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Enka Middle

Q: Is Enka Middle a good school?

Enka Middle ranks 546 th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

546^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 29% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Enka Middle is a public middle school located in Candler, North Carolina, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 617 students. The school is part of the Buncombe County Schools district, which is ranked 125 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Enka Middle's performance, as measured by proficiency rates on state assessments, is generally lower than the Buncombe County Schools district and the state of North Carolina averages. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with relatively strong performance for African American students but struggles with Hispanic, White, and Multi-racial student groups, as well as English Language Learners, Disabled students, and Gifted and Talented students. Enka Middle has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with over 99% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in recent years.

When compared to other middle schools in the Buncombe County Schools district, Enka Middle generally performs worse academically. For example, North Buncombe Middle and Valley Springs Middle both outperform Enka Middle on state assessments and have higher statewide rankings. Additionally, Enka Middle's statewide ranking has declined over the past several years, from a high of 280 out of 741 North Carolina middle schools in 2020-2021 to a low of 546 out of 773 in 2024-2025, placing the school in the bottom third of middle schools in the state.

588

Students ?

16.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,775

Per pupil spending ?

99.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

390 Asbury Road
Candler, NC 28715-9686

(828) 670-5010

District: Buncombe County Schools

Students who attend Enka Middle usually attend:

High:	Center for Career Innovation
	Enka High
	Nesbitt Discovery Academy

Feeder schools for Enka Middle:

Elementary:	Candler Elementary
	Hominy Valley Elementary
	Pisgah Elementary
	Sand Hill-Venable Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

64.5%

Hispanic:

24.8%

Two or more races:

5.1%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Enka Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 61st percentile in 2015 → 29th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (42% vs 54% meeting standards)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2015

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg53%

North Carolina avg54%

546^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 29%▼ down 31 pts since 2015

From top 39% (2015) to bottom 29% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 7Middle Schools in the Buncombe County Schools

125^th of 242Buncombe County 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
2025	30.2	546 of 773	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.0	524 of 793	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.1	450 of 784	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.9	456 of 786	42.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	58.3	280 of 741	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	52.5	362 of 737	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	56.5	316 of 691	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2017	54.6	329 of 694	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	50.6	354 of 692	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2015	59.8	277 of 705	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2014	58.6	239 of 627	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2013	69.6	165 of 673	75.5%	★★★★☆
2012	57.7	333 of 662	49.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	58.4	311 of 648	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2010	62.6	265 of 640	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2009	61.4	281 of 630	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2008	62.8	247 of 620	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2007	60.9	267 of 606	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2006	63.2	225 of 598	62.4%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.5	265 of 546	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	60.1	159 of 560	71.6%	★★★★☆
2023	31.3	408 of 559	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	49.4	228 of 550	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	56.7	157 of 533	70.5%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	23.4	388 of 449	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	39.7	280 of 478	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	34.3	349 of 504	30.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.4	408 of 475	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	20.3	327 of 356	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.7	279 of 318	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.7	267 of 312	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.9	204 of 236	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.8	97 of 211	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	44.4	64 of 151	57.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	29.8	532 of 733	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.4	521 of 738	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.9	444 of 731	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	42.0	420 of 733	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	57.1	275 of 706	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	46.1	392 of 684	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	59.9	281 of 656	57.2%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	36.3	382 of 458	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	44.9	337 of 461	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	48.7	293 of 452	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	57.6	227 of 450	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	71.6	99 of 448	77.9%	★★★★☆
2019	68.9	87 of 416	79.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.5	498 of 562	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	495 of 564	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.2	431 of 553	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.0	379 of 541	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	46.3	266 of 522	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.7	246 of 493	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	45.8	259 of 472	45.1%	★★☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	73.8	6 of 50	88.0%	★★★★☆
2021	91.1	1 of 12	91.7%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	33.1	512 of 729	29.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.3	512 of 743	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	41.5	431 of 735	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	48.7	316 of 689	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	74.8	94 of 633	85.2%	★★★★☆
2019	53.9	274 of 639	57.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	60.6	208 of 604	65.6%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	29.5	528 of 733	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.1	475 of 751	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.5	441 of 747	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.6	473 of 748	36.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	57.1	271 of 711	61.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.1	314 of 697	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.2	331 of 665	50.2%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.3	247 of 328	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.6	306 of 306	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.3	230 of 237	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	38.2	152 of 221	31.2%	★★☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.6	343 of 478	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	568 of 649	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.5	530 of 652	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.2	522 of 656	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	556 of 658	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	42.7	358 of 632	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	35.4	443 of 624	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.0	417 of 596	30.0%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Homeless (2023)88th percentile+45 vs school

African American (2025)51st percentile+22 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)30th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)28th percentile~ school

Male (2025)28th percentile~ school

Female (2025)27th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)25th percentile-5 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)17th percentile-13 vs school

Disabled (2022)14th percentile-28 vs school

White (2025)12th percentile-17 vs school

Hispanic (2025)11th percentile-18 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)8th percentile-26 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science57%-3 vs state

Reading41%-12 vs state

Mathematics36%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near Enka Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)				EOG Reading (2025)				EOG Science (2025)		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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th 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
Enka Middle	Public	7-8	390 Asbury Road	Candler	28715	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 670-5010	588	37	16.0	99.5%	379 (64.5%)	28 (4.8%)	146 (24.8%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (5.1%)	30.2	546^th of 773 public middle schools	29.4%		36	524^th of 793 public middle schools	33.9%	22			46.0	25.3			41.2	40.2		56.9	$9,775	$826	$8,949
Enka Intermediate	Public	5-6	125 Asheville Commerce Parkway	Candler	28715	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 255-1380	585	39	14.8	99.5%	380 (65.0%)	22 (3.8%)	154 (26.3%)	7 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	20 (3.4%)								(n/a)	48.2	57.2			41.6	51.5			61.6		$9,013	$1,227	$7,786
Erwin Middle	Public	7-8	20 Erwin Middle School Road	Asheville	28806	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 232-4264	545	40	13.7	99.4%	277 (50.8%)	40 (7.3%)	194 (35.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.5%)	23 (4.2%)	19.8	639^th of 773 public middle schools	17.3%		25.7	606^th of 793 public middle schools	23.6%	33			38.7	24.8			30.9	37.4		48.2	$9,336	$764	$8,571
Eblen Intermediate	Public	5-6	59 Lee's Creek Road	Asheville	28806	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 255-5757	566	38	14.9	99.3%	301 (53.2%)	49 (8.7%)	187 (33.0%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.4%)	22 (3.9%)								(n/a)	35.9	44.0			37.5	32.5			53.4		$9,206	$1,398	$7,808
Asheville Middle	Public	6-8	211 S French Broad Avenue	Asheville	28801	Buncombe County	Asheville City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 350-6200	670	59	11.3	50.9%	383 (57.2%)	145 (21.6%)	74 (11.0%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.5%)	53 (7.9%)	51	380^th of 773 public middle schools	50.8%		60.1	287^th of 793 public middle schools	63.8%	93		50.5	50.0	41.7		56.9	51.2	57.8		62.1	$12,770	$724	$12,046
Valley Springs Middle	Public	5-8	224 Long Shoals Road	Arden	28704	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 654-1785	654	46	14.3	99.5%	335 (51.2%)	71 (10.9%)	176 (26.9%)	21 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	45 (6.9%)	62.6	265^th of 773 public middle schools	65.7%		57.1	312^th of 793 public middle schools	60.7%	47			60.1	60.8			56.4	51.8		64.6	$11,876	$1,485	$10,391
Koontz Intermediate	Public	5-6	305 Overlook Road	Asheville	28803	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(828) 684-1295	725	40	18.1	99.2%	389 (53.7%)	84 (11.6%)	158 (21.8%)	31 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	58 (8.0%)								(n/a)	50.0	57.8			52.4	53.0			56.7		$8,533	$972	$7,561
Canton Middle	Public	6-8	60 Penland St	Canton	28716	Haywood County	Haywood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 646-3467	475	31	15.3	98.3%	399 (84.0%)	3 (0.6%)	50 (10.5%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.2%)	60.1	282^nd of 773 public middle schools	63.5%		67.1	230^th of 793 public middle schools	71.0%	52		75.0	56.3	57.9		54.3	41.5	52.1		69.7	$9,141	$940	$8,202
Reynolds Middle	Public	6-8	2 Rocket Drive	Asheville	28803	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 298-7484	490	33	15.0	98.2%	256 (52.2%)	102 (20.8%)	82 (16.7%)	9 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (8.4%)	47.9	405^th of 773 public middle schools	47.6%		54.5	342^nd of 793 public middle schools	56.9%	63		44.4	50.9	54.4		46.6	48.5	55.3		59.6	$10,391	$728	$9,664
North Buncombe Middle	Public	7-8	51 N Buncombe School Road	Weaverville	28787	Buncombe County	Buncombe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 645-7944	516	36	14.4	98.8%	413 (80.0%)	2 (0.4%)	72 (14.0%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (4.7%)	72.9	182^nd of 773 public middle schools	76.5%		80.1	131^st of 793 public middle schools	83.5%	51			75.0	61.0			60.7	53.7		74.0	$9,771	$846	$8,925

Frequently Asked Questions about Enka Middle

Is Enka Middle a good school?

Enka Middle ranks 546^th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What high school do graduates of Enka Middle attend?

Students who attend Enka Middle usually go on to attend Center for Career Innovation

What is the racial makeup of Enka Middle?

Students at Enka Middle are 64% White, 25% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 5% African American.

How many students attend Enka Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 588 students attended Enka Middle.

What district is Enka Middle in?

Buncombe County Schools

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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.