Cramerton Middle

Cramerton Middle is a public middle school serving 959 students in grades 6–8 in Cramerton, NC, and it stands out as one of the strongest academically performing schools in the state. The school ranks 69th out of 778 North Carolina middle schools, placing it in the top 9% statewide, and it has earned a five-star rating for nine consecutive years. While Gaston County Schools as a whole ranks in the lower half of districts, Cramerton Middle’s performance is a clear exception—a fact that becomes even more impressive when you look at results subject by subject.

Across all North Carolina EOG assessments, Cramerton students score roughly 20 percentage points higher than the state average. For example, 8th grade reading proficiency is 78.6% versus 56.1% statewide, and 8th grade science reaches 88.9% proficiency. The school’s success extends to every student group, including low-income students, English language learners, and special education students, all of whom rank in the 90th percentile or higher when compared to similar students across North Carolina. Chronic absenteeism also sets the school apart: only 13.0% of students miss significant school time, compared to 24.2% statewide and 23.2% in the district. That strong attendance likely helps drive the consistently high achievement.

What makes Cramerton Middle especially notable is how dramatically it outperforms nearby schools. Just a few miles away, Belmont Middle has a nearly identical poverty rate, yet Cramerton beats it by 10–14 percentage points in reading and math. Other local schools like Holbrook Middle and W P Grier Middle School rank far lower, and even strong Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools campuses fall short. While about 43% of Cramerton’s students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch—higher than a few neighbors but lower than many—the school’s results prove that demographics don’t tell the whole story. With durable, top-tier performance year after year, Cramerton Middle offers families a learning environment that is both high-achieving and equitable.