Best Middle Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish North Carolina test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the EOG test scores by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction. The most recent update was on Wednesday, September 3, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 773)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
391	American Leadership Academy-Coastal	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-11	1135 Pandion Dr	Wilmington	28411	New Hanover County	American Leadership Academy-Coastal	Yes	No	No	Yes	(910) 839-0012	1,002	57	17.4	35.4%	793 (79.1%)	50 (5.0%)	87 (8.7%)	8 (0.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (6.1%)								49.2	36.3	520	129		370041203415
392	Harry M Arndt Middle	Public	7-8	3350 34th Street Drive NE	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 256-9545	601	36	16.7	99.5%	275 (45.8%)	44 (7.3%)	204 (33.9%)	28 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (8.3%)	$7,986			$496			$7,490	49.2	55.3	331	61		370069000283
393	R-S Middle School	Public	6-8	607 Westbrook Dr.	Rutherfordton	28139	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 286-4461	561	30	18.6	98.2%	373 (66.5%)	78 (13.9%)	51 (9.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	56 (10.0%)	$8,987			$745			$8,242	48.9	61.4	278	115		370408000925
394	Gaston Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Magnet, Alternative	K-12	1 Learning Place	Gastonia	28052	Gaston County	Gaston County Schools	No	Yes	Yes	No	(704) 836-9125	283	21	13.7	57.6%	152 (53.7%)	82 (29.0%)	28 (9.9%)	5 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.7%)	$5,154			$290			$4,864	48.9	53.5	353	41		370162003433
395	Clayton Middle	Public	6-8	490 Guy Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-5811	609	38	16	96.2%	169 (27.8%)	170 (27.9%)	221 (36.3%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (7.1%)	$9,361			$587			$8,774	48.6	54.6	341	54		370237001031
396	Central Middle	Public	6-8	883 Zephyr Rd	Dobson	27017	Surry County	Surry County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 386-4018	502	31	16.2	99.4%	282 (56.2%)	3 (0.6%)	199 (39.6%)	4 (0.8%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.4%)	$8,754			$900			$7,854	48.6	52.1	374	22		370441002279
397	Cape Fear Middle	Public	6-8	1886 NC Hwy 133	Rocky Point	28457	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 602-3334	430	32	13.4	99.1%	199 (46.3%)	36 (8.4%)	163 (37.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (7.0%)	$8,993			$959			$8,034	48.5	51.3	382	15		370357002602
398	KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	320 Pleasant Hill Road	Gaston	27832	Northampton County	KIPP Gaston College Preparatory	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 308-6932	1,143	75	15.2	98.9%	51 (4.5%)	940 (82.2%)	90 (7.9%)	6 (0.5%)	5 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (4.5%)								48.4	37.6	510	112		370012302597
399	Gravelly Hill Middle	Public	6-8	4801 West Ten Road	Efland	27243	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 245-4050	415	31	13.4	56.4%	187 (45.1%)	86 (20.7%)	99 (23.9%)	11 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.7%)	$11,455			$480			$10,975	48.3	42.9	461	62		370348002900
400	Clover Garden	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2454 Altamahaw Union Ridge Roa	Burlington	27217	Alamance County	Clover Garden	Yes	No	No	Yes	(336) 586-9440	963	48	20.1		763 (79.2%)	64 (6.6%)	67 (7.0%)	5 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	63 (6.5%)								48.3	48.1	412	12		370011602565

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for NC student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Gifted and Talented Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on EOG Mathematics, EOG Reading, EOG Science test scores released by the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
These rankings were last updated on September 3, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

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.