Middle Schools in Yadkin County Schools

Yadkin County Schools operates just two middle schools in the rural North Carolina Piedmont, serving roughly 1,100 students in grades 6–8 across East Bend and Boonville, with both campuses facing extreme economic need. In Yadkin County, Forbush Middle is the clear academic leader, outperforming Starmount Middle in every available state ranking cycle. In 2024–25, Forbush averaged 55.1% proficiency across seven EOG subjects versus 48.0% at Starmount, and Forbush beat the district average in all seven categories that year. Both schools serve nearly identical poverty levels—over 99% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch—yet Forbush outranks Starmount by roughly 14 percentile points in the latest statewide rankings, despite the fact that Starmount spends over $1,000 more per student.

Chronic absenteeism appears to be the most significant non-academic difference separating the two schools. Forbush Middle posts an 18.2% chronic absenteeism rate, which is below both the district average of 22.3% and the state average of 24.2%. Starmount Middle, however, reports 27.5% chronic absenteeism, placing it well above both benchmarks. Given the strong connection between attendance and achievement, this gap likely suppresses Starmount's academic performance, where only 38.3% of 7th graders were proficient in reading in 2025–26. Meanwhile, Forbush demonstrates that high-poverty schools in this district can reach state-level mastery, particularly in 8th-grade math, where it hit 61.3% proficiency in 2025–26—matching the state average—and in 8th-grade science, where it reached 68.0%.

A concerning trend is that both schools are declining in statewide rank. Forbush slid from the 59th percentile in 2023–24 to the 40th percentile in 2025–26, while Starmount fell from the 45th to the 31st percentile over the same period. Neither school currently ranks above the state median, and both struggle in middle-grades reading. However, families considering these schools should note that Forbush offers the stronger overall academic program with a lower student–teacher ratio (16.9 vs. 18.7), while Starmount provides science and some math results that are respectable despite its attendance challenges. Ultimately, the data suggests Forbush provides more consistent instruction, while Starmount's higher per-pupil spending has not translated into better outcomes.