Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Neal Middle

Public, Magnet Grades 6-8

665^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 14% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Neal Middle is a public magnet middle school located in Durham, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 770 students. The school is part of the Durham Public Schools district, which is ranked 163 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past several years, Neal Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of North Carolina middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most years.

Neal Middle's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates on state standardized tests, is significantly lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in mathematics ranged from 32.4% to 33.6%, compared to 48.5% to 49.9% for the district and 53.5% to 57.2% for the state. The reading proficiency rates showed a similar pattern, with Neal Middle's rates ranging from 26.1% to 38.3%, compared to 47.5% to 49.6% for the district and 51.9% to 54.2% for the state. Additionally, Neal Middle has an extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, with rates consistently above 99% in recent years.

When comparing Neal Middle to other nearby middle schools in the Durham Public Schools district, it becomes clear that Neal Middle is an outlier in terms of academic performance. Schools like Rogers-Herr Middle and Lakewood Montessori Middle, which are also public magnet schools in the district, significantly outperform Neal Middle on state assessments, with proficiency rates that are 30-50 percentage points higher. This suggests that there is a significant opportunity for improvement at Neal Middle, and targeted interventions and a focus on best practices in teaching and learning could potentially help the school make meaningful progress in raising student achievement.

706

Students ?

14.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,097

Per pupil spending ?

99.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

201 Baptist Road
Durham, NC 27704-8570

(919) 560-3955

District: Durham Public Schools

Students who attend Neal Middle usually attend:

High:

Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi

Feeder schools for Neal Middle:

Elementary:	Merrick-Moore Elementary
	Oak Grove Elementary
	Spring Valley Elementary
	Y E Smith Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

51.4%

African American:

39.8%

Two or more races:

4.2%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Neal Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 10th percentile in 2015 → 14th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (35% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (14th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 20 pts below the North Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school35%

District avg49%

North Carolina avg54%

665^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 14%▲ up 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 10% (2015) to bottom 14% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 9Middle Schools in the Durham Public Schools

163^rd of 242Durham 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
2025	17.5	665 of 773	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.0	677 of 793	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.3	697 of 784	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.3	738 of 786	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.8	728 of 741	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.4	665 of 737	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.7	616 of 691	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	7.0	657 of 694	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	5.0	660 of 692	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	11.5	631 of 705	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	5.6	610 of 627	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	14.6	592 of 673	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.5	592 of 662	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	14.0	592 of 648	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	11.1	595 of 640	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	7.8	586 of 630	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	5.2	586 of 620	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	7.4	572 of 606	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	13.3	545 of 598	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.5	275 of 546	49.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.2	263 of 560	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.9	359 of 559	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.6	427 of 550	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.9	503 of 533	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	26.7	423 of 519	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.4	324 of 494	34.4%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	16.2	434 of 449	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	29.6	371 of 478	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.0	470 of 504	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	28.2	378 of 475	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.2	275 of 371	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.6	293 of 356	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.2	284 of 318	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	309 of 312	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.6	204 of 211	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	15.4	661 of 733	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	649 of 738	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.1	680 of 731	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.5	702 of 733	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.6	701 of 706	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	622 of 684	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.0	607 of 656	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.1	434 of 458	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	33.7	396 of 461	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.4	418 of 452	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.1	443 of 450	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.4	388 of 416	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.4	118 of 127	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	500 of 562	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.3	499 of 564	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	513 of 553	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.0	533 of 541	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.5	516 of 522	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.4	440 of 493	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	441 of 472	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	27.2	570 of 729	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.7	623 of 743	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	642 of 735	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.8	659 of 689	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	7.1	624 of 633	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	22.1	548 of 639	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	504 of 604	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.6	611 of 733	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.2	639 of 751	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	655 of 747	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.3	705 of 748	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.1	694 of 711	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.6	632 of 697	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.3	601 of 665	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.5	277 of 328	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.4	242 of 306	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.7	232 of 283	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.1	188 of 478	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	25.7	392 of 473	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	27.8	509 of 652	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.6	466 of 656	29.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	44.0	373 of 658	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	19.3	557 of 624	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.4	459 of 596	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)61st percentile+47 vs school

African American (2025)50th percentile+36 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)26th percentile+12 vs school

White (2024)22nd percentile+7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)22nd percentile+8 vs school

Male (2025)17th percentile+3 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)16th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)11th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)10th percentile-4 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)5th percentile-9 vs school

Disabled (2022)3rd percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science45%-15 vs state

Mathematics33%-20 vs state

Reading33%-20 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate Neal Middle

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a student
Monday, December 16, 2019

I was once a student here, and let me just tell you that the staff, students, and administration are all so utterly poor that I suffered a severe mental breakdown here, to the point where I had to take a week off of school, and eventually up and leave in the end because it was all so bad. I wouldn't even send my worst enemy here. Close Quote

Schools Near Neal Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (2025)		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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Neal Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	201 Baptist Road	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 560-3955	706	48	14.7	99.6%	22 (3.1%)	281 (39.8%)	363 (51.4%)	9 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	30 (4.2%)	17.5	665^th of 773 public middle schools	14.0%		18	677^th of 793 public middle schools	14.6%	12				32.4	33.6	33.5				26.1	34.3	38.3		45.0	$12,097	$2,570	$9,527
Pine Hollow Middle	Public	6-8	5365 Bartram Place	Raleigh	27617	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 694-8880	776	52	14.9	33.1%	418 (53.9%)	165 (21.3%)	115 (14.8%)	44 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (4.4%)	81	129^th of 773 public middle schools	83.3%		86.7	88^th of 793 public middle schools	88.9%	41				67.7	64.1	76.5				65.7	62.0	71.9		76.8	$8,836	$462	$8,374
James E Shepard Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	2401 Dakota Street	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 560-3938	423	29	14.5	98.6%	10 (2.4%)	263 (62.2%)	129 (30.5%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.8%)	48.3	401^st of 773 public middle schools	48.1%		47.7	416^th of 793 public middle schools	47.5%	15				41.9	53.2	65.0				43.1	51.1	50.0		60.0	$11,998	$1,606	$10,392
Leesville Road Middle	Public	6-8	8406 Pride Way	Raleigh	27613	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 870-4141	795	44	18.1	31.7%	407 (51.2%)	176 (22.1%)	134 (16.9%)	34 (4.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (5.4%)	86.2	84^th of 773 public middle schools	89.1%		81.8	117^th of 793 public middle schools	85.2%	33				77.3	71.1	78.5				69.0	71.8	68.3		76.6	$8,947	$527	$8,419
Brogden Middle	Public	6-8	1001 Leon Street	Durham	27704	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 560-3906	753	45	16.8	99.5%	94 (12.5%)	253 (33.6%)	344 (45.7%)	21 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (5.4%)	17.1	671^st of 773 public middle schools	13.2%		17.2	686^th of 793 public middle schools	13.5%	15				35.0	52.4	25.4				33.1	27.7	31.3		32.3	$12,887	$1,406	$11,481
Lowe's Grove Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	4418 S Alston Avenue	Durham	27713	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 560-3946	564	29	19.7	99.5%	40 (7.1%)	269 (47.7%)	203 (36.0%)	12 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.1%)	6.7	737^th of 773 public middle schools	4.7%		9.1	743^rd of 793 public middle schools	6.3%	6				31.9	18.2	20.1				30.7	25.6	22.0		20.0	$11,779	$1,431	$10,349
Magellan Charter	Public, Charter	3-8	9324 Baileywick Road	Raleigh	27615	Wake County	Magellan Charter	Yes	No	No	No	(919) 844-0277	411	31	13.1		333 (81.0%)	10 (2.4%)	17 (4.1%)	19 (4.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.5%)	98.1	9^th of 773 public middle schools	98.8%		97.1	20^th of 793 public middle schools	97.5%	11	88.4	92.5	94.2	95.6	91.0	89.7	84.1	89.6	85.5	95.6	80.6	91.2	89.9	100.0
Lakewood Montessori Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	2119 Chapel Hill Rd	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-2894	309	20	15.2	99.0%	179 (57.9%)	51 (16.5%)	59 (19.1%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	14 (4.5%)	95.7	31^st of 773 public middle schools	96.0%		93.4	42^nd of 793 public middle schools	94.7%	11				83.0	88.2	84.7				80.2	83.3	83.7		88.8	$14,182	$1,909	$12,273
Rogers-Herr Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	911 Cornwallis Road	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3970	660	40	16.6	99.5%	195 (29.5%)	250 (37.9%)	155 (23.5%)	17 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (6.2%)	83.8	104^th of 773 public middle schools	86.5%		79.7	134^th of 793 public middle schools	83.1%	30				68.6	77.7	63.9				70.5	71.0	73.4		72.4	$11,594	$781	$10,812
West Millbrook Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	8115 Strickland Rd	Raleigh	27615	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 870-4050	1,164	68	17.1	32.3%	678 (58.2%)	154 (13.2%)	251 (21.6%)	33 (2.8%)	5 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (3.6%)	77.2	155^th of 773 public middle schools	79.9%		76.5	158^th of 793 public middle schools	80.1%	3				69.8	66.1	63.3				68.7	66.9	66.5		63.7	$8,987	$359	$8,628

Frequently Asked Questions about Neal Middle

Is Neal Middle a good school?

Neal Middle ranks in the bottom 14.0% of North Carolina middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Neal Middle attend?

Students who attend Neal Middle usually go on to attend Southern School of Energy and Sustainabi

What is the racial makeup of Neal Middle?

Students at Neal Middle are 51% Hispanic, 40% African American, 4% Two or more races, 3% White, 1% Asian.

What district is Neal Middle in?

Durham Public Schools

How many students attend Neal Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 706 students attended Neal Middle.

Rate Neal Middle!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

NCNorth Carolina Middle School Rankings

NCNorth Carolina District Rankings

Schools in Durham, NC

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Neal Middle!

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.