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Smithfield Middle

Public Grades 6-8

659^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 15% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Smithfield Middle is a public middle school in Smithfield, North Carolina, serving 530 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Johnston County Public Schools district, which is ranked 94 out of 242 districts in the state.

Smithfield Middle has consistently underperformed compared to district and state averages on standardized tests, with only 20.9% to 31.6% of students proficient or better in mathematics, significantly lower than the Johnston County Public Schools (50.6% - 58.7%) and North Carolina (48.7% - 57.2%) averages. The school has been ranked in the bottom third of North Carolina middle schools for the past several years, placing it in the bottom 25% statewide. While the school's gifted and talented students perform relatively well, other subgroups such as African American, Hispanic, English Language Learner, and Special Education students perform much worse, ranking in the bottom 30-50% of schools.

When compared to other middle schools in the Johnston County Public Schools district, Smithfield Middle consistently underperforms. For example, the top-performing nearby schools, such as The Innovation Academy at South Campus and Archer Lodge Middle, had significantly higher percentages of students proficient or better in mathematics, reading, and science, often by 20-40 percentage points. Despite these challenges, Smithfield Middle's performance on standardized tests for its gifted and talented students suggests the school has the potential to improve with the right resources and support.

573

Students ?

13.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,489

Per pupil spending ?

98.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1455 Buffalo Rd
Smithfield, NC 27577-7440

(919) 934-4696

District: Johnston County Public Schools

Students who attend Smithfield Middle usually attend:

High:

Smithfield-Selma High

Feeder schools for Smithfield Middle:

Elementary:	South Smithfield Elementary
	West Smithfield Elementary
	Wilson's Mills Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

55.1%

African American:

30.7%

White:

9.1%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Smithfield Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 40th percentile in 2015 → 15th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (34% vs 54% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 25 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school34%

District avg56%

North Carolina avg54%

659^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 25 pts since 2015

From bottom 40% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

12^th of 12Middle Schools in the Johnston County Public Schools

94^th of 242Johnston County 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	18.0	659 of 773	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.1	632 of 793	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.3	573 of 784	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.6	570 of 786	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.4	613 of 741	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	601 of 737	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.5	523 of 691	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	34.9	474 of 694	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	34.8	468 of 692	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	40.5	425 of 705	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2014	25.0	476 of 627	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	38.5	416 of 673	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	60.9	298 of 662	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2011	63.2	267 of 648	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2010	63.9	255 of 640	60.2%	★★★☆☆
2009	54.3	349 of 630	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	45.0	382 of 620	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2007	40.6	427 of 606	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	49.8	355 of 598	40.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	31.6	384 of 546	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.0	368 of 560	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.3	392 of 559	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.0	360 of 550	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.0	423 of 533	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.7	367 of 519	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	37.7	325 of 494	34.2%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	35.4	271 of 449	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	32.5	348 of 478	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.1	357 of 504	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	41.1	258 of 475	45.7%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.8	322 of 371	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.3	278 of 356	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.4	154 of 318	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.1	84 of 312	73.1%	★★★★☆
2021	44.1	104 of 236	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	28.0	171 of 211	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.4	96 of 151	36.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.9	647 of 733	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.1	638 of 738	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.3	523 of 731	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.5	553 of 733	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.1	602 of 706	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.3	583 of 684	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.2	535 of 656	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	66.9	132 of 458	71.2%	★★★★☆
2024	57.2	236 of 461	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	62.5	189 of 448	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.7	195 of 416	53.1%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	24.0	458 of 562	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.2	416 of 564	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.2	338 of 553	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.1	336 of 541	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.6	403 of 522	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.5	404 of 493	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.7	340 of 472	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.2	543 of 729	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	35.3	501 of 743	32.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	36.9	480 of 735	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.3	445 of 689	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.3	529 of 633	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	34.3	463 of 639	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.6	383 of 604	36.6%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.7	618 of 733	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	571 of 751	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.3	583 of 747	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.7	540 of 748	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.1	584 of 711	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.7	569 of 697	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.6	497 of 665	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	26.6	395 of 478	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.6	345 of 473	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	33.1	465 of 649	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	54.6	286 of 652	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.0	378 of 656	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.4	349 of 658	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.4	510 of 632	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.2	519 of 624	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.7	530 of 596	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Gifted and Talented (2025)71st percentile+56 vs school

Disabled (2022)40th percentile+12 vs school

African American (2025)30th percentile+15 vs school

White (2025)28th percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2025)19th percentile+4 vs school

Special Education (2025)17th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)16th percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2025)13th percentile~ school

Female (2025)12th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Reading42%-11 vs state

Science34%-26 vs state

Mathematics27%-26 vs state

3.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Badly run school. Staff doesn’t actually care about students. Terrible!! Close Quote

by a parent
Saturday, September 9, 2017

This is the best school in JoCo! The teachers truly care about the students! The way these schools are graded is unfair. Smithfield Middle is providing our children with incredible opportunities and experiences. The school has exceeded growth two years in a row! We are proud of our Knights! #SSStrong! Close Quote

by a student
Monday, July 3, 2017

Great School! Tons of opportunities for students! Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Very poorly managed school! I've had the most WORST experience at this school,they could care less about putting special needs kids first. They did IEP backwards plus I don't know of a soul who would send their own child to this school. Close Quote

Schools Near Smithfield Middle

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Smithfield Middle	Public	6-8	1455 Buffalo Rd	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 934-4696	573	44	13.1	98.8%	52 (9.1%)	176 (30.7%)	316 (55.1%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.4%)	18	659^th of 773 public middle schools	14.7%		23.1	632^nd of 793 public middle schools	20.3%	27	31.6	28.9	20.9	39.8	43.3	42.3	33.7	$10,489	$1,415	$9,074
The Innovation Academy at South Campus	Public	6-8	521 Martin Luther King Dr	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 934-6481	263	18	14.4	98.5%	134 (51.0%)	41 (15.6%)	68 (25.9%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.5%)	94.6	37^th of 773 public middle schools	95.2%		89.8	64^th of 793 public middle schools	91.9%	27	90.3	72.4	79.1	86.0	78.6	91.0	92.5	$8,168	$360	$7,808
Selma Middle School	Public	6-8	1533 Hwy 301 N	Selma	27576	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 965-2555	339	34	9.9	99.1%	26 (7.7%)	74 (21.8%)	217 (64.0%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.6%)	23.2	604^th of 773 public middle schools	21.9%		25	620^th of 793 public middle schools	21.8%	16	33.0	39.6	50.8	25.9	38.5	36.4	41.8	$10,296	$1,265	$9,031
Four Oaks Middle	Public	6-8	1475 Boyette Road	Four Oaks	27524	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 963-4022	477	31	15.3	98.1%	235 (49.3%)	66 (13.8%)	152 (31.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (4.6%)	61.6	270^th of 773 public middle schools	65.1%		60.2	286^th of 793 public middle schools	63.9%	16	55.3	54.9	64.1	48.0	57.4	58.3	71.8	$9,812	$944	$8,868
North Johnston Middle	Public	6-8	435 Oil Company Road	Micro	27555	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 284-3374	598	41	14.5	97.2%	268 (44.8%)	52 (8.7%)	240 (40.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.2%)	55.9	318^th of 773 public middle schools	58.9%		62.5	272^nd of 793 public middle schools	65.7%	46	60.4	56.1	48.7	56.6	55.1	49.2	61.5	$8,490	$818	$7,672
Swift Creek Middle	Public	6-8	325 Norris Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 262-0750	691	45	15.5	99.3%	334 (48.3%)	101 (14.6%)	215 (31.1%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.2%)	56	316^th of 773 public middle schools	59.1%		62.7	269^th of 793 public middle schools	66.1%	47	65.6	67.7	43.8	58.6	52.5	49.2	55.4	$8,637	$480	$8,156
Clayton Middle	Public	6-8	490 Guy Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-5811	609	38	16.0	96.2%	169 (27.8%)	170 (27.9%)	221 (36.3%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (7.1%)	48.6	395^th of 773 public middle schools	48.9%		54.6	341^st of 793 public middle schools	57.0%	54	51.4	49.8	42.1	50.3	60.6	49.0	59.4	$9,361	$587	$8,774
Archer Lodge Middle	Public	6-8	762 Wendell Rd	Wendell	27591	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-0714	1,204	64	18.7	99.8%	641 (53.2%)	203 (16.9%)	283 (23.5%)	13 (1.1%)	5 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (4.9%)	75.3	166^th of 773 public middle schools	78.5%		70.5	206^th of 793 public middle schools	74.0%	40	68.7	69.6	56.6	62.9	64.3	67.1	67.8	$7,395	$351	$7,044
Riverwood Middle	Public	6-8	204 Athletic Club Blvd	Clayton	27527	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 359-2769	902	53	16.9	99.4%	393 (43.6%)	248 (27.5%)	182 (20.2%)	16 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	60 (6.7%)	60.7	277^th of 773 public middle schools	64.2%		63.7	262^nd of 793 public middle schools	67.0%	15	68.0	50.8	45.7	59.4	59.0	58.8	62.1	$7,553	$421	$7,132
Cleveland Middle	Public	6-8	2323 Cornwallis Road	Garner	27529	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 553-7500	936	51	18.4	99.7%	439 (46.9%)	215 (23.0%)	193 (20.6%)	26 (2.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	61 (6.5%)	66	242^nd of 773 public middle schools	68.7%		73	188^th of 793 public middle schools	76.3%	54	60.1	50.0	72.2	56.4	55.5	65.3	67.8	$7,527	$410	$7,117

Frequently Asked Questions about Smithfield Middle

What is the racial makeup of Smithfield Middle?

Students at Smithfield Middle are 55% Hispanic, 31% African American, 9% White, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Smithfield Middle in?

Johnston County Public Schools

Is Smithfield Middle a good school?

Smithfield Middle ranks in the bottom 14.7% of North Carolina middle schools.

How many students attend Smithfield Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 573 students attended Smithfield Middle.

What high school do graduates of Smithfield Middle attend?

Students who attend Smithfield Middle usually go on to attend Smithfield-Selma High

Rate Smithfield Middle!

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

2023–24 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 4, 2024

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.