Graham Middle

Graham Middle is a public middle school in Graham, NC, serving 553 students in grades 6–8 as part of the Alamance-Burlington Schools district.

By nearly every measure, Graham Middle is currently one of the lowest-performing middle schools in North Carolina. In the 2025–2026 school year, it ranked 740th out of 778 middle schools statewide, placing it in the 5th percentile and earning 0 stars. Test scores reflect that ranking: math proficiency ranges from about 22% to 30% across grades, reading from 25% to 30%, and 8th grade science is at 33.5% — all roughly 20 to 35 percentage points behind state averages. The school also trails every nearby middle school in its cohort. For example, Broadview Middle, less than two miles away and serving a nearly identical high-poverty student body, ranks 654th, while Hawfields Middle ranks 156th with 4 stars. Graham is the only school in the immediate area with a 0-star rating. Subgroup outcomes are equally concerning: White students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities all rank in the bottom few percent statewide, showing the challenges are not limited to any one group of learners.

Attendance is a major issue as well. Graham’s chronic absenteeism rate is 43.6%, far above the district rate of 30.0% and the state rate of 24.2%, and the highest among all nearby middle schools. Nearby Woodlawn Middle and Turrentine Middle, which serve comparable student populations, report rates around 31% and 36%. There are small signs of progress — 6th grade math proficiency rose from 8.5% to 21.5% and 7th grade reading from 14.1% to 26.2% in the latest year — but the school remains far below district and state benchmarks. Given its high poverty rate, Graham faces real challenges, but nearby schools with similar demographics achieve stronger results, suggesting that improving attendance and sustaining academic intervention will be critical if the school is to reverse its long-term decline.