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
471	The Experiential School of Greensboro	Public, Charter	K-8	301 S Church St	Greensboro	27401	Guilford County	The Experiential School of Greensboro	Yes	No	No	No	(336) 890-8374	191	19	10.2	50.3%	68 (35.6%)	80 (41.9%)	17 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (13.1%)								39.8	38.5	501	30		370042503458
472	Shining Rock Classical Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2150 Russ Avenue	Waynesville	28786	Haywood County	Shining Rock Classical Academy	Yes	No	No	Yes	(828) 476-5150	616	47	13		523 (84.9%)	11 (1.8%)	29 (4.7%)	13 (2.1%)	17 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (3.6%)								39.8	57.4	310	162		370038903358
473	Trinity Middle School	Public	6-8	5271 Surrett Drive	Archdale	27263	Randolph County	Randolph County School System	No	No	No	No	(336) 886-1100	544	30	18.1	99.4%	311 (57.2%)	29 (5.3%)	116 (21.3%)	61 (11.2%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (4.2%)	$9,003			$524			$8,479	39.7	28.4	574	101		370378001976
474	Highlands School	Public, Alternative	K-12	545 Pierson Dr	Highlands	28741	Macon County	Macon County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 526-2147	344	27	12.5	33.4%	230 (66.9%)	1 (0.3%)	107 (31.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	$12,967			$1,206			$11,761	39.7	62	273	201		370276001139
475	Benson Middle	Public	6-8	1600 N Wall Street	Benson	27504	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 894-3889	377	26	14.7	99.2%	121 (32.1%)	72 (19.1%)	164 (43.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (5.0%)	$9,496			$899			$8,596	39.6	51.4	380	95		370237000582
476	Nash Everywhere Digital Academy (NEDA)	Public, Virtual, Alternative	4-12	801 Williford St	Rocky Mount	27803	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(252) 462-2855	259	11	24.1	74.1%	62 (23.9%)	145 (56.0%)	32 (12.4%)	5 (1.9%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.0%)								39.1	39.6	489	13		370327003634
477	Western Harnett Middle	Public	6-8	11135 NC Hwy 27 West	Lillington	27546	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 499-4497	700	46	15.3	55.6%	330 (47.1%)	128 (18.3%)	176 (25.1%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (8.4%)	$8,179			$745			$7,434	38.6	45.4	434	43		370201002296
478	South Edgecombe Middle	Public	6-8	230 Pinetops-Crisp Road	Pinetops	27864	Edgecombe County	Edgecombe County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 827-5083	271	19	14	98.9%	111 (41.0%)	93 (34.3%)	50 (18.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.9%)	$9,619			$1,193			$8,426	38.5	30.5	561	83		370132000558
479	Franklinton Middle	Public	6-8	3 N Main St	Franklinton	27525	Franklin County	Franklin County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 494-2971	232	19	12.4	98.7%	57 (24.6%)	98 (42.2%)	45 (19.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	29 (12.5%)	$12,515			$1,448			$11,066	38.5	35.2	529	50		370153003297
480	Hobgood Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	201 S Beech St	Hobgood	27843	Halifax County	Hobgood Charter School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(252) 242-1880	569	43	13.1		453 (79.6%)	69 (12.1%)	34 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.3%)								38.5	49.2	400	80		370044503506

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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.