Stuart W Cramer High

Stuart W Cramer High is a public high school in Belmont, NC, serving 953 students in grades 9–12 as part of Gaston County Schools. The school currently sits in the middle tier of North Carolina's rankings — 313th of 662 schools, or the 53rd percentile, with a 3-star rating — yet its most recent testing year suggests real momentum. Proficiency jumped in Biology (from 38.3% to 61.2%) and Math I (from 49.7% to 64.6%), meaning the school now beats its district average in every end-of-course subject.

Stuart Cramer's clear academic strength is math. Math I proficiency is 64.6% — fifteen points above the district average and more than twenty above the state average. That's the best Math I showing of any traditional high school in the area, ahead of even South Point High, a school that outdoes Stuart Cramer in most other subjects. The school also performs well in Biology (61.2%) and English II (62.8%), and its 92.4% graduation rate has beaten both district and state averages for five consecutive years. Notably, some student groups are excelling relative to peers statewide: English learners rank in the 85th percentile among North Carolina schools serving that population, while African American students rank in the 69th percentile — both above the school's overall ranking.

The biggest concern is attendance. About one in four students is chronically absent (24.3%), nearly double the rate at Highland School of Technology and well above South Point's 15.7%. That's a major improvement from the 46% rate seen during the pandemic, but attendance still likely limits academic growth. In the wider local picture, Stuart Cramer sits alongside Forestview High and East Gaston High in the middle of Gaston County Schools — a step above Ashbrook High and Hunter Huss High, though below the top traditional school in the area, South Point, which sits just two miles away. For families, Stuart Cramer offers a solid mid-tier option with improving test scores, a rising graduation trend, and meaningful strengths in math and in serving English learner and African American students.