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
651	East Millbrook Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	3801 Spring Forest Rd	Raleigh	27616	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 850-8755	731	58	12.5	99.6%	87 (11.9%)	319 (43.6%)	271 (37.1%)	18 (2.5%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	31 (4.2%)	$11,135			$1,361			$9,773	18.3	16.9	690	39		370472001854
652	Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual	3-8	601 N Cherry St. Suite 250	Winston Salem	27101	Forsyth County	Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(336) 703-4296	177	24	7.3	77.4%	45 (25.4%)	70 (39.5%)	34 (19.2%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (14.7%)	$205,940			$65,524			$140,417	18.3	20.8	650	2		370150002518
653	Wilson STEM Academy	Public, Magnet	6-8	7020 Tuckaseegee Rd	Charlotte	28214	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(980) 343-6070	456	23	19.4	99.3%	16 (3.5%)	272 (59.6%)	135 (29.6%)	12 (2.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.2%)	$10,408			$1,128			$9,279	18.3	12.4	719	66		370297003468
654	Roseboro-Salemburg Middle	Public	6-8	305 West Pleasant Street	Roseboro	28382	Sampson County	Sampson County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 525-4764	394	18	21.8	99.2%	128 (32.5%)	107 (27.2%)	133 (33.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.8%)	$9,500			$1,365			$8,135	18.3	20.8	649	5		370414001679
655	Ashley Park PreK-8 School	Public	PK, KG-8	2401 Belfast Dr	Charlotte	28208	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(980) 343-6018	338	32	10.5	99.1%	13 (3.8%)	195 (57.7%)	111 (32.8%)	11 (3.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.1%)	$12,028			$1,804			$10,224	18.2	9.6	737	82		370297001192
656	West Rowan Middle	Public	6-8	5925 Statesville Blvd	Salisbury	28147	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 633-4775	707	39	18.2	98.9%	335 (47.4%)	157 (22.2%)	144 (20.4%)	6 (0.8%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (8.8%)	$9,051			$678			$8,373	18.2	17.5	683	27		370405001631
657	Bladenboro Middle	Public	5-8	910 South Main Street	Bladenboro	28320	Bladen County	Bladen County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 863-3232	254	14	18.6	98.8%	121 (47.6%)	56 (22.0%)	43 (16.9%)	1 (0.4%)	5 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (11.0%)	$9,981			$1,030			$8,951	18.1	26.2	601	56		370039002617
658	Gaston STEM Leadership Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	400 Broughton Street	Gaston	27832	Northampton County	Northampton County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 537-2520	284	24	11.8	98.9%	15 (5.3%)	247 (87.0%)	10 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.2%)	$18,837			$3,552			$15,285	18.1	23.4	631	27		370342001410
659	Smithfield Middle	Public	6-8	1455 Buffalo Rd	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 934-4696	573	44	13.1	98.8%	52 (9.1%)	176 (30.7%)	316 (55.1%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.4%)	$10,489			$1,415			$9,074	18	23.1	632	27		370237001027
660	Charles H Darden Middle	Public	6-8	1665 Lipscomb Road	Wilson	27893	Wilson County	Wilson County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 206-4973	378	28	13.6	99.2%	10 (2.6%)	242 (64.0%)	116 (30.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)	$12,284			$3,499			$8,785	18	10.7	730	70		370502002061

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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

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.