TMSA Charlotte

TMSA Charlotte is a K–12 alternative school in Concord, NC, serving 760 students as the sole school in its own district, The Math and Science Academy of Charlott, within a local landscape dense with charter schools and other standalone K–12 options. It has a distinct profile: a very high-poverty student body — 94.1% qualified for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024–2025 — yet reading proficiency that beat the state at every grade level from 3rd through 8th in the latest testing year.

The strongest story at TMSA is literacy. Average reading proficiency across grades 3–8 was 64.5%, well above the state average of 56.0% and above nearby schools like Charlotte Lab School (46.1%), Sugar Creek Charter (43.6%), and Bonnie Cone Leadership Academy (54.8%), even though those schools report far lower poverty rates. Recent cohorts have shown real gains, with 7th grade reading jumping from 35.5% to 61.3% and 8th grade reading from 37.0% to 64.2% over the past few years. Math results are more uneven: 6th grade math was strong at 76.9% proficiency, but only 34.6% of 8th graders were proficient, compared to the state's 53.0%. High school EOC results in Math I, Math III, and Biology all trail state averages. Despite the school's math-and-science name and mission, its most consistent academic strength is reading, not STEM.

The biggest concern for families is high school completion. TMSA's graduation rate was 75.0%, well below the state's 88.8% and below most nearby schools, including Corvian Community School (89.5%), Carolina International School (91.4%), and Pioneer Springs Community School (82.8%); the rate has fluctuated between roughly 67% and 75% in recent years. On a brighter note, chronic absenteeism has improved steadily, from 30.3% to 23.7%, and now sits just below the state average. For parents, TMSA Charlotte looks like a strong choice for building literacy in elementary and middle school, but the high school math, science, and graduation metrics deserve careful consideration.