Pamlico County Schools

Pamlico County Schools is a small, rural North Carolina district in Bayboro serving about 1,130 students across four schools: one high school, one middle school, and two elementary schools serving different grade spans. Every school in this district operates under near-universal economic disadvantage, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility above 97%, which makes the standout results at the upper and lower ends even more notable.

The district’s strongest school is Pamlico County High, which has improved to the 67th percentile statewide with a 3-star rating. It outperforms the state by wide margins in Math I and Math III, and by 4.3 points in English II. However, its chronic absenteeism rate of 56.1% is the highest in the district and more than double the state average, a serious concern despite solid test scores. The district’s early elementary school, Pamlico County Primary, is quietly meeting state benchmarks: 3rd grade math and reading proficiency are almost exactly at the state level, with chronic absenteeism matching the state average as well. That is a strong outcome given that over 99% of its students are economically disadvantaged.

Performance is more mixed at the middle and upper elementary schools. Pamlico County Middle has slipped from the 69th to the 45th percentile over three years, with 8th grade math proficiency nearly 17 points below the state and reading scores trailing by 4–8 points in every grade, even though 7th grade math and 8th grade science are bright spots. The district’s lowest-performing school is Fred A Anderson Elementary, which serves grades 4–5 and dropped from the 54th to the 26th percentile in one year. Its 4th grade math and reading scores fell dramatically, with proficiency rates now 15–20 points below state averages; because the school has only about 68 students per grade, this could be a cohort-specific blip, but it clearly needs attention. The high school’s strong math results despite severe absenteeism, combined with the pattern of lower scores emerging in grades 4–5, are the most important takeaways for parents.