Wiley Magnet Middle

Wiley Magnet Middle is a public magnet school in Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools serving 754 students in grades 6–8 in Winston Salem, NC. The school currently holds a 1-star state rating, ranking in the 26th percentile (576th of 778 middle schools) — a position it has held for roughly a decade. Nearby schools illustrate how much local outcomes vary: high-poverty Thomas Jefferson Middle ranks in the 84th percentile and Meadowlark Middle in the 79th, while other area middle schools fall to the 3rd percentile. Wiley falls below both the district average and its top-performing neighbors. Like most schools in this part of the county, Wiley serves a very high-poverty student body, with nearly all students (99.6%) eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Sixth-grade reading is a genuine strength: 55.2 percent of Wiley students are proficient, above the district rate of 49.8 percent and close to the state rate of 54.8 percent. Math is a weaker subject, falling from 50 percent proficiency in 6th grade to 31.6 percent by 8th grade — a decline far steeper than the district’s. Reading drops from 55.2 to 41.6 percent over the same span. Results for students receiving special education services and those from low-income households fall in the bottom quartile statewide. The positive news is momentum: 6th grade reading rose from 36.1 to 55.2 percent proficiency in a single year, and nearly every grade and subject saw similar gains in the latest testing cycle.

Chronic absenteeism is improving but remains high: 42.1 percent of Wiley students were chronically absent in 2024–25, roughly double the rates at Thomas Jefferson Middle and Meadowlark Middle, though down from nearly 52 percent in 2020–21. Wiley also spends $9,915 per student — more than either of those higher-performing schools, both of which spend about $8,000. Among district magnet schools, Wiley sits in the middle: Hanes Magnet School ranks at the 46th percentile while Paisley Magnet School sits at the 8th. If the current upward trend holds, Wiley’s statewide ranking should keep climbing.