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Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy

Public, Virtual, Alternative Grades K-12
1106th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,490 North Carolina Alternative Schools
Better than 26% of North Carolina alternative schools
Summary

Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy is an alternative public virtual school serving grades K-12 in Asheville, North Carolina, with 280 students enrolled. The school is part of the Buncombe County Schools district, which is ranked 125 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The virtual academy has seen a steady improvement in its 4-year graduation rates, from 86.9% in 2023-2024 to 93.9% in 2024-2025, exceeding the district and state averages. However, its test scores show a mixed performance, with strengths in some areas, such as 7th grade reading and 8th grade science, but struggles in others, particularly in mathematics, where only 18.8% of 6th-grade students were proficient, compared to 53.9% in the district and 57.2% statewide. The school has also seen a significant increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, from 25.44% in 2021-2022 to 51.07% in 2023-2024, suggesting it is serving a more economically disadvantaged population.

Compared to the nearby FernLeaf and IC Imagine charter schools, the virtual academy generally underperforms in both test scores and graduation rates. For example, in 8th grade science, FernLeaf had 79.2% proficiency, compared to 62.5% at the virtual academy and 62.3% in the Buncombe County Schools district. The virtual academy's higher student-teacher ratio compared to the nearby charter schools may be a contributing factor to its academic challenges.

296
Students ?
21.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
54.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 21 Trinity Chapel Rd
       Asheville, NC  28805-1936

(828) 255-5102

District: Buncombe County Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:
78.7%
Hispanic:
10.1%
African American:
6.1%
more
 See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy to nearby alternative schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 39th percentile in 2022 → 20th in 2025
Strengths
✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the North Carolina average (88%)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the North Carolina average (45% vs 55% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 19 percentile points since 2022
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school45%
District avg54%
North Carolina avg55%
Elementary school
1,106th of 1,490
North Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 26%▼ down 18 pts since 2022
From bottom 43% (2022) to bottom 26% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
351st of 773
North Carolina public middle schools ?
Top 45%▼ down 21 pts since 2022
From top 25% (2022) to top 45% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
High school
513th of 641
North Carolina public high schools ?
Bottom 20%▼ down 19 pts since 2022
From bottom 39% (2022) to bottom 20% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
125th 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202528.71106 of 149025.8%★☆☆☆☆
202475.9312 of 150579.3%★★★★☆
202350.5761 of 150249.3%★★☆☆☆
202243.2856 of 151443.5%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202515.31077 of 11728.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202320.71036 of 118312.4%★☆☆☆☆
202223.51007 of 119415.7%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202553.5351 of 77354.6%★★★☆☆
202458.3304 of 79361.7%★★★☆☆
202357.3310 of 78460.5%★★★☆☆
202271.3194 of 78675.3%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202556.2298 of 73359.3%★★★☆☆
202460.3270 of 73863.4%★★★☆☆
202370.2187 of 73174.4%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202562.2214 of 72970.6%★★★★☆
202465.0210 of 74371.7%★★★★☆
202358.4260 of 73564.6%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202563.1243 of 73366.8%★★★☆☆
202430.0550 of 75126.8%★☆☆☆☆
202368.3208 of 74772.2%★★★★☆
202279.2138 of 74881.6%★★★★☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202542.7379 of 64941.6%★★☆☆☆
202434.9443 of 65232.1%★★☆☆☆
202338.2423 of 65635.5%★★☆☆☆
202239.3406 of 65838.3%★★☆☆☆
High school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202521.3513 of 64120.0%★☆☆☆☆
202432.2427 of 64033.3%★★☆☆☆
202338.5366 of 62641.5%★★☆☆☆
202237.1376 of 62139.5%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202517.2523 of 61014.3%★☆☆☆☆
202430.8427 of 60229.1%★☆☆☆☆
202330.9411 of 58830.1%★★☆☆☆
202233.3396 of 59433.3%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202524.1486 of 60619.8%★☆☆☆☆
202424.1471 of 61323.2%★☆☆☆☆
202342.5293 of 59750.9%★★★☆☆
202257.9177 of 54467.5%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202524.2476 of 60120.8%★☆☆☆☆
202431.7415 of 60731.6%★★☆☆☆
202351.6263 of 60256.3%★★★☆☆
202237.5352 of 58539.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202514.9484 of 54210.7%★☆☆☆☆
202417.6481 of 55313.0%★☆☆☆☆
202329.1402 of 53725.1%★☆☆☆☆
202226.3412 of 53422.8%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
White (2025)8th percentile-18 vs school
Middle school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)71st percentile+16 vs school
Male (2025)67th percentile+12 vs school
Female (2025)59th percentile+5 vs school
White (2025)42nd percentile-13 vs school
High school
Male (2025)21st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile~ school
Female (2025)14th percentile-6 vs school
White (2025)11th percentile-9 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Science59%~ state avg
Reading57%+5 vs state
English II56%-3 vs state
Mathematics41%-16 vs state
Math III40%-26 vs state
Biology26%-22 vs state
Math I16%-19 vs state

★
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Frequently Asked Questions about Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy

In the 2024-25 school year, 296 students attended Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy.

Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy ranks 1106th of 1490 North Carolina alternative schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Students at Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy are 79% White, 10% Hispanic, 6% African American, 4% Two or more races.


Rate Buncombe County Schools Virtual Academy!



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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.




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