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William T Brown Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
1271st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,490 North Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 15% of North Carolina elementary schools
Summary

William T Brown Elementary is a public elementary school in Spring Lake, North Carolina, serving 554 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Cumberland County Schools district, which is ranked 144 out of 242 districts in the state.

Despite having a relatively low student-teacher ratio and higher per-student spending than the district and state averages, William T Brown Elementary has consistently underperformed academically compared to other schools in the region. The school's 3rd grade Mathematics proficiency rate was 43.6% in the 2024-2025 school year, significantly lower than the 57% district average and 64.1% state average. Similarly, the school's 5th grade Mathematics proficiency rate was just 30.4%, compared to 50.8% for the district and 59.3% for the state.

While the school's demographics, with a high percentage of students from low-income families, likely contribute to the challenges it faces, nearby schools such as Long Hill Elementary and Morganton Road Elementary, which serve similar student populations, have significantly higher academic performance. This suggests that the issues at William T Brown Elementary go beyond just student demographics and require more targeted, evidence-based interventions to improve student learning outcomes.

562
Students ?
16.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$12,758
Per pupil spending ?
98.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2522 Andrews Church Road
       Spring Lake, NC  28390-3557

(910) 497-1258

District: Cumberland County Schools


Students who attend William T Brown Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Spring Lake Middle
High:    Pine Forest High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
63.2%
Hispanic:
18.3%
White:
8.5%
more
 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare William T Brown Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Recently slipping — 48th percentile in 2019 → 15th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the North Carolina average (40% vs 57% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped from its 48th-percentile peak (2019) to 15th (2025)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school40%
District avg53%
North Carolina avg57%
1,271st of 1,490
North Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 15%▲ up 4 pts since 2015
From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
39th of 46Elementary Schools in the Cumberland County Schools
144th of 242Cumberland County Schools among North Carolina districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202520.51271 of 149014.7%★☆☆☆☆
202427.01159 of 150523.0%★☆☆☆☆
202317.61294 of 150213.8%★☆☆☆☆
202225.61164 of 151423.1%★☆☆☆☆
202124.91107 of 148925.7%★☆☆☆☆
201950.3761 of 147348.3%★★☆☆☆
201840.7914 of 143436.3%★★☆☆☆
201729.71083 of 142924.2%★☆☆☆☆
201621.21197 of 142516.0%★☆☆☆☆
201513.81291 of 144010.3%★☆☆☆☆
201414.61240 of 139010.8%★☆☆☆☆
201336.7908 of 140335.3%★★☆☆☆
201243.5878 of 138836.7%★★☆☆☆
201137.1961 of 138130.4%★★☆☆☆
201031.11044 of 136323.4%★☆☆☆☆
200920.01162 of 135414.2%★☆☆☆☆
200817.91157 of 132412.6%★☆☆☆☆
200719.41138 of 129312.0%★☆☆☆☆
200643.5814 of 127636.2%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202536.3616 of 91832.9%★★☆☆☆
202451.1413 of 92455.3%★★★☆☆
202341.5542 of 93341.9%★★☆☆☆
202242.7510 of 92745.0%★★☆☆☆
202148.8373 of 89658.4%★★★☆☆
201966.7236 of 94975.1%★★★★☆
201856.2359 of 92761.3%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202524.31186 of 145118.3%★☆☆☆☆
202437.5953 of 145534.5%★★☆☆☆
202316.91301 of 145910.8%★☆☆☆☆
202223.91189 of 145818.4%★☆☆☆☆
202126.11075 of 144025.3%★☆☆☆☆
201957.9597 of 142458.1%★★★☆☆
201842.6884 of 140537.1%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202524.4809 of 96115.8%★☆☆☆☆
202451.8429 of 95154.9%★★★☆☆
202327.0725 of 91520.8%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202532.71062 of 143726.1%★☆☆☆☆
202442.4885 of 145039.0%★★☆☆☆
202327.01142 of 143720.5%★☆☆☆☆
202230.81019 of 136625.4%★☆☆☆☆
202117.81188 of 132910.6%★☆☆☆☆
201956.3555 of 136159.2%★★★☆☆
201851.6642 of 133251.8%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202518.61281 of 145011.7%★☆☆☆☆
202417.21295 of 146411.5%★☆☆☆☆
202320.91211 of 146117.1%★☆☆☆☆
202229.11082 of 146426.1%★☆☆☆☆
202125.61072 of 144425.8%★☆☆☆☆
201941.1894 of 143037.5%★★☆☆☆
201836.5980 of 141330.6%★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202313.077 of 814.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202419.6136 of 15914.5%★☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
African American (2025)33rd percentile+18 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile+11 vs school
Female (2025)18th percentile+4 vs school
Hispanic (2025)16th percentile~ school
Multi-racial (2024)14th percentile-9 vs school
Male (2025)12th percentile-3 vs school
Military Connected (2023)5th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Science43%-19 vs state
Mathematics40%-21 vs state
Reading39%-14 vs state

1.0
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What people are saying
by a parent
Thursday, November 10, 2022

Open Quote The teachers at this school are horrible with a capital H. They treat poor students badly, and they call CPS on poor students much, much more than is necessary. They make the poor students feel bad because they treat the wealthier students so much better. My granddaughter was a bubbly, happy child. Now, she comes home every day from this school sad and depressed. She says her teacher does not like her and treats most of the other students better than her. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about William T Brown Elementary

Students at William T Brown Elementary are 63% African American, 18% Hispanic, 9% White, 7% Two or more races, 1% American Indian, 1% Pacific Islander.

In the 2024-25 school year, 562 students attended William T Brown Elementary.

William T Brown Elementary ranks in the bottom 14.7% of North Carolina elementary schools.

Students who attend William T Brown Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Spring Lake Middle
High : Pine Forest High


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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.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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