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
471	Bartlett Yancey High	Public	9-12	466 Main Street E	Yanceyville	27379	Caswell County	Caswell County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 694-4212	635	45	14.1	99.5%	264 (41.6%)	263 (41.4%)	65 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (6.3%)	$10,586			$839			$9,748	28.1	12.9	569	98		370066000264
472	Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences	Public, Magnet	9-12	1411 Hawthorne Ln	Charlotte	28205	Mecklenburg County	Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(980) 343-6011	239	18	13.2	98.3%	12 (5.0%)	98 (41.0%)	109 (45.6%)	10 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (4.2%)	$15,697			$1,485			$14,213	28.1	29.1	459	13		370297002228
473	Cumberland Virtual Academy 6-12	Public, Virtual	6-12	800 North Street	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(910) 500-7985	390	26	15.2	62.6%	94 (24.1%)	173 (44.4%)	77 (19.7%)	8 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	36 (9.2%)								28	35.2	403	70		370001103539
474	East Columbus Junior-Senior High	Public	7-12	32 Gator Lane	Lake Waccamaw	28450	Columbus County	Columbus County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 646-4094	576	34	17	99.5%	152 (26.4%)	184 (31.9%)	106 (18.4%)	1 (0.2%)	71 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (10.8%)	$10,383			$1,233			$9,149	27.8	15.8	546	72		370096000145
475	Starmount High	Public	9-12	2516 Longtown Rd	Boonville	27011	Yadkin County	Yadkin County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 551-1150	556	26	21.2	62.9%	349 (62.8%)	25 (4.5%)	152 (27.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (4.9%)	$10,534			$904			$9,629	27.7	42.6	353	122		370504002020
476	Randleman High School	Public	9-12	4396 Tigers Den Rd	Randleman	27317	Randolph County	Randolph County School System	No	No	No	No	(336) 498-2682	870	50	17.3	59.5%	513 (59.0%)	52 (6.0%)	252 (29.0%)	8 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (5.1%)	$8,760			$682			$8,077	27.4	22	499	23		370378001527
477	Blue Ridge Early College	Public	7-12	95 Bobcat Dr	Cashiers	28717	Jackson County	Jackson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 743-2646	127	8	16.3	97.6%	59 (46.5%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (51.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.4%)	$11,670			$875			$10,794	27.4	24.2	489	12		370234003104
478	JCPS Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1455 Buffalo Rd	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	Yes	No	(984) 285-3700	203	16	12.9	98.0%	87 (42.9%)	54 (26.6%)	44 (21.7%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (8.4%)								27.3	26.7	472	6		370237003583
479	Smithfield-Selma High	Public	9-12	700 M. Durwood Stephenson Park	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 934-5191	1,548	86	17.9	99.8%	290 (18.7%)	398 (25.7%)	793 (51.2%)	13 (0.8%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (3.2%)	$10,069			$868			$9,200	27.3	29.3	458	21		370237001028
480	Center for Career Innovation	Public	9-12	340 Victoria Road	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 232-4123	41	4	10.2	43.9%	27 (65.9%)	3 (7.3%)	9 (22.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.9%)	$10,465			$251			$10,214	27.1			(n/a)		370045002974

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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

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.