Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

E E Smith High

Q: Is E E Smith High a good school?

E E Smith High ranks 434 th of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

434^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 32% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

E E Smith High is a public high school in Fayetteville, North Carolina, serving around 1,000 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Cumberland County Schools district, which is ranked 144 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. E E Smith High has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools over the past decade, with a current ranking of 434 out of 641 schools and a 2-star rating.

E E Smith High faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, with students consistently underperforming the state and district averages on end-of-course exams across subjects like Biology, English II, Math I, and Math III. For example, in 2024-2025, only 38.2% of students were proficient or better in Biology EOC, compared to 49.9% for the district and 48.3% for the state. The school also has an extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, reaching nearly 100% in recent years, indicating a very high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

While E E Smith High struggles overall, there are some bright spots, such as the relatively strong performance of multi-racial, ELL, and special education students compared to their peers statewide. Nearby schools in the Cumberland County district show a wide range of performance, with Massey Hill Classical High and the early college programs significantly outperforming E E Smith High and the district/state averages, while schools like Alger B. Wilkins High and Ramsey Street High struggle even more. This suggests that the school may need to re-evaluate its instructional strategies and support systems to better serve its diverse student population and improve overall outcomes.

1,017

Students ?

22.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,706

Per pupil spending ?

99.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1800 Seabrook Road
Fayetteville, NC 28301

(910) 483-0153

District: Cumberland County Schools

Feeder schools for E E Smith High:

Elementary:	Lucile Souders Elementary
	Warrenwood Elementary
	Westarea Elementary
Middle:	Luther Nick Jeralds Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

64.9%

Hispanic:

16.3%

White:

9.6%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare E E Smith High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 15th percentile in 2021 → 32nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 32nd (2025) from a 15th-percentile low (2021)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (42% vs 53% meeting standards)

!Math III scores 18 pts below the North Carolina average

!Large classes — about 23 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg53%

North Carolina avg53%

434^th of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 32%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From bottom 45% (2015) to bottom 32% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

11^th of 17High Schools in the Cumberland County Schools

144^th 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.9	434 of 641	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	20.8	511 of 640	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.7	501 of 626	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.9	453 of 621	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.8	506 of 594	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	375 of 514	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.6	333 of 469	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	30.4	309 of 476	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2016	24.3	354 of 507	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2015	35.2	292 of 531	45.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	23.3	323 of 451	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	30.1	309 of 505	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2012	54.0	190 of 502	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2011	67.7	106 of 506	79.1%	★★★★☆
2010	58.0	208 of 499	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	39.3	348 of 490	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	33.9	358 of 477	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	27.2	359 of 453	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	40.5	300 of 431	30.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.6	204 of 440	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	33.9	279 of 437	36.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.5	283 of 434	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.4	210 of 430	51.2%	★★★☆☆
2021	31.4	221 of 364	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	40.3	172 of 369	53.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.8	159 of 359	55.7%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	33.4	202 of 330	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.3	279 of 334	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.1	311 of 364	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.6	267 of 349	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	61.7	46 of 273	83.2%	★★★★☆
2024	26.4	221 of 262	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.1	444 of 610	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.7	486 of 602	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.3	478 of 588	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	441 of 594	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	11.5	430 of 475	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.5	374 of 475	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.3	368 of 449	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	33.2	333 of 403	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	48.9	193 of 325	40.6%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	48.4	200 of 462	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	29.1	329 of 454	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	42.8	232 of 449	48.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.3	196 of 436	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.2	107 of 370	71.1%	★★★★☆
2019	65.4	51 of 354	85.6%	★★★★☆
2018	56.6	105 of 340	69.1%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	32.7	411 of 606	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.3	491 of 613	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.5	489 of 597	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.1	356 of 544	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	16.9	392 of 432	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	29.7	296 of 446	33.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.4	280 of 424	34.0%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.9	408 of 601	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	19.8	500 of 607	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	487 of 602	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.7	444 of 585	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.4	384 of 481	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.6	353 of 488	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.9	319 of 463	31.1%	★★☆☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	38.7	35 of 53	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.0	41 of 49	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.6	38 of 48	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.6	36 of 47	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	38 of 41	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.7	27 of 33	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.1	26 of 32	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	66.6	68 of 253	73.1%	★★★★☆
2024	27.3	207 of 261	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.2	193 of 249	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	47.3	105 of 226	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	10.2	190 of 199	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	49.2	95 of 195	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	33.3	133 of 185	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	37.3	205 of 352	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.4	207 of 349	40.7%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	40.7	330 of 542	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.0	376 of 553	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.7	364 of 537	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.7	392 of 534	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	6.6	428 of 439	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.2	329 of 444	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	33.0	309 of 427	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

English Language Learner (2025)83rd percentile+51 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)73rd percentile+41 vs school

Hispanic (2025)57th percentile+24 vs school

African American (2025)54th percentile+21 vs school

Special Education (2025)42nd percentile+9 vs school

White (2025)39th percentile+7 vs school

Disabled (2022)39th percentile+12 vs school

Military Connected (2025)34th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)32nd percentile~ school

Male (2025)32nd percentile~ school

Female (2025)27th percentile-5 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2023)17th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English II52%-8 vs state

Math III48%-18 vs state

Biology38%-10 vs state

Math I32%~ state avg

★

No ratings yet

Be the first to rate E E Smith High and help other families decide.

Rate E E Smith High

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

Reviews

No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.

Schools Near E E Smith High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	EOG Mathematics (2025)			EOG Reading (2025)			EOG Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
E E Smith High	Public	9-12	1800 Seabrook Road	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 483-0153	1,017	44	22.8	99.7%	98 (9.6%)	660 (64.9%)	166 (16.3%)	7 (0.7%)	10 (1.0%)	5 (0.5%)	71 (7.0%)	31.9	434^th of 641 public high schools	32.3%		20.8	511^th of 640 public high schools	20.2%	77	38.2	52.0	32.3	48.5								$10,706	$1,987	$8,720
Cross Creek Early College	Public	9-12	1200 Murchison Road	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 500-7551	253	11	23.7	47.0%	40 (15.8%)	115 (45.5%)	51 (20.2%)	14 (5.5%)	2 (0.8%)	4 (1.6%)	27 (10.7%)	95.8	10^th of 641 public high schools	98.4%		96	10^th of 640 public high schools	98.4%		95.1	98.6	96.9	100.0								$7,352	$641	$6,711
Cumberland International Early College	Public	9-12	1200 Murchison Rd	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 226-6485	237	8	28.1	57.4%	37 (15.6%)	127 (53.6%)	44 (18.6%)	10 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	17 (7.2%)	93.9	36^th of 641 public high schools	94.4%		94	40^th of 640 public high schools	93.8%	4	81.3	100.0	96.7	96.8								$7,428	$562	$6,866
Ramsey Street High	Public	9-12	117 Quincy St	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 437-5829	39	9	4.3	56.4%	6 (15.4%)	26 (66.7%)	1 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (10.3%)	8.1	606^th of 641 public high schools	5.5%		2	632^nd of 640 public high schools	1.3%	26	13.0	26.7		40.0								$25,524	$4,088	$21,436
Reid Ross Classical High	Public	9-12	3200 Ramsey Street	Fayetteville	28301	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 488-8415	227	16	14.2	98.7%	29 (12.8%)	155 (68.3%)	25 (11.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (7.0%)	55.7	258^th of 641 public high schools	59.8%		54.1	271^st of 640 public high schools	57.7%	13	56.0	69.5	43.9	60.0								$15,566	$1,451	$14,115
Terry Sanford High	Public	9-12	2301 Fort Bragg Road	Fayetteville	28303	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 484-1151	1,201	50	23.9	64.4%	312 (26.0%)	562 (46.8%)	159 (13.2%)	47 (3.9%)	14 (1.2%)	6 (0.5%)	101 (8.4%)	36.5	401^st of 641 public high schools	37.4%		45.6	326^th of 640 public high schools	49.1%	75	43.4	49.4	25.2	65.7								$8,493	$714	$7,779
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	473^rd of 641 public high schools	26.2%		35.2	403^rd of 640 public high schools	37.0%	70	32.2	59.0	30.8	42.2	60.0	52.8	25.4	67.5	60.4	63.5	52.4
Cumberland Polytechnic	Public	9-12	220 Hull Rd	Fayetteville	28303	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 486-7300	319	9	34.2	40.4%	116 (36.4%)	112 (35.1%)	47 (14.7%)	8 (2.5%)	2 (0.6%)	3 (0.9%)	31 (9.7%)	93.8	40^th of 641 public high schools	93.8%		94.6	30^th of 640 public high schools	95.3%	10	94.0	92.8	90.2	95.9								$8,770	$513	$8,257
Alger B. Wilkins High School	Public	9-12	1429 Skibo Road	Fayetteville	28303	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 864-5438	159	12	13.4	89.3%	18 (11.3%)	111 (69.8%)	17 (10.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	12 (7.5%)	3	631^st of 641 public high schools	1.6%		4.8	620^th of 640 public high schools	3.1%	11		15.8	9.7	12.5								$13,760	$1,393	$12,367
Massey Hill Classical High	Public	9-12	1062 Southern Avenue	Fayetteville	28306	Cumberland County	Cumberland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 485-8761	273	19	14.3	39.6%	127 (46.5%)	48 (17.6%)	58 (21.2%)	7 (2.6%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (11.4%)	89.4	84^th of 641 public high schools	86.9%		82.8	122^nd of 640 public high schools	80.9%	38	85.3	86.3	70.0	92.5								$11,273	$981	$10,292

Frequently Asked Questions about E E Smith High

Is E E Smith High a good school?

E E Smith High ranks 434^th of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is E E Smith High in?

Cumberland County Schools

How many students attend E E Smith High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,017 students attended E E Smith High.

What schools feed into E E Smith High?

E E Smith High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Lucile Souders Elementary
Elementary : Warrenwood Elementary
Elementary : Westarea Elementary
Middle : Luther Nick Jeralds Middle

What is the racial makeup of E E Smith High?

Students at E E Smith High are 65% African American, 16% Hispanic, 10% White, 7% Two or more races.

Rate E E Smith High!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

NCNorth Carolina High School Rankings

NCNorth Carolina District Rankings

Schools in Fayetteville, NC

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for E E Smith High!

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.