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
551	Lincolnton Middle	Public	6-8	2361 Startown Road	Lincolnton	28092	Lincoln County	Lincoln County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 735-1120	563	41	13.8	99.5%	250 (44.4%)	79 (14.0%)	166 (29.5%)	10 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (10.3%)	$8,847			$1,187			$7,659	29.8	37.2	515	36		370268001115
552	Durant Road Middle	Public	6-8	10401 Durant Rd	Raleigh	27614	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 870-4098	649	41	15.7	68.6%	148 (22.8%)	193 (29.7%)	250 (38.5%)	38 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.1%)	$10,019			$499			$9,520	29.4	33.2	547	5		370472000942
553	West Lee Middle	Public	6-8	3301 Wicker St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 775-7351	522	38	13.7	96.9%	102 (19.5%)	97 (18.6%)	287 (55.0%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (5.7%)	$8,316			$876			$7,440	29.2	16.1	697	144		370256001085
554	Walter R Johnson Middle	Public	6-8	701 Lenoir Road	Morganton	28655	Burke County	Burke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 430-7340	441	34	12.9	99.3%	94 (21.3%)	24 (5.4%)	284 (64.4%)	13 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (5.9%)	$8,789			$1,074			$7,715	29.2	26.5	598	44		370048002662
555	North Asheboro Middle	Public	6-8	1861 N Asheboro School Rd	Asheboro	27203	Randolph County	Asheboro City Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 672-1900	501	37	13.5	99.4%	101 (20.2%)	68 (13.6%)	298 (59.5%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.8%)	$10,102			$1,569			$8,533	29.1	27.9	584	29		370024000069
556	George L Carrington Middle	Public	6-8	227 Milton Road	Durham	27712	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 560-3916	771	51	15.1	99.6%	93 (12.1%)	291 (37.7%)	326 (42.3%)	18 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (5.6%)	$10,263			$957			$9,306	29	25.5	611	55		370126000533
557	Kings Creek Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	3680 Wilkesboro Boulevard	Lenoir	28645	Caldwell County	Caldwell County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 754-6039	153	11	13.5	98.0%	137 (89.5%)	1 (0.7%)	8 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (4.6%)	$11,461			$1,809			$9,651	28.8	44.4	445	112		370058000234
558	Parkton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	400 North Green Street	Parkton	28371	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 858-3951	592	29	20.4	99.5%	134 (22.6%)	154 (26.0%)	181 (30.6%)	3 (0.5%)	47 (7.9%)	3 (0.5%)	70 (11.8%)	$9,281			$1,575			$7,706	28.8	17.8	679	121		370393001577
559	Ignite Online Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	5321 Ephesus Church Rd.	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(919) 972-4400	363	28	12.9	58.1%	60 (16.5%)	174 (47.9%)	81 (22.3%)	5 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	42 (11.6%)								28.8	28.8	572	13		370126003580
560	North Garner Middle	Public	6-8	720 Powell Dr	Garner	27529	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 662-2434	831	54	15.5	99.6%	248 (29.8%)	265 (31.9%)	267 (32.1%)	14 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (4.5%)	$9,338			$475			$8,863	28.6	30.7	559	1		370472001882

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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

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.