Summary
Freedom High is a large traditional public high school in Morganton, NC, serving 1,299 students in grades 9–12 as part of Burke County Schools. It is by far the largest of the county's traditional high schools, with enrollment nearly double that of Draughn High School and well above Patton High School. Freedom currently ranks #392 of 662 North Carolina high schools (41st percentile), a rebound from an unusually weak 2024-25 showing but still a step below where the school stood before the pandemic.
On the most recent state tests, Freedom's proficiency trails the district in all four core subjects (Biology, English II, Math I, and Math III) and trails the state in three of four. The largest gaps are in English II (56.4% proficient vs. 64.6% statewide) and Math III (61.3% vs. 68.9%). Math I is a relative bright spot, with 49.6% proficiency coming in above the state average of 42.1%. Within Burke County, Freedom is essentially tied with East Burke High at the lower end of the traditional high school group, while Draughn and Patton post notably higher test scores despite serving similarly high-poverty student populations. Encouragingly, Freedom's graduation rate has climbed steadily to 90.0%, now above the state average, and chronic absenteeism has dropped from a pandemic-era high of over 52% to 23.8% — near the state average, though still above the district rate.
The most recent school year brought broad improvements: proficiency jumped sharply across all four tested subjects, and gains were especially strong for student groups that had struggled the prior year, including English learners, special education students, and Hispanic students. Higher-ranked nearby options like Caldwell Early College and McDowell Early College are small early-college programs rather than comprehensive high schools, so they are not direct comparisons. Overall, Freedom High is showing genuine momentum — rising graduation rates and solid one-year test gains — yet its academic performance still lags what comparable traditional schools in the area are achieving, pointing to room for continued growth.
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