Wadesboro Elementary

Wadesboro Elementary, located in Wadesboro, NC, is a small school serving 215 students in grades 4–6 within Anson County Schools. Nearly all of its students — about 97% — qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the deep poverty of the surrounding rural area. Academically, the school trails both its district and the state on every End-of-Grade test, with proficiency rates ranging from roughly 28% to 46% versus state averages in the mid-50s to mid-60s. The most alarming result is 4th-grade reading: only 27.7% of students read at grade level, compared with 44.8% across Anson County Schools and 57.7% statewide.

The biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism. Nearly half of Wadesboro Elementary's students — 47.7% — were chronically absent last year, roughly double the state average of 24.2% and the highest rate among nearby schools. Cordova Middle is next at 42.1%, while East Union Middle sits much lower at 22.5%. This is no one-year problem: absenteeism has stayed above 41% for five consecutive years. Achievement mirrors that struggle. In 6th-grade math, Wadesboro Elementary posts a 38.0% proficiency rate — the lowest in the region, about 12 points behind South Stanly Middle and more than 21 points below the state average of 59.2%. Reading and math scores fall below both district and state averages in every tested grade and subject.

Per-pupil spending at Wadesboro Elementary runs about $11,235, near the top of its local peer group and above what several neighboring middle schools spend — yet outcomes remain low. That suggests the challenge is not simply funding but deeper issues around attendance, student stability, and out-of-school barriers. Science is a relative bright spot: 46% of 5th graders are proficient, though results swing sharply from year to year in a school this small. Because Wadesboro Elementary serves only grades 4–6, its students move on to Anson Middle by 7th grade, often already far behind their peers in other districts. In short, until the school's staggering absenteeism improves, meaningful academic gains are likely to remain fragile and inconsistent.