High Schools in Yadkin County Schools

Yadkin County Schools serves the rural Yadkin County, North Carolina area with just four High Schools — the traditional Forbush High and Starmount High, the small Yadkin Early College, and the alternative Yadkin Success Academy, which serves grades 6-12 while the others begin at grade 9. Enrollments range from 43 students to 787 students. The district's 2-star rating and 42nd-percentile state ranking hide a dramatic spread in outcomes: school performance ranges from the 91st percentile statewide down to the 1st percentile.

The standout is Yadkin Early College, which posted an 81st-percentile ranking in 2025-26 after reaching the 91st percentile in 2024-25. It achieves elite results — 86.4% proficiency in Biology, 88.6% in English II, and 97.5% in Math III — while reporting just 5% chronic absenteeism and spending the least of any school in the district at $6,070 per student. Yadkin Success Academy represents the opposite extreme. It is among the lowest-performing high schools in North Carolina, with a 40.9% graduation rate, 56.6% chronic absenteeism, and a 0-star rating in the bottom 10% of the state for three straight years. Its spending is the district's highest at $31,264 per student — more than five times that of the early college — yet Biology proficiency there fell from 29.4% to just 9.1% in 2025-26.

Between these extremes sit the district's two traditional high schools. Forbush High matches the state graduation rate at 88.9% and edges past the state average in Math III, but it ranks only at the 34th percentile and sees 33.9% chronic absenteeism. Starmount High offers the most encouraging trend, with a 24.4-point surge in Math I proficiency that lifted it above the state average, plus a 15.2-point gain in English II. For parents, the big picture is that Yadkin County Schools is really four distinct experiences: one highly efficient early college, one rapidly improving traditional school, one steady middle performer, and one deeply challenged alternative program. Attendance and economic need predict outcomes far better than spending, as Yadkin Early College proves that top-tier results are possible even on the district's lowest budget.