Best High Schools in North Carolina

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Find the best North Carolina high 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 EOC 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 641)	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
141	Vernon Malone College and Career Academy	Public	9-12	2200 S Wilmington St	Raleigh	27603	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 856-8119	348	22	15.8	45.1%	90 (25.9%)	136 (39.1%)	90 (25.9%)	11 (3.2%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.2%)	$12,204			$705			$11,499	78.1	76.4	149	8		370472003345
142	Research Triangle High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3106 East NC Highway 54	Durham	27709	Durham County	Research Triangle High School	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 998-6757	572	43	13.3		201 (35.1%)	90 (15.7%)	84 (14.7%)	126 (22.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (12.2%)								78	77.5	143	1		370032603261
143	Neuse Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	909 M. Durwood Stephenson Park	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Neuse Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 626-2300	925	53	17.4		586 (63.4%)	109 (11.8%)	140 (15.1%)	7 (0.8%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (8.6%)								77.6	76.3	150	7		370014402925
144	East Chapel Hill High	Public	9-12	500 Weaver Dairy Rd	Chapel Hill	27514	Orange County	Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 969-2482	1,419	87	16.3	22.2%	660 (46.5%)	158 (11.1%)	188 (13.2%)	294 (20.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	119 (8.4%)	$11,539			$386			$11,153	77.3	79.7	135	9		370072001942
145	Silsa	Public	9-12	419 McDowell Street	Asheville	28803	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 350-2700	332	14	23.9	39.2%	214 (64.5%)	64 (19.3%)	35 (10.5%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	14 (4.2%)	$7,028			$199			$6,830	76.9	64.4	209	64		370027002749
146	Madison Early College High	Public	9-12	5734 US 25/70 Hwy	Marshall	28753	Madison County	Madison County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 649-0319	270	10	27	98.9%	231 (85.6%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (10.4%)	3 (1.1%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.2%)	$6,768			$164			$6,604	76.9	67.9	194	48		370282003145
147	Henderson Collegiate	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1071 Old Epsom Rd	Henderson	27536	Vance County	Henderson Collegiate	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 598-1038	1,334	96	13.9	97.6%	56 (4.2%)	810 (60.7%)	377 (28.3%)	26 (1.9%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	63 (4.7%)								76.8	91.5	61	86		370031903193
148	Hertford County Early College	Public	9-12	109 Community College Rd	Ahoskie	27910	Hertford County	Hertford County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 332-7788	198	7	28.2	98.5%	41 (20.7%)	124 (62.6%)	16 (8.1%)	7 (3.5%)	2 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.0%)	$9,167			$347			$8,820	76.6	94	42	106		370216003106
149	Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2527 US 221A Hwy	Mooresboro	28114	Rutherford County	Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 657-9998	1,330	62	21.4		907 (68.2%)	111 (8.3%)	150 (11.3%)	35 (2.6%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	124 (9.3%)								76.6	72.5	170	21		370009302480
150	Anson County Early College High	Public	9-12	177 Ledbetter Street	Polkton	28135	Anson County	Anson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 272-5396	210	10	21.4	98.6%	89 (42.4%)	78 (37.1%)	19 (9.0%)	14 (6.7%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.3%)	$8,091			$205			$7,886	76.4	69.3	185	35		370018002748

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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 EOC Biology, EOC English II, EOC Math I, EOC Math III 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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Public School Districts and Their Services: 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.