Spring Lake Middle

Spring Lake Middle is a public school in Spring Lake, NC, serving about 500 students in grades 6–8 as part of Cumberland County Schools. The school has a long history of low overall performance, ranking in the bottom fifth of North Carolina middle schools for over a decade, with its most recent 1-star rating placing it in the 18th percentile statewide.

One of the biggest challenges is chronic absenteeism, which affects nearly half of students—45.4% in the latest year, compared to 33.7% across the district and 24.2% statewide. Academic proficiency in math (34.8%) and reading (40.6%) trails district and state averages by wide margins. Spring Lake Middle is also the lowest-ranked school among all nearby middle schools in this analysis. For example, Douglas Byrd Middle, Lewis Chapel Middle, and Luther Nick Jeralds Middle—all serving similarly high-poverty populations—rank above Spring Lake. Schools like Anne Chesnutt Middle, with an almost identical free/reduced-price lunch rate, achieve far better results and have about half the chronic absenteeism rate, showing that poverty alone does not dictate outcomes.

Despite these struggles, there are notable bright spots. English Learner students ranked in the top 10% statewide in the most recent year, earning a 5-star rating. Eighth-grade science proficiency (63.3%) is close to the state average, though it has fluctuated from year to year. African American and Hispanic students perform somewhat better relative to the school’s overall rank, while White, Special Education, and Multi-racial students show weaker outcomes. Two areas of concern include a sharp decline in Gifted and Talented performance over the past two years and a dramatic drop for Military Connected students, who recently ranked in the 2nd percentile statewide—a significant issue given the school’s proximity to Fort Liberty. Overall, Spring Lake Middle faces persistent obstacles, but its strong English Learner results and relatively solid science performance suggest opportunities for growth, particularly if chronic absenteeism can be reduced.