%		68.2	219^th of 773 public middle schools	71.7%	23								69.1	62.8	66.5				64.8	62.2	63.4		79.4	$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%)	63.4	529^th of 1492 public elementary schools	64.5%		61.9	533^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	64.2%	4					67.4	82.4	65.6				51.7	75.3	54.2				68.0		$11,292	$882	$10,410
Grady Brown Elementary	Public	K-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%)	58.3	610^th of 1492 public elementary schools	59.1%		49.3	757^th of 1490 public elementary schools	49.2%	147					66.7	67.7	65.7				55.6	64.5	52.9				67.1		$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%)	56.4	277^th of 662 public high schools	58.2%		48	316^th of 641 public high schools	50.7%	39	62.0	67.2	42.9	80.8															$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	103^rd of 1492 public elementary schools	93.1%		90.8	98^th of 1490 public elementary schools	93.4%	5					87.5	82.6	86.5				76.7	75.4	81.1				82.4		$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%)	48.6	756^th of 1492 public elementary schools	49.3%		47.4	791^st of 1490 public elementary schools	46.9%	35					68.6	70.2	65.3				43.0	46.8	50.7				66.7		$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%)	83.5	198^th of 1492 public elementary schools	86.7%		80.8	238^th of 1490 public elementary schools	84.0%	40					80.4	82.5	75.5				67.4	65.0	71.4				89.8		$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%)	50.2	327^th of 662 public high schools	50.6%		54.2	268^th of 641 public high schools	58.2%	59	60.7	70.9	34.3	69.6															$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%)								(n/a)	336.9	20.0	537.7																$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%)	51.3	387^th of 778 public middle schools	50.3%		48.3	399^th of 773 public middle schools	48.4%	12								65.3	44.8	49.2				55.6	52.3	51.1		78.8	$11,455	$480	$10,975

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
The Expedition School	3.48 mi	1	6^th
Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools	4.41 mi	20	28^th
Durham Public Schools	5.48 mi	57	155^th
Eno River Academy	5.55 mi	1
Community School of Digital and Visual A	7.55 mi	1	235^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.