Nesbitt Discovery Academy

Nesbitt Discovery Academy is a small public high school in Asheville, North Carolina, serving roughly 372 students in grades 9–12 as part of Buncombe County Schools. Although its district ranks near the middle of North Carolina's school systems, Nesbitt itself is ranked 12th out of 662 high schools statewide with a 5-star rating, putting it in the top 2% of the state year after year.

Nesbitt's test scores are close to a ceiling. In the latest reporting year, 100% of students scored proficient on English II, with proficiency rates of 98.8% in Biology, 99.9% in Math III, and 88.9% in Math I. To put that in perspective, the district average for Math I is just 38.5%. The gap with nearby schools is striking: Erwin High, the closest comprehensive high school just 2.5 miles away, posted proficiency rates between 23.4% and 46.8% on the same exams. Nesbitt also outranks other area high schools such as Roberson High, Reynolds High, Enka High, and North Buncombe High by hundreds of statewide ranking positions.

What makes Nesbitt especially impressive is that success is broad-based: male, Hispanic, White, female, and low-income students all rank among the top 12 in North Carolina within their subgroups. Chronic absenteeism sits at just 6.4%, far below the district rate of 22.8%, and attendance is a likely contributor to academic results. Compared with Early College — another strong specialized school in the district — Nesbitt leads on nearly every tested subject. It achieves all this while spending less per student than nearby comprehensive schools. The one area to watch is a recent dip in the Gifted and Talented subgroup ranking, but overall Nesbitt Discovery Academy stands out as one of the highest-performing high schools in the state.