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
501	North Iredell Middle	Public	6-8	2467 Jennings Rd	Olin	28660	Iredell County	Iredell-Statesville Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 876-4802	556	31	17.9	99.5%	409 (73.6%)	24 (4.3%)	98 (17.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.0%)	$8,318			$681			$7,637	36.2	50.9	387	114		370231002300
502	China Grove Middle	Public	6-8	1013 North Main St	China Grove	28023	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 857-7038	572	30	19	99.5%	410 (71.7%)	17 (3.0%)	111 (19.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.6%)	$9,348			$833			$8,516	36.2	29.2	568	66		370405001613
503	Penderlea Elementary	Public	K-8	11 Garden Road	Willard	28478	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 285-2761	468	33	14.1	99.4%	235 (50.2%)	83 (17.7%)	108 (23.1%)	4 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	34 (7.3%)	$9,390			$895			$8,495	36.1	36.1	521	18		370357001467
504	Grandview Middle	Public	6-8	451 Catawba Valley Boulevard S	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Hickory City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 328-2289	347	24	14.5	99.1%	112 (32.3%)	79 (22.8%)	100 (28.8%)	23 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	32 (9.2%)	$9,432			$1,144			$8,288	36.1	40.6	480	24		370219000941
505	Carroll Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	4520 Six Forks Rd	Raleigh	27609	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 881-1370	898	61	14.8	61.1%	286 (31.8%)	277 (30.8%)	274 (30.5%)	15 (1.7%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (4.7%)	$9,352			$593			$8,759	36.1	39	494	11		370472001842
506	G. C. Hawley Middle	Public	6-8	305 East Wilton Avenue	Creedmoor	27522	Granville County	Granville County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 528-2313	442	24	18.6	98.2%	194 (43.9%)	116 (26.2%)	106 (24.0%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.2%)	$8,177			$434			$7,743	35.7	37.9	505	1		370180000741
507	Cullowhee Valley School	Public	PK, KG-8	240 Wisdom Drive	Cullowhee	28723	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 293-5667	570	35	16.3	99.5%	341 (59.8%)	5 (0.9%)	171 (30.0%)	3 (0.5%)	22 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.9%)	$10,392			$1,261			$9,131	35.4	35.2	528	21		370234001002
508	Raleigh Oak Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	2600 Sumer Drive	Raleigh	27615	Wake County	Raleigh Oak Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 424-7626	373	27	13.9		182 (48.8%)	71 (19.0%)	54 (14.5%)	8 (2.1%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (14.5%)								35.4	40.1	484	24		370042803452
509	Carolina International School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	9545 Poplar Tent Road	Concord	28027	Cabarrus County	Carolina International School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(704) 455-3847	744	47	15.6		166 (22.3%)	323 (43.4%)	170 (22.8%)	28 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.7%)								34.9	40	486	23		370013302706
510	Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	16115 Poplar Tent Road	Huntersville	28078	Mecklenburg County	Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(704) 755-6800	1,269	77	16.4	41.6%	306 (24.1%)	481 (37.9%)	200 (15.8%)	158 (12.5%)	18 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	105 (8.3%)								34.9			(n/a)		370047903617

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for North Carolina

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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:

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.