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Stanly County Schools

At a glance

100^thof 246 North Carolina districts▼ 8

Better than 59% of North Carolina districts

Elementary 11 Middle 4 High 7 Alternative 1Grades PK, KG-12

723 Aquadale Rd
Albemarle, NC 28001·(704) 961-3000·All North Carolina district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 59.3% of districts

Schools

8,743

Students

5-star schools

Top rankedStanly STEM Early College41^st of 662 North Carolina high schools

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Biggest riser

Stanfield Elementary up 93 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Millingport Elementary 12.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

0★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

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

Summary:

Stanly County Schools serves about 8,700 students across 23 schools in central North Carolina, including 11 elementary schools, 4 middle schools, 7 high schools, and an alternative program, spanning grades K-12. This is a district of stark contrasts: while poverty rates are uniformly high, with most schools reporting over 97% free/reduced lunch eligibility, academic outcomes vary dramatically from school to school. The strongest schools are the two early-college high schools. Stanly STEM Early College ranks #41 in the state, and Stanly Early College High ranks #44, with near-universal proficiency in English, math, and science. Among traditional schools, Millingport Elementary, Locust Elementary, Oakboro Choice STEM, and West Stanly Middle School all rank in the top 20% of their school types, often exceeding district and state averages.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, a cluster of schools in Albemarle is struggling significantly. East Albemarle Elementary ranks in the 2nd percentile statewide, with just 19.6% proficiency in 4th-grade math. Albemarle Middle ranks in the 7th percentile, and Albemarle High has a graduation rate of only 72.9%. Chronic absenteeism is a reliable warning sign: the struggling schools have rates above 26%, while top performers like Oakboro Choice STEM (5.3%) and Stanly STEM Early College (5.2%) have very low absenteeism. The alternative schools, Stanly Academy Learning Center and Stanly County Virtual Education, serve at-risk populations and face severe challenges, including an 80.6% absenteeism rate at the Academy.

For parents, the takeaway is that poverty does not determine success here, but attendance and school model do. The early-college and STEM-choice models are demonstrably effective, and several traditional schools are improving—North Stanly High jumped its Math I proficiency from 9.1% to 50% in one year. Spending per pupil also does not predict results, as Stanly Early College High spends less per student than many lower-performing schools. Overall, the district has excellent options, but families should look closely at school-specific attendance and proficiency data before choosing.

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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
Albemarle High	Public	9-12	311 Park Ridge Road	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-4200	414	30	13.5	99.0%	86 (20.8%)	218 (52.7%)	65 (15.7%)	6 (1.4%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (8.7%)	21.1	545^th of 662 public high schools	17.7%		14	571^st of 641 public high schools	10.9%	26	17.6	34.5	24.1	71.4															$10,302	$1,146	$9,156
Albemarle Middle	Public	6-8	1811 Badin Road	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-3400	355	25	14.3	99.2%	93 (26.2%)	156 (43.9%)	60 (16.9%)	14 (3.9%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (8.5%)	10.1	722^nd of 778 public middle schools	7.2%		10.7	715^th of 773 public middle schools	7.5%	7								14.6	17.7	23.6				34.6	30.1	35.5		55.1	$10,875	$1,299	$9,576
Central Elementary	Public	K-5	206 N 3rd Street	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-3200	525	39	13.4	99.4%	174 (33.1%)	174 (33.1%)	84 (16.0%)	17 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	75 (14.3%)	19.4	1287^th of 1492 public elementary schools	13.7%		21.8	1247^th of 1490 public elementary schools	16.3%	40					35.4	59.3	44.6				34.2	44.4	40.2				43.4		$9,432	$1,366	$8,066
East Albemarle Elementary	Public	K-5	1813 E Main Street	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-3500	261	20	13.2	98.9%	47 (18.0%)	146 (55.9%)	33 (12.6%)	11 (4.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.8%)	4.3	1469^th of 1492 public elementary schools	1.5%		6.6	1452^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	2.6%	17					29.8	19.6	31.7				36.2	19.6	26.8				29.3		$10,004	$1,532	$8,473
Aquadale Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	11707 NC Hwy 138	Norwood	28128	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-5600	379	29	13.0	99.2%	244 (64.4%)	48 (12.7%)	34 (9.0%)	16 (4.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (9.2%)	49.6	737^th of 1492 public elementary schools	50.6%		52.8	695^th of 1490 public elementary schools	53.4%	42					70.8	54.5	62.5				50.0	43.9	59.4				71.9		$8,983	$974	$8,009
Badin Elementary	Public	K-5	47 Henderson St	Badin	28009	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-3900	411	29	14.2	99.3%	281 (68.4%)	56 (13.6%)	15 (3.6%)	10 (2.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (11.7%)	76.7	285^th of 1492 public elementary schools	80.9%		85.2	169^th of 1490 public elementary schools	88.7%	116					76.5	78.8	74.2				54.1	65.9	75.8				84.8		$8,304	$1,053	$7,251
Endy Elementary	Public	K-5	27670 Betty Rd	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-3300	360	27	13.2	99.2%	289 (80.3%)	14 (3.9%)	35 (9.7%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.4%)	48.7	751^st of 1492 public elementary schools	49.7%		51.9	712^th of 1490 public elementary schools	52.2%	39					75.0	54.2	54.1				62.5	58.3	45.9				57.4		$9,108	$956	$8,152
Locust Elementary	Public	K-5	103 School Rd	Locust	28097	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-5500	563	36	15.7	99.5%	408 (72.5%)	27 (4.8%)	88 (15.6%)	8 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.7%)	81.9	220^th of 1492 public elementary schools	85.3%		83	203^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	86.4%	17					73.7	72.7	79.4				64.5	71.6	72.2				86.6		$8,043	$624	$7,419
Millingport Elementary	Public	K-5	24198 NC Hwy 73 W	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4300	192	15	12.9	97.9%	138 (71.9%)	2 (1.0%)	16 (8.3%)	18 (9.4%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.9%)	84	190^th of 1492 public elementary schools	87.3%		85.7	161^st of 1490 public elementary schools	89.2%	29					82.1	69.4	84.6				78.6	75.0	63.2				84.6		$10,684	$1,258	$9,426
North Stanly Middle	Public	6-8	36605 Old Salisbury Rd	New London	28127	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-3700	471	28	16.6	99.4%	353 (74.9%)	47 (10.0%)	17 (3.6%)	16 (3.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.6%)	59	316^th of 778 public middle schools	59.4%		55.3	323^rd of 773 public middle schools	58.2%	7								69.5	52.6	48.5				57.1	57.1	62.0		76.1	$8,519	$666	$7,853
North Stanly High	Public	9-12	40206 US Hwy 52 N	New London	28127	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-4600	568	37	15.4	98.2%	412 (72.5%)	67 (11.8%)	38 (6.7%)	16 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	34 (6.0%)	43.2	382^nd of 662 public high schools	42.3%		29.7	455^th of 641 public high schools	29.0%	73	47.5	61.4	50.0	65.8															$8,783	$580	$8,203
Norwood Elementary	Public	K-5	400 South Main St	Norwood	28128	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4000	354	23	15.0	99.2%	227 (64.1%)	41 (11.6%)	53 (15.0%)	6 (1.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (7.3%)	51.5	706^th of 1492 public elementary schools	52.7%		52.7	699^th of 1490 public elementary schools	53.1%	7					69.2	75.9	54.4				50.8	63.0	47.4				61.4		$8,500	$935	$7,565
Richfield Elementary	Public	K-5	120 Morgan Street	Richfield	28137	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4800	302	21	14.0	99.0%	249 (82.5%)	13 (4.3%)	9 (3.0%)	8 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.6%)	80.9	232^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	84.5%		78.6	269^th of 1490 public elementary schools	81.9%	37					91.1	71.2	76.2				73.3	67.3	66.7				76.2		$9,326	$1,012	$8,313
South Stanly High	Public	9-12	40488 S Stanly School Rd	Norwood	28128	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-4100	442	27	16.2	99.3%	306 (69.2%)	59 (13.3%)	35 (7.9%)	14 (3.2%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.7%)	37.4	423^rd of 662 public high schools	36.1%		33.5	422^nd of 641 public high schools	34.2%	1	63.7	58.9	25.0	61.5															$9,199	$565	$8,634
Stanfield Elementary	Public	K-5	101 W. Montgomery St	Stanfield	28163	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-5800	483	35	13.6	99.4%	311 (64.4%)	38 (7.9%)	106 (21.9%)	6 (1.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.1%)	62.1	547^th of 1492 public elementary schools	63.3%		55.7	640^th of 1490 public elementary schools	57.0%	93					85.5	57.4	63.4				60.5	55.9	56.3				73.2		$9,984	$933	$9,051
West Stanly High	Public	9-12	306 East Red Cross Road	Oakboro	28129	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-5200	800	45	17.8	99.6%	580 (72.5%)	49 (6.1%)	113 (14.1%)	10 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	44 (5.5%)	53.9	297^th of 662 public high schools	55.1%		68.3	184^th of 641 public high schools	71.3%	113	66.1	63.9	56.9	65.4															$8,527	$469	$8,058
South Stanly Middle	Public	6-8	12492 Cottonville Road	Norwood	28128	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-5700	402	24	16.9	99.3%	260 (64.7%)	61 (15.2%)	42 (10.4%)	17 (4.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.2%)	48.5	411^th of 778 public middle schools	47.2%		42.9	450^th of 773 public middle schools	41.8%	39								49.6	63.5	47.4				54.5	61.2	48.9		63.7	$9,546	$628	$8,918
West Stanly Middle School	Public	6-8	339 Running Creek Church Rd	Locust	28097	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-3600	662	38	17.3	99.5%	472 (71.3%)	35 (5.3%)	101 (15.3%)	14 (2.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (5.9%)	80.1	131^st of 778 public middle schools	83.2%		74.5	168^th of 773 public middle schools	78.3%	37								80.3	68.2	68.5				64.8	72.1	64.5		81.8	$8,483	$608	$7,875
Stanly Early College High	Public	9-12	141 College Drive	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-4400	188	8	23.4	98.4%	143 (76.1%)	7 (3.7%)	25 (13.3%)	8 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.7%)	92.5	44^th of 662 public high schools	93.4%		94.7	29^th of 641 public high schools	95.5%	15	93.3	100.0	99.9	93.0															$7,609	$364	$7,245
Stanly Academy Learning Center	Public	6-12	1121 Austin St	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4500	13	1	14.4	76.9%	6 (46.2%)	6 (46.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (7.7%)								(n/a)																			$23,336	$986	$22,350
Oakboro Choice STEM	Public	K-8	1244 N Main St	Oakboro	28129	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4700	353	25	13.9	99.2%	288 (81.6%)	9 (2.5%)	35 (9.9%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	80.8	234^th of 1492 public elementary schools	84.3%		83	204^th of 1490 public elementary schools	86.3%	30					87.0	84.8	63.8	68.2	79.3	86.7	69.6	76.1	68.1	68.2	86.2	93.3	76.6	93.3	$8,393	$828	$7,565
Stanly County Virtual Education	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1121 Austin St	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(704) 961-3081	56	0		44.6%	38 (67.9%)	9 (16.1%)	3 (5.4%)	2 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (7.1%)								(n/a)	30.0	33.3	540.1	540.2						6.3						31.3		33.3	$1,870	$164	$1,706
Stanly STEM Early College	Public	9-12	311 Park Ridge Road	Albemarle	28001	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 961-4900	189	6	31.5	98.4%	87 (46.0%)	24 (12.7%)	35 (18.5%)	29 (15.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.4%)	92.6	41^st of 662 public high schools	93.8%		90.3	75^th of 641 public high schools	88.3%	34	98.0	97.2	96.5	92.3

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Gray Stone Day School	9.07 mi	1	17^th
Cabarrus County Schools	13.82 mi	43	67^th
Montgomery County Schools	14.47 mi	11	195^th
Rowan-Salisbury Schools	16.55 mi	33	199^th
Davidson County Schools	18.53 mi	35	101^st

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.