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Middle Schools in Wilkes 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

DistrictWilkes County Schools89^th of 246 North Carolina districtsFull district overview →

Schools

1,844

Students

Top rankedCentral Wilkes Middle School283^rd of 778 North Carolina middle schools

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Biggest riser

West Wilkes Middle School up 99 spots statewide this year

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

Summary:

The Wilkes County Schools district in North Carolina includes four middle schools — Central Wilkes Middle School, North Wilkes Middle School, West Wilkes Middle School, and East Wilkes Middle School — each serving grades 6–8. These are relatively small schools, ranging from 346 to 564 students, located in communities like Moravian Falls, North Wilkesboro, Wilkesboro, and Ronda. What stands out most is that all four serve very high-poverty student populations — over 99% of students at each school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch — yet the district’s middle schools perform competitively, with three of the four schools exceeding the state average proficiency in 2025–26 and the fourth matching it.

Performance among the four schools varies. Central Wilkes earned the district’s best 2025–26 state ranking, landing in the 64th percentile statewide with a 3-star rating, and posted the highest overall proficiency average at 61.3%. West Wilkes was the biggest story of improvement, jumping from a 45th-percentile rank in 2024–25 to the 58th percentile in 2025–26 while leading the district in 8th-grade science and reading. East Wilkes had the best 2024–25 performance and remains a standout in reading, with the lowest student-teacher ratio of 13.6 and the highest per-student spending. North Wilkes has the weakest overall 2025–26 average at 57.7%, with a particular concern in 6th-grade reading at just 39.8% — but it posted solid 8th-grade math and science results.

Across all four schools, chronic absenteeism is remarkably low, ranging from 16.1% to 18.2%, far below the state rate of 24.2%. Each school also beat the state average in 8th-grade science. The clearest district-wide challenges for improvement are 6th-grade reading and 7th-grade math, both of which trail the state average at most schools. All four currently hold 3-star ratings, and while none rank at the very top of the state, they all offer families a solid, above-average educational option built on strong attendance and steady academic performance.

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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)				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	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Wilkes Middle School	Public	6-8	3541 South NC Hwy 16	Moravian Falls	28654	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 903-4180	564	39	14.6	99.5%	296 (52.5%)	36 (6.4%)	153 (27.1%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (13.1%)	61.3	283^rd of 778 public middle schools	63.6%		59.2	288^th of 773 public middle schools	62.7%	5	75.1	48.5	60.9	61.7	52.6	58.7	71.5	$9,136	$1,152	$7,984
East Wilkes Middle School	Public	6-8	2202 Macedonia Church Road	Ronda	28670	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 651-4300	346	25	13.6	99.1%	285 (82.4%)	2 (0.6%)	39 (11.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (5.8%)	59.2	311^th of 778 public middle schools	60.0%		67.5	226^th of 773 public middle schools	70.8%	85	56.2	63.6	47.7	52.9	66.4	64.2	71.6	$9,876	$1,000	$8,876
North Wilkes Middle School	Public	6-8	2776 Yellow Banks Road	North Wilkesboro	28659	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 903-6224	484	28	17.0	99.4%	381 (78.7%)	4 (0.8%)	76 (15.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.5%)	53.1	371^st of 778 public middle schools	52.3%		56.3	311^th of 773 public middle schools	59.8%	60	59.4	53.3	66.4	39.8	55.1	56.1	73.6	$8,886	$1,017	$7,868
West Wilkes Middle School	Public	6-8	1677 North NC Hwy 16	Wilkesboro	28697	Wilkes County	Wilkes County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 651-4381	450	29	15.5	99.3%	345 (76.7%)	1 (0.2%)	78 (17.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.3%)	57.5	327^th of 778 public middle schools	58.0%		46	426^th of 773 public middle schools	44.9%	99	52.0	54.7	53.2	48.0	60.4	70.1	79.1	$8,888	$856	$8,032

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
NCDPS Juvenile Education Services	3.74 mi	10
Caldwell County Schools	9.5 mi	25	162^nd
Alexander County Schools	10.82 mi	11	128^th
Oak Hill Charter School	15.27 mi	1	233^rd
Watauga County Schools	17.33 mi	11	46^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.