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South Mebane Elementary

Q: Is South Mebane Elementary a good school?

South Mebane Elementary ranks 915 th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

915^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 39% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

South Mebane Elementary is a K-5 public school in Mebane, North Carolina, serving 506 students as part of Alamance-Burlington Schools. Once a strong performer, ranked near the top quartile of North Carolina elementary schools in the late 2010s, the school has slid steadily downward, falling from the 63rd percentile in 2022-23 to the 39th percentile in 2025-26. About 57% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, placing it in a similar economic category as several nearby schools, but its results increasingly trail those peers.

Serving a similar share of low-income students as E. M. Yoder Elementary and Audrey W. Garrett Elementary, South Mebane now trails both: Yoder sits at the 64th percentile and Garrett at the 70th, while South Mebane has fallen to the 39th. The gap is especially visible in upper grades. In 2025-26, 5th grade math proficiency was 53.1% at South Mebane versus 74.5% at Yoder and 62.8% at Garrett; 5th grade reading was 48.0% versus 68.1% and 62.1%, respectively. The school actually performs better in 3rd grade, nearly matching or exceeding state averages in math and reading, but proficiency drops meaningfully by 4th and 5th grades.

Notably, attendance is not the cause of the decline. Chronic absenteeism at South Mebane was 23.3% in 2024-25, better than the district average of 30.0% and the statewide average of 24.2%. Meanwhile, school effectiveness ratings fell sharply across nearly every student subgroup between 2023-24 and 2025-26, suggesting schoolwide factors such as staffing, instructional resources, and leadership—rather than a change in the student body. Per-pupil spending at South Mebane is lower than nearby peers, and class sizes are larger. One nearby example, Efland Cheeks Elementary, serves a far higher share of low-income students in Orange County Schools yet ranks at the 65th percentile statewide, showing what additional investment can accomplish. For parents, the bottom line is that South Mebane is not a school in crisis, but its downward trajectory and declining upper-grade results make school-specific resources and programs worth a closer look.

506

Students ?

16.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

57.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

600 S 3rd Street
Mebane, NC 27302-3120

(919) 563-6905

District: Alamance-Burlington Schools

Students who attend South Mebane Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Woodlawn Middle
High:	Eastern Alamance High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

33.6%

White:

33.2%

Hispanic:

16.0%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare South Mebane Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 77th percentile in 2016 → 39th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (55% vs 61% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 38 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school55%

District avg51%

North Carolina avg61%

915^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 39%▼ down 38 pts since 2016

From top 23% (2016) to bottom 39% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

179^th of 246Alamance-Burlington 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
2026	39.5	915 of 1492	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.3	772 of 1490	48.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	60.5	575 of 1505	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.8	561 of 1502	62.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	63.8	525 of 1514	65.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	62.9	522 of 1489	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	72.9	351 of 1473	76.2%	★★★★☆
2018	69.5	416 of 1434	71.0%	★★★★☆
2017	65.3	489 of 1429	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2016	73.9	331 of 1425	76.8%	★★★★☆
2015	70.2	414 of 1440	71.3%	★★★★☆
2014	81.6	211 of 1390	84.8%	★★★★☆
2013	78.4	248 of 1403	82.3%	★★★★☆
2012	72.4	359 of 1388	74.1%	★★★★☆
2011	71.5	374 of 1381	72.9%	★★★★☆
2010	75.5	284 of 1363	79.2%	★★★★☆
2009	77.0	259 of 1354	80.9%	★★★★☆
2008	71.5	321 of 1324	75.8%	★★★★☆
2007	75.4	252 of 1293	80.5%	★★★★☆
2006	63.5	467 of 1276	63.4%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.1	671 of 903	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	40.2	554 of 918	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.4	423 of 924	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.8	486 of 933	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	57.6	310 of 927	66.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	62.5	220 of 896	75.4%	★★★★☆
2019	83.1	83 of 949	91.3%	★★★★★
2018	80.6	97 of 927	89.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	36.9	380 of 634	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	65.4	131 of 646	79.7%	★★★★☆
2019	54.6	309 of 878	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	31.7	661 of 897	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	36.1	969 of 1447	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.8	735 of 1451	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	55.2	627 of 1455	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.8	620 of 1459	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	63.0	500 of 1458	65.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	59.6	531 of 1440	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	74.1	318 of 1424	77.7%	★★★★☆
2018	60.7	575 of 1405	59.1%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	40.5	648 of 743	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	51.8	465 of 710	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	51.7	453 of 669	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	68.2	52 of 582	91.1%	★★★★★
2022	46.0	400 of 500	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	65.1	189 of 494	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.7	102 of 612	83.3%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	30.4	749 of 981	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	59.1	339 of 961	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.2	237 of 951	75.1%	★★★★☆
2023	80.8	100 of 915	89.1%	★★★★☆
2022	71.1	171 of 893	80.9%	★★★★☆
2021	57.0	291 of 843	65.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	67.4	225 of 865	74.0%	★★★★☆
2018	55.2	344 of 851	59.6%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	21.8	1264 of 1434	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	37.6	965 of 1437	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.9	838 of 1450	42.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.1	889 of 1437	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	67.7	312 of 1366	77.2%	★★★★☆
2021	52.7	540 of 1329	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.8	510 of 1361	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	73.4	251 of 1332	81.2%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	43.8	828 of 1451	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	47.9	766 of 1450	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	63.3	501 of 1464	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	64.1	486 of 1461	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	62.6	522 of 1464	64.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.1	479 of 1444	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	68.8	393 of 1430	72.5%	★★★★☆
2018	77.4	251 of 1413	82.2%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	42.7	107 of 175	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.4	132 of 159	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	44.7	75 of 133	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	55.9	34 of 97	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.3	49 of 103	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	50.9	46 of 86	46.5%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	75.5	96 of 801	88.0%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	48.9	613 of 1146	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	55.3	518 of 1172	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	81.2	177 of 1166	84.8%	★★★★☆
2023	77.9	210 of 1183	82.2%	★★★★☆
2022	77.7	222 of 1194	81.4%	★★★★☆
2021	70.1	307 of 1172	73.8%	★★★★☆
2019	70.9	305 of 1183	74.2%	★★★★☆
2018	69.8	340 of 1178	71.1%	★★★★☆

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)

Special Education (2024)88th percentile+26 vs school

White (2026)47th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2026)43rd percentile+4 vs school

Disabled (2022)40th percentile-25 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)39th percentile-9 vs school

Female (2026)33rd percentile-6 vs school

African American (2026)26th percentile-13 vs school

Hispanic (2026)24th percentile-15 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)13th percentile-26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)12th percentile-27 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science61%-6 vs state

Mathematics56%-8 vs state

Reading51%-6 vs state

2.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Thursday, May 2, 2019

Very racist staff! Close Quote

Schools Near South Mebane Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Mebane Elementary	Public	K-5	600 S 3rd Street	Mebane	27302	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 563-6905	506	31	16.3	57.1%	168 (33.2%)	170 (33.6%)	81 (16.0%)	16 (3.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (13.6%)	39.5	915^th of 1492 public elementary schools	38.7%		48.3	772^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	48.2%	143	66.1	52.3	53.1				54.2	51.2	48.0				61.2		$8,634	$587	$8,048
E M Yoder Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	301 N Charles Street	Mebane	27302	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 563-3722	336	26	13.0	51.5%	179 (53.3%)	66 (19.6%)	45 (13.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (13.1%)	62.8	538^th of 1492 public elementary schools	63.9%		60.3	561^st of 1490 public elementary schools	62.3%	23	58.8	57.8	74.5				59.6	66.7	68.1				70.2		$10,935	$817	$10,118
Carolina Achieve	Public, Charter	K-2	6920 West Ten Rd	Mebane	27302	Alamance County	Carolina Achieve	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(919) 964-2158	0																		(n/a)
Audrey W. Garrett Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3224 Old Hillsborough Road	Mebane	27302	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 563-2088	785	44	17.8	58.5%	296 (37.7%)	174 (22.2%)	181 (23.1%)	40 (5.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	92 (11.7%)	68.5	449^th of 1492 public elementary schools	69.9%		67.4	437^th of 1490 public elementary schools	70.7%	12	84.3	65.1	62.8				64.3	66.0	62.1				69.0		$10,140	$1,725	$8,415
Alamance Community School	Public, Charter	K-8	195 Kronbergs Court	Haw River	27258	Alamance County	Alamance Community School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(336) 270-5052	736	50	14.6		285 (38.7%)	238 (32.3%)	137 (18.6%)	15 (2.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (8.0%)	35	1005^th of 1492 public elementary schools	32.6%		32.5	1044^th of 1490 public elementary schools	29.9%	39	42.7	50.6	53.8	25.6	50.6	34.4	59.6	51.7	54.8	39.5	63.0	71.9	67.7	68.8
Haw River Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	701 E Main Street	Haw River	27258	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 578-0177	490	33	15.0	98.8%	40 (8.2%)	117 (23.9%)	301 (61.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (6.5%)	14.4	1370^th of 1492 public elementary schools	8.2%		9.4	1430^th of 1490 public elementary schools	4.0%	60	53.6	22.5	52.2				42.6	22.5	29.0				47.8		$10,856	$1,654	$9,202
Efland Cheeks Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4401 Fuller Rd	Efland	27243	Orange County	Orange County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 245-4042	532	36	14.7	99.4%	175 (32.9%)	129 (24.2%)	154 (28.9%)	26 (4.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (8.8%)	63.4	529^th of 1492 public elementary schools	64.5%		61.9	533^rd of 1490 public elementary schools	64.2%	4	67.4	82.4	65.6				51.7	75.3	54.2				68.0		$11,292	$882	$10,410
Alexander Wilson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2518 Nc 54	Graham	27253	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 578-1366	609	38	16.0	55.7%	317 (52.1%)	77 (12.6%)	155 (25.5%)	14 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (7.6%)	47.7	772^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	48.3%		46.3	813^th of 1490 public elementary schools	45.4%	41	50.0	62.3	65.3				49.1	54.7	59.4				67.3		$8,547	$664	$7,883
North Graham Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1025 Trollinger Road	Graham	27253	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 578-2272	362	26	13.9	99.2%	62 (17.1%)	124 (34.3%)	134 (37.0%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	37 (10.2%)	3	1486^th of 1492 public elementary schools	0.4%		2.5	1486^th of 1490 public elementary schools	0.3%		34.0	32.8	18.8				21.3	29.3	16.7				18.8		$11,600	$1,691	$9,909
R Homer Andrews Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2630 Buckingham Road	Burlington	27217	Alamance County	Alamance-Burlington Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(336) 570-6170	498	40	12.3	99.4%	36 (7.2%)	112 (22.5%)	321 (64.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (5.4%)	29.1	1111^th of 1492 public elementary schools	25.5%		15.6	1342^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	9.9%	231	60.2	46.3	38.1				52.3	43.9	42.9				57.1		$10,821	$1,898	$8,923

Frequently Asked Questions about South Mebane Elementary

Is South Mebane Elementary a good school?

South Mebane Elementary ranks 915^th of 1492 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is South Mebane Elementary in?

Alamance-Burlington Schools

What schools do graduates of South Mebane Elementary attend?

Students who attend South Mebane Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Woodlawn Middle
High : Eastern Alamance High

How many students attend South Mebane Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 506 students attended South Mebane Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of South Mebane Elementary?

Students at South Mebane Elementary are 34% African American, 33% White, 16% Hispanic, 14% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresNewSep 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.