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R J Reynolds High

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12
432nd
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 641 North Carolina High Schools
Better than 33% of North Carolina high schools
Summary

R J Reynolds High is a public magnet high school serving grades 9-12 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with a student population of 1,747. The school is part of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools district, which is ranked 159 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

R J Reynolds High has seen a decline in its statewide ranking, dropping from 186 out of 469 North Carolina high schools in 2017-2018 to 432 out of 641 in the most recent 2024-2025 school year, placing it in the bottom third of high schools in the state. The school performs particularly poorly for certain student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 20% of North Carolina high schools for Asian, African American, Hispanic, English Language Learner, and Low Socioeconomic Status students. However, the school performs better for White students, ranking in the top 35% of high schools. R J Reynolds High consistently underperforms the district and state averages on End-of-Course (EOC) exams, with only 42.1% of students proficient or better in Biology, compared to 45.5% for the district and 48.3% for the state. The school's Math I proficiency rate of 17.3% is also significantly lower than the district (21.8%) and state (34.4%) averages.

Interestingly, two nearby magnet schools, Atkins Academic & Technical High and Early College of Forsyth County, significantly outperform R J Reynolds High on academic metrics, with Atkins Academic & Technical High ranking in the top 20% of North Carolina high schools and Early College of Forsyth County ranking in the top 15%. Despite the high poverty levels at R J Reynolds High, with 42.67% to 99.83% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, the school has a relatively low per-student spending of $8,101, which is lower than the nearby magnet schools and the district average.

1,759
Students ?
17.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$8,101
Per pupil spending ?
99.4%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 301 N Hawthorne Road
       Winston Salem, NC  27104-3201

(336) 703-4145

District: Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools


Feeder schools for R J Reynolds High:

Elementary:    Brunson Elementary
    Cook Literacy Model School
    Moore Magnet Elementary
    South Fork Elementary
    More...
Middle:    Wiley Magnet Middle
Racial breakdown:

African American:
34.8%
White:
32.1%
Hispanic:
24.6%
more
 See top rated North Carolina high schools

 Compare R J Reynolds High to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 63rd percentile in 2015 → 33rd in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the North Carolina average (44% vs 53% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 30 percentile points since 2015
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school44%
District avg47%
North Carolina avg53%
432nd of 641
North Carolina public high schools ?
Bottom 33%▼ down 30 pts since 2015
From top 37% (2015) to bottom 33% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
5th of 14High Schools in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools
159th of 242Winston Salem / Forsyth 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)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202532.2432 of 64132.6%★★☆☆☆
202431.7434 of 64032.2%★★☆☆☆
202327.6455 of 62627.3%★☆☆☆☆
202231.0428 of 62131.1%★★☆☆☆
202138.7342 of 59442.4%★★☆☆☆
201946.5237 of 51453.9%★★★☆☆
201854.0186 of 46960.3%★★★☆☆
201747.0204 of 47657.1%★★★☆☆
201642.7209 of 50758.8%★★★☆☆
201547.4198 of 53162.7%★★★☆☆
201431.4265 of 45141.2%★★☆☆☆
201335.5271 of 50546.3%★★☆☆☆
201229.3377 of 50224.9%★☆☆☆☆
201139.2368 of 50627.3%★☆☆☆☆
201035.9374 of 49925.1%★☆☆☆☆
200943.7306 of 49037.6%★★☆☆☆
200842.8304 of 47736.3%★★☆☆☆
200744.8276 of 45339.1%★★☆☆☆
200648.0249 of 43142.2%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202521.9370 of 44015.9%★☆☆☆☆
202423.6360 of 43717.6%★☆☆☆☆
202320.5372 of 43414.3%★☆☆☆☆
202222.8359 of 43016.5%★☆☆☆☆
202141.0151 of 36458.5%★★★☆☆
201946.2138 of 36962.6%★★★☆☆
201844.5161 of 35955.2%★★★☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20257.5101 of 1064.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.983 of 10117.8%★☆☆☆☆
202314.885 of 9813.3%★☆☆☆☆
20228.588 of 913.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.976 of 838.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201917.377 of 8913.5%★☆☆☆☆
201833.255 of 7728.6%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202238.1172 of 33047.9%★★☆☆☆
201938.5218 of 36440.1%★★☆☆☆
201818.8328 of 3496.0%☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202529.3208 of 27323.8%★☆☆☆☆
202422.4242 of 2627.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202332.1150 of 22633.6%★★☆☆☆
202227.1117 of 15625.0%★☆☆☆☆
202124.6108 of 12412.9%★☆☆☆☆
201937.5101 of 17341.6%★★☆☆☆
201827.5110 of 14725.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202532.7429 of 61029.7%★☆☆☆☆
202434.0404 of 60232.9%★★☆☆☆
202328.6425 of 58827.7%★☆☆☆☆
202229.2426 of 59428.3%★☆☆☆☆
202139.3249 of 47547.6%★★☆☆☆
201950.6201 of 47557.7%★★★☆☆
201857.5175 of 44961.0%★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202559.3208 of 41249.5%★★☆☆☆
202440.0310 of 40323.1%★☆☆☆☆
202342.3295 of 40326.8%★☆☆☆☆
202257.2206 of 39848.2%★★☆☆☆
202156.2176 of 33747.8%★★☆☆☆
201941.0229 of 32529.5%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202522.5387 of 46216.2%★☆☆☆☆
202420.7388 of 45414.5%★☆☆☆☆
202320.7386 of 44914.0%★☆☆☆☆
202214.3409 of 4366.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202130.6245 of 37033.8%★★☆☆☆
201936.0205 of 35442.1%★★☆☆☆
201844.2163 of 34052.1%★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202519.9523 of 60613.7%★☆☆☆☆
202418.6525 of 61314.4%★☆☆☆☆
202318.7509 of 59714.7%★☆☆☆☆
202221.0461 of 54415.3%★☆☆☆☆
202127.1299 of 43230.8%★★☆☆☆
201934.6258 of 44642.2%★★☆☆☆
201836.9246 of 42442.0%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202528.4445 of 60126.0%★☆☆☆☆
202426.9452 of 60725.5%★☆☆☆☆
202323.5471 of 60221.8%★☆☆☆☆
202229.8415 of 58529.1%★☆☆☆☆
202133.8277 of 48142.4%★★☆☆☆
201938.3277 of 48843.2%★★☆☆☆
201844.6240 of 46348.2%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202549.0134 of 25347.0%★★☆☆☆
202445.0140 of 26146.4%★★☆☆☆
202343.4140 of 24943.8%★★☆☆☆
202230.8163 of 22627.9%★☆☆☆☆
202172.641 of 19979.4%★★★★☆
201956.379 of 19559.5%★★★☆☆
201843.5108 of 18541.6%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202530.8251 of 35228.7%★☆☆☆☆
202436.7203 of 34941.8%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202566.5194 of 54264.2%★★★☆☆
202464.1207 of 55362.6%★★★☆☆
202356.9227 of 53757.7%★★★☆☆
202269.4167 of 53468.7%★★★☆☆
202166.499 of 43977.4%★★★★☆
201970.484 of 44481.1%★★★★☆
201885.434 of 42792.0%★★★★★
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)
White (2025)64th percentile+32 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2025)50th percentile+17 vs school
Disabled (2022)48th percentile+17 vs school
Multi-racial (2025)47th percentile+14 vs school
Female (2025)30th percentile-3 vs school
Special Education (2025)29th percentile-4 vs school
Male (2025)26th percentile-7 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)24th percentile-9 vs school
Hispanic (2025)16th percentile-16 vs school
African American (2025)16th percentile-17 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)14th percentile-19 vs school
Asian (2025)5th percentile-28 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Math III56%-10 vs state
English II54%-6 vs state
Biology42%-6 vs state
Math I17%-17 vs state

4.5
2 ratings · 2 written reviews
51
41
30
20
10
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What people are saying
by a parent
Sunday, March 6, 2016

Open Quote As a mom, and now a grandmother, or Reynolds students, I can wholeheartedly say that Reynolds has an abundance of great teachers and administrators. I like the diversity of the student body, and find it can give students who are from more affluent families a better understanding of challenges faced by other families; hopefully, they develop character and commitment to working for a stronger, more equitable society for all Americans.

The new Principal, Ms. Alexander, is a strong leader and I predict even better days ahead for Reynolds. Close Quote


by a teacher
Monday, August 13, 2012

Open Quote I was on the staff at Reynolds for 28 years. The test scores reflect a diverse population of students that range from the wealthiest students in the city to some of the poorest. The wealthier students have top scores on AP and SAT tests. The other students have a great support network that helps them improve their abilities. A wide array of activities, from art to theater to music and sports gives students many opportunities to excel. The supportive faculty and administration, not to mention the extremely supportive parent groups, make this an excellent school. The PTA raises in excess of $80,000 dollars a year with only one phone fund raiser a year. That money goes to computers, library books and other school needs based on faculty input. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about R J Reynolds High

Students at R J Reynolds High are 35% African American, 32% White, 25% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 3% Asian.

R J Reynolds High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Brunson Elementary
Elementary : Cook Literacy Model School
Elementary : Moore Magnet Elementary
Elementary : South Fork Elementary
Elementary : Whitaker Elementary
Middle : Wiley Magnet Middle

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,759 students attended R J Reynolds High.

R J Reynolds High ranks 432nd of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.


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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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