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Grifton

Public Grades PK, KG-8
901st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 40% of North Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Grifton is a PK–8 school in Grifton, NC, serving 395 students as part of Pitt County Schools. The school has moved from the bottom of North Carolina’s rankings into the middle of the pack over the past several years, and while early-grade results are now genuinely strong, upper-grade performance remains the biggest challenge. Nearly all Grifton students (97.5%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, and about one in four students was chronically absent in the most recent school year.

The most encouraging news is the school’s steady climb. Grifton went from the 6th percentile statewide in 2018-19 to the 40th percentile in the latest rankings, earning 2 stars. Third-grade reading proficiency jumped from under 18% a few years ago to 65% today, and third-grade math now beats the state average. Fifth-grade science is also a bright spot, with 76% proficiency compared to about 68% statewide. However, scores fade sharply in later grades: 6th grade reading proficiency is just 24%, compared to 55% statewide, and 4th grade math and reading both trail state averages by roughly 15 to 18 percentage points. This suggests Grifton’s early-grade gains are not yet translating into lasting success as students move through the school.

The comparison with Chicod, another Pitt County PK–8 school with nearly identical poverty levels, is telling. Chicod ranks in the 90th percentile statewide, while Grifton sits near the middle, and the two schools differ sharply in attendance: Grifton’s chronic absenteeism rate of 23.6% is more than double Chicod’s 10.7%. Grifton actually spends more per student and has a more favorable student-teacher ratio than Chicod, which suggests the path forward lies less in resources and more in improving attendance and supporting students through the transition from primary to upper grades. If Grifton can keep its early-grade momentum and apply those same strategies to grades 4 through 8, it has a realistic route to becoming one of the stronger schools in the region.

395
Students ?
12.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
97.5%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 513 E McCrae St
       Grifton, NC  28530

(252) 524-5141

District: Pitt County Schools


Students who attend Grifton usually attend:

High:    Ayden-Grifton High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
44.1%
White:
26.8%
Hispanic:
22.0%
more
 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Grifton to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 9th percentile in 2016 → 40th in 2026
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 31 percentile points since 2016
Worth a look
!Test scores below the North Carolina average (51% vs 59% meeting standards)
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Reading scores 11 pts below the North Carolina average
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school51%
District avg61%
North Carolina avg59%
Elementary school
901st of 1,492
North Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 40%▲ up 31 pts since 2016
From bottom 9% (2016) to bottom 40% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
595th of 778
North Carolina public middle schools ?
Bottom 24%▲ up 10 pts since 2016
From bottom 14% (2016) to bottom 24% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
112th of 246Pitt 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202640.3901 of 149239.6%★★☆☆☆
202534.71008 of 149032.3%★★☆☆☆
202429.51109 of 150526.3%★☆☆☆☆
202317.51297 of 150213.6%★☆☆☆☆
202215.41352 of 151410.7%★☆☆☆☆
202126.31078 of 148927.6%★☆☆☆☆
201910.01378 of 14736.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.91341 of 14346.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201711.01320 of 14297.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201612.61300 of 14258.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201515.61273 of 144011.6%★☆☆☆☆
20148.01321 of 13905.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201315.11260 of 140310.2%★☆☆☆☆
201213.11292 of 13886.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201111.51293 of 13816.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201011.11277 of 13636.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200910.91259 of 13547.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200823.31093 of 132417.4%★☆☆☆☆
200728.11047 of 129319.0%★☆☆☆☆
200622.71084 of 127615.0%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202637.5610 of 90332.4%★★☆☆☆
202544.3503 of 91845.2%★★☆☆☆
202435.1648 of 92429.9%★★☆☆☆
202320.1827 of 93311.4%★☆☆☆☆
202226.5751 of 92719.0%★☆☆☆☆
202149.3362 of 89659.6%★★★☆☆
201917.4881 of 9497.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201819.8826 of 92710.9%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202642.6865 of 144740.2%★★☆☆☆
202537.1949 of 145134.6%★★☆☆☆
202440.9888 of 145539.0%★★☆☆☆
202327.21131 of 145922.5%★☆☆☆☆
202227.31122 of 145823.0%★☆☆☆☆
202125.81079 of 144025.1%★☆☆☆☆
201916.71274 of 142410.5%★☆☆☆☆
20189.01344 of 14054.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202627.6797 of 98118.8%★☆☆☆☆
202561.2307 of 96168.1%★★★☆☆
202458.0347 of 95163.5%★★★☆☆
202349.7443 of 91551.6%★★★☆☆
202238.8568 of 89336.4%★★☆☆☆
202137.8518 of 84338.6%★★☆☆☆
201918.6799 of 8657.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201822.2756 of 85111.2%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202650.3677 of 143452.8%★★★☆☆
202550.7674 of 143753.1%★★★☆☆
202441.0910 of 145037.2%★★☆☆☆
202323.41202 of 143716.4%★☆☆☆☆
202225.81122 of 136617.9%★☆☆☆☆
202139.4790 of 132940.6%★★☆☆☆
201916.41261 of 13617.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201812.81270 of 13324.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202638.6906 of 145137.6%★★☆☆☆
202533.91014 of 145030.1%★★☆☆☆
202423.61188 of 146418.9%★☆☆☆☆
202314.11338 of 14618.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.11367 of 14646.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202127.81027 of 144428.9%★☆☆☆☆
20199.31360 of 14304.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.31291 of 14138.6%☆☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202653.3544 of 114652.5%★★★☆☆
202524.3972 of 117217.1%★☆☆☆☆
202428.7920 of 116621.1%★☆☆☆☆
202317.01082 of 11838.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.41163 of 11942.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202117.31067 of 11729.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201916.91085 of 11838.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20186.81152 of 11782.2%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202626.7595 of 77823.5%★☆☆☆☆
202526.9573 of 77325.9%★☆☆☆☆
202419.7659 of 79316.9%★☆☆☆☆
202330.8545 of 78430.5%★★☆☆☆
202232.6545 of 78630.7%★★☆☆☆
202122.3591 of 74120.2%★☆☆☆☆
201941.3458 of 73737.9%★★☆☆☆
201814.6603 of 69112.7%★☆☆☆☆
20178.8648 of 6946.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201615.2598 of 69213.6%★☆☆☆☆
201514.6612 of 70513.2%★☆☆☆☆
20146.2608 of 6273.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201321.2544 of 67319.2%★☆☆☆☆
201225.6546 of 66217.5%★☆☆☆☆
201127.2531 of 64818.1%★☆☆☆☆
201038.3457 of 64028.6%★☆☆☆☆
200934.4478 of 63024.1%★☆☆☆☆
200841.2406 of 62034.5%★★☆☆☆
200741.5420 of 60630.7%★★☆☆☆
200642.6405 of 59832.3%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202621.4479 of 55313.4%★☆☆☆☆
202523.8455 of 54616.7%★☆☆☆☆
202425.6454 of 56018.9%★☆☆☆☆
202347.6254 of 55954.6%★★★☆☆
202254.7195 of 55064.5%★★★☆☆
202132.7372 of 53330.2%★★☆☆☆
201941.9306 of 51941.0%★★☆☆☆
201819.7446 of 4949.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202635.5486 of 73133.5%★★☆☆☆
202536.1487 of 73333.6%★★☆☆☆
202434.7495 of 73832.9%★★☆☆☆
202331.2515 of 73129.5%★☆☆☆☆
202231.0513 of 73330.0%★★☆☆☆
202126.2544 of 70622.9%★☆☆☆☆
201943.8408 of 68440.4%★★☆☆☆
20189.8620 of 6565.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202317.8439 of 4522.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202661.4172 of 56669.6%★★★☆☆
202570.1113 of 56279.9%★★★★☆
202437.4375 of 56433.5%★★☆☆☆
202345.3292 of 55347.2%★★☆☆☆
202231.4398 of 54126.4%★☆☆☆☆
202136.6349 of 52233.1%★★☆☆☆
201956.7163 of 49366.9%★★★☆☆
201826.0389 of 47217.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202640.0432 of 72540.4%★★☆☆☆
202542.9410 of 72943.8%★★☆☆☆
202422.2635 of 74314.5%★☆☆☆☆
202344.3397 of 73546.0%★★☆☆☆
202245.8345 of 68949.9%★★★☆☆
202132.6438 of 63330.8%★★☆☆☆
201948.4334 of 63947.7%★★☆☆☆
201819.7530 of 60412.3%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202619.8614 of 73616.6%★☆☆☆☆
202520.4601 of 73318.0%★☆☆☆☆
20249.8702 of 7516.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202330.3537 of 74728.1%★☆☆☆☆
202233.6505 of 74832.5%★★☆☆☆
202121.4571 of 71119.7%★☆☆☆☆
201940.7440 of 69736.9%★★☆☆☆
201818.2576 of 66513.4%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202620.9549 of 64414.8%★☆☆☆☆
202533.3459 of 64929.3%★☆☆☆☆
202415.7589 of 6529.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202313.8616 of 6566.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202227.8515 of 65821.7%★☆☆☆☆
202122.6524 of 63217.1%★☆☆☆☆
201947.5336 of 62446.2%★★☆☆☆
201810.8565 of 5965.2%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)53rd percentile+13 vs school
White (2026)53rd percentile+13 vs school
Female (2026)40th percentile~ school
Male (2026)38th percentile~ school
African American (2026)32nd percentile-7 vs school
Hispanic (2026)19th percentile-21 vs school
Middle school
Hispanic (2026)70th percentile+46 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)40th percentile+17 vs school
Female (2026)34th percentile+10 vs school
Male (2026)17th percentile-7 vs school
White (2026)15th percentile-9 vs school
African American (2026)13th percentile-10 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2023)3rd percentile-28 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?
Science67%~ state avg
Mathematics50%-9 vs state
Reading45%-11 vs state

5.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Open Quote I have 3 kids that attend this school.. it is an awesome school great teachers and small classes my sons behavior has done a total turn around since we moved here last year, all of there grades have improved as well. small quiet town, less of a detraction for kids also. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Grifton

Students who attend Grifton usually go on to attend:

High : Ayden-Grifton High

Students at Grifton are 44% African American, 27% White, 22% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 395 students attended Grifton.

Grifton ranks 901st of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »
2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026
2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026
2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025
2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025


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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