Hobgood Charter School

Hobgood Charter School is a K-12 public charter school in Hobgood, NC, serving 569 students across 13 grade levels and operating as its own district, with small cohorts of roughly 40-45 students per grade. The school is classified as an alternative school and is most often compared to North East Carolina Prep (NECP), a much larger charter school in Tarboro about 14 miles away.

Hobgood has several genuine strengths worth recognizing. Its graduation rate is excellent — 94.7% in 2024-25, well above the state's 87.7% and above NECP's 92.2%. The school also posts a strong student-teacher ratio of 13.1, and chronic absenteeism (22.7%) is slightly better than the state average (24.2%), though not as low as NECP's 15.1%. Academically, Hobgood truly shines in mathematics, especially in high school: Math I scores (52.9%) beat both the state (42.1%) and NECP (37.9%), and 6th grade math (60.0%) tops both the state and NECP. Science proficiency in 5th grade is also solid at 72.0%, and in the prior year Hobgood actually outperformed NECP in that subject.

However, reading proficiency is a persistent and serious concern. Across grades 3-8, Hobgood's average reading score was just 45.0% in 2025-26, compared to 64.6% at NECP and 56.0% statewide — and every single grade level fell below the state average. The gap widens dramatically by 8th grade, where Hobgood trails NECP by 28 points in reading, 24 points in math, and 26 points in science. Biology and English II scores also lag state averages. Because Cohorts are small, proficiency rates can swing sharply from year to year, so parents should look at multi-year trends rather than any single year's result. Overall, Hobgood graduates students at an impressive rate and builds strong high school math skills, but families should ask school leaders about targeted literacy support and middle-school interventions.