Chowan Middle

Chowan Middle in Tyner, NC, serves 357 students in grades 6–8 and is part of the Edenton-Chowan Schools district, which ranks in the 26th percentile statewide. The school’s own performance has slipped sharply over the past few years, going from a 55th-percentile ranking in 2021-22 to a 24th-percentile ranking in 2025-26.

Academically, Chowan Middle trails both its nearest neighbors — Central Middle School and Perquimans County Middle — as well as the state average in nearly every subject and grade. For example, just 37.5% of Chowan 6th graders scored proficient in math, compared to 57.7% at Central and 67.7% at Perquimans. The gaps are similar in reading, though Chowan does show pockets of strength in 7th-grade math and reading, where it outperforms Central. Perquimans is particularly notable because it serves an almost identical student body — roughly 99% of students at both schools receive free or reduced-price lunch — yet Perquimans posts far higher test scores. That suggests factors beyond poverty, such as school practices and attendance, matter greatly here.

One of the biggest red flags is chronic absenteeism. In 2024-25, 36.7% of Chowan students were chronically absent, well above the 24.2% state average and the roughly 28–30% rates at Central and Perquimans. This pattern has persisted for four straight years, hovering near 37%. The school does have some favorable resources, including a student-teacher ratio of 12.5 and per-pupil spending of about $11,000, similar to Perquimans. Yet those resources aren’t translating into stable achievement. Scores swing widely from year to year, and subgroup results — including for special education and economically disadvantaged students — have fallen dramatically since 2023-24. The clearest opportunity for improvement is attendance: reducing chronic absenteeism toward the state average could meaningfully boost academic outcomes, and past strong results with English learners show the school has the capacity to improve when supports align.