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Hillside High

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12

556^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 662 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 16% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Hillside High is a large public high school in Durham, NC, serving 1,433 students in grades 9–12 as part of Durham Public Schools, a district ranked in the 37th percentile statewide. The school itself ranks in the 16th percentile for 2025–2026 — 556th out of 662 North Carolina high schools — earning a 1-star rating, and nearly all students (99.79%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Compared with other high schools in the area, Hillside’s most pressing challenges are attendance and graduation. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 63.6% is the highest among nearby schools — well above the district’s 36.1% and the state’s 24.2% — and it has climbed steadily from 52.7% in 2022–2023. The graduation rate has also declined sharply, from 86.1% in 2021–2022 to 74.4%, placing it below both the district (80.3%) and state (88.8%) averages. End-of-course proficiency trails on every tested subject; for example, only 25.6% of students are proficient in Math I compared with 42.1% statewide. Among similar comprehensive schools, C E Jordan High ranks notably higher (44th percentile), while Southern School of Energy and Sustainability ranks below Hillside (8th percentile).

One of the most striking comparisons is that Durham School of Technology shares the same building and address as Hillside yet posts dramatically different outcomes: a 72nd-percentile ranking, a 92.9% graduation rate, and a 25.0% chronic absenteeism rate. High poverty is not unique to Hillside — many nearby schools, including higher-performing ones, also have free/reduced lunch rates above 98% — and Hillside’s per-student spending of $11,407 is comparable to or higher than several of those schools. On a positive note, Hillside improved in all four EOC subjects from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, and it now ranks in the 77th percentile for special education students, a dramatic jump from previous years. Still, the combination of rising absenteeism and falling graduation rates suggests that the school’s most urgent priority is reconnecting students to daily attendance and engagement.

1,433

Students ?

17.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$11,407

Per pupil spending ?

99.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3727 Fayetteville St
Durham, NC 27707

(919) 560-3925

District: Durham Public Schools

Feeder schools for Hillside High:

Elementary:	Bethesda Elementary
	Fayetteville Street Elementary
	Parkwood Elementary
Middle:	Lowe's Grove Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

59.9%

Hispanic:

32.1%

Two or more races:

4.3%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Hillside High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 27th percentile in 2016 → 16th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (42% vs 60% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the North Carolina average (74% vs 89%)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school42%

District avg51%

North Carolina avg60%

556^th of 662

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 16%▼ down 11 pts since 2016

From bottom 27% (2016) to bottom 16% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 7High Schools in the Durham Public Schools

155^th of 246Durham Public 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
2026	19.6	556 of 662	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.3	558 of 641	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.0	560 of 640	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.8	471 of 626	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.8	487 of 621	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.6	561 of 594	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	26.9	366 of 514	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.8	410 of 469	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	13.7	401 of 476	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	22.1	369 of 507	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.3	378 of 531	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	13.8	386 of 451	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.2	404 of 505	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	23.8	407 of 502	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	15.7	442 of 506	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	15.8	439 of 499	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	13.3	434 of 490	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	19.1	408 of 477	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	18.2	389 of 453	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	25.8	360 of 431	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	38.6	270 of 450	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	33.9	281 of 440	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	33.2	283 of 437	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	45.1	194 of 434	55.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	44.4	194 of 430	54.9%	★★★☆☆
2021	22.7	301 of 364	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.3	135 of 369	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2018	33.0	233 of 359	35.1%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	37.7	175 of 330	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	20.3	308 of 334	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	47.9	145 of 364	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	30.5	233 of 349	33.2%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	26.6	221 of 289	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.7	242 of 273	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.8	245 of 262	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	26.7	176 of 226	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.3	98 of 156	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.0	91 of 124	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.5	135 of 173	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	113 of 147	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	25.4	487 of 629	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	18.3	515 of 610	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.1	529 of 602	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.6	442 of 588	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.5	489 of 594	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	9.4	448 of 475	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.1	351 of 475	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.3	411 of 449	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	19.7	381 of 407	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	15.7	380 of 412	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	35.4	326 of 403	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	45.5	281 of 403	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	4.4	387 of 398	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	1.0	333 of 337	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	0.8	323 of 325	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.5	100 of 100	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	16.7	424 of 474	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	13.6	442 of 462	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.7	437 of 454	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	33.0	295 of 449	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.5	361 of 436	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.8	348 of 370	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	27.8	270 of 354	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	9.6	334 of 340	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	47.8	23 of 47	51.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	78.5	3 of 39	92.3%	★★★★★
2023	98.8	1 of 45	97.8%	★★★★★
2019	35.7	30 of 44	31.8%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	23.5	512 of 620	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.6	527 of 606	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.2	518 of 613	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.0	412 of 597	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.4	420 of 544	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	403 of 432	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.1	291 of 446	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	17.6	369 of 424	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	12.6	569 of 624	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.0	559 of 601	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	561 of 607	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	23.9	468 of 602	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.0	464 of 585	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	8.8	465 of 481	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.6	371 of 488	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.3	419 of 463	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	28.6	212 of 265	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.1	216 of 253	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.8	213 of 261	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.0	147 of 249	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.5	167 of 226	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	60.3	85 of 372	77.2%	★★★★☆
2025	38.1	201 of 352	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	14.8	342 of 349	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2018	29.7	321 of 427	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)77th percentile+61 vs school

Homeless (2026)51st percentile+35 vs school

Disabled (2022)47th percentile+25 vs school

African American (2026)40th percentile+24 vs school

White (2018)25th percentile+12 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)24th percentile+8 vs school

Female (2026)23rd percentile+7 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)20th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)17th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)11th percentile-5 vs school

Male (2026)9th percentile-7 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)6th percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English II46%-18 vs state

Math III44%-25 vs state

Biology44%-15 vs state

Math I26%-16 vs state

★

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Schools Near Hillside High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)			EOG Reading (2026)			EOG Science (2026)	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 (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Hillside High	Public, Magnet	9-12	3727 Fayetteville St	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3925	1,433	82	17.3	99.8%	27 (1.9%)	859 (59.9%)	460 (32.1%)	19 (1.3%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	62 (4.3%)	19.6	556^th of 662 public high schools	16.0%		15.3	558^th of 641 public high schools	12.9%	2	43.6	46.3	25.6	43.9								$11,407	$967	$10,441
Durham School of Technology	Public	9-12	3727 Fayetteville St	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-9183	219	16	13.5	98.6%	13 (5.9%)	146 (66.7%)	49 (22.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)	69.9	188^th of 662 public high schools	71.6%		78.9	139^th of 641 public high schools	78.3%	49	77.8	81.3	54.8	75.4								$8,663	$236	$8,427
J D Clement Early College High School	Public	9-12	1801 Fayetteville Street	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2696	380	14	26.2	99.2%	16 (4.2%)	214 (56.3%)	119 (31.3%)	12 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	18 (4.7%)	90.5	69^th of 662 public high schools	89.6%		94.8	26^th of 641 public high schools	95.9%	43	92.2	91.8	79.5	98.8								$8,162	$393	$7,769
Durham Early College of Health Sciences	Public	9-12	41 Moore Drive	Durham	27709	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 536-7203	164	7	23.4	98.2%	53 (32.3%)	46 (28.0%)	46 (28.0%)	5 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	13 (7.9%)	66.3	211^th of 662 public high schools	68.1%					(n/a)	81.8	69.8	50.0	100.0								$8,584	$195	$8,389
Durham's Performance Learning Center	Public	9-12	401 North Driver Street	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-9190	122	17	7.3	90.2%	3 (2.5%)	61 (50.0%)	52 (42.6%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.1%)	8	613^th of 662 public high schools	7.4%		3.6	628^th of 641 public high schools	2.0%	15	25.0	26.7		43.3								$15,776	$849	$14,927
Holton Career and Resource Center	Public	9-12	401 North Driver St	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-2219	0	0			0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Durham School of the Arts	Public, Magnet	6-12	401 North Duke Street	Durham	27701	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3926	1,764	100	17.6	99.2%	612 (34.7%)	437 (24.8%)	542 (30.7%)	50 (2.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	122 (6.9%)	77.1	154^th of 662 public high schools	76.7%		85.1	111^th of 641 public high schools	82.7%	43	78.6	84.4	64.6	81.3	72.8	71.6	79.2	73.7	73.4	82.4	86.4	$10,260	$523	$9,737
C E Jordan High	Public	9-12	6806 Garrett Road	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 560-3912	2,189	105	20.9	99.9%	628 (28.7%)	653 (29.8%)	660 (30.2%)	90 (4.1%)	3 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	154 (7.0%)	44.4	373^rd of 662 public high schools	43.7%		45.9	331^st of 641 public high schools	48.4%	42	54.4	62.4	36.0	71.2								$9,868	$693	$9,175
Research Triangle High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3106 East NC Highway 54	Durham	27713	Durham County	Research Triangle High School	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 998-6757	572	43	13.3		201 (35.1%)	90 (15.7%)	84 (14.7%)	126 (22.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (12.2%)	68.9	194^th of 662 public high schools	70.7%		78	142^nd of 641 public high schools	77.8%	52	70.2	87.2	41.5	78.5
Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi	Public, Magnet	9-12	800 Clayton Road	Durham	27703	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3968	1,384	65	21.2	99.8%	32 (2.3%)	624 (45.1%)	668 (48.3%)	7 (0.5%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	46 (3.3%)	8.9	607^th of 662 public high schools	8.3%		10.4	596^th of 641 public high schools	7.0%	11	20.8	39.2	23.9	28.4								$11,432	$509	$10,923

Frequently Asked Questions about Hillside High

What schools feed into Hillside High?

Hillside High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bethesda Elementary
Elementary : Fayetteville Street Elementary
Elementary : Parkwood Elementary
Middle : Lowe's Grove Middle

What district is Hillside High in?

Durham Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Hillside High?

Students at Hillside High are 60% African American, 32% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% White, 1% Asian.

How many students attend Hillside High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,433 students attended Hillside High.

Is Hillside High a good school?

Hillside High ranks in the bottom 16.0% of North Carolina high schools.

Rate Hillside High!

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026

2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

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.