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
11	The Expedition School	Public, Charter	K-8	437 Dimmocks Mill Rd Ste 33	Hillsborough	27278	Orange County	The Expedition School	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 245-8432	380	29	13.1		282 (74.2%)	14 (3.7%)	37 (9.7%)	17 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	28 (7.4%)								97.9	98.8	4	7		370035403319
12	Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy	Public	6-12	567 East Hargett St	Raleigh	27601	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 664-5644	262	21	12.7	35.1%	75 (28.6%)	116 (44.3%)	42 (16.0%)	20 (7.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.4%)	$12,691			$443			$12,248	97.8	97.6	16	4		370472003239
13	Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy	Public	6-12	301 Ashe Avenue	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 508-9088	337	21	15.9	34.4%	118 (35.0%)	111 (32.9%)	59 (17.5%)	25 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (7.1%)	$11,659			$232			$11,427	97.5	95.8	28	15		370472003237
14	Weddington Middle	Public	6-8	5903 Deal Road	Matthews	28104	Union County	Union County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 296-6318	1,324	65	20.3	7.3%	770 (58.2%)	85 (6.4%)	101 (7.6%)	308 (23.3%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (4.4%)	$6,716			$201			$6,515	97.4	98.3	9	5		370462002413
15	Rea Farms STEAM Academy	Public, Magnet	K-8	11532 Golf Links Drive	Charlotte	28277	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(980) 343-0723	1,098	67	16.3	12.8%	459 (41.8%)	117 (10.7%)	108 (9.8%)	343 (31.2%)	5 (0.5%)	4 (0.4%)	62 (5.6%)								97.4	97.8	13	2		370297003517
16	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%)								97.2	96.4	24	8		370031903193
17	Harris Road Middle	Public	6-8	1251 Patriot Blvd	Concord	28027	Cabarrus County	Cabarrus County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 260-6470	1,368	68	20	13.5%	423 (30.9%)	201 (14.7%)	88 (6.4%)	593 (43.3%)	3 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	59 (4.3%)	$7,552			$400			$7,151	97.2	96.6	23	6		370053002625
18	Apex Friendship Middle	Public	6-8	7701 Humie Olive Rd	Apex	27502	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 694-8960	1,412	73	19.3	7.9%	848 (60.1%)	77 (5.5%)	114 (8.1%)	302 (21.4%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	68 (4.8%)	$8,250			$361			$7,890	97.1	98	12	6		370472003470
19	Davis Drive Middle	Public	6-8	2101 Davis Drive	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 387-3033	992	57	17.4	13.3%	372 (37.5%)	44 (4.4%)	113 (11.4%)	419 (42.2%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.7%)	36 (3.6%)	$7,994			$391			$7,602	97	96.6	21	2		370472002031
20	Sallie B Howard School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1004 Herring Avenue E	Wilson	27893	Wilson County	Sallie B Howard School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 293-4150	1,228	77	15.9	97.1%	35 (2.9%)	637 (51.9%)	490 (39.9%)	15 (1.2%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (4.0%)								97	96.4	25	5		370004902365

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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.