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South Johnston High

Q: Is South Johnston High a good school?

South Johnston High ranks 382 nd of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

382^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 40% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

South Johnston High is a public high school located in Four Oaks, North Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,332 students. It is part of the Johnston County Public Schools district, which is ranked 94 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being part of the Johnston County Public Schools district, South Johnston High has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools, with a ranking between 430-484 out of 514-641 schools over the past 10 years. The school has maintained a 1-2 star rating from SchoolDigger during this time, indicating below-average performance. Its performance across various student subgroups, including female, male, African American, Hispanic, and white students, as well as multi-racial, English Language Learner, special education, and low socioeconomic status students, is also concerning, with the school ranking in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools for these groups. Additionally, South Johnston High's four-year graduation rates have been below the state and district averages, ranging from 86.9% to 94.2% over the past few years.

When comparing South Johnston High to other nearby high schools in the Johnston County Public Schools district, such as Clayton High, Smithfield-Selma High, and West Johnston High, the school consistently underperforms, with lower rankings, graduation rates, and test scores. The district's early college academies, such as the Johnston County Early College Academy and the Johnston County Schools Career Technical, also significantly outperform South Johnston High across various metrics. The high poverty rates at South Johnston High, with 99.77% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024, may be a contributing factor to the school's overall lower performance compared to other schools in the district and state.

1,355

Students ?

22.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,204

Per pupil spending ?

99.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

10381 US Hwy 301 S
Four Oaks, NC 27524-9803

(919) 894-3146

District: Johnston County Public Schools

Feeder schools for South Johnston High:

Elementary:	Benson Elementary
	Four Oaks Elementary
	Meadow School
Middle:	Benson Middle
	Four Oaks Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

47.4%

Hispanic:

35.8%

African American:

12.3%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare South Johnston High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 16th percentile in 2019 → 40th in 2025

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the North Carolina average (88%)

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 40th (2025) from a 16th-percentile low (2019)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (48% vs 53% meeting standards)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

!Near the bottom of Johnston County Public Schools's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school48%

District avg53%

North Carolina avg53%

382^nd of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 40%▼ down 14 pts since 2015

From top 46% (2015) to bottom 40% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

9^th of 10High 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	39.4	382 of 641	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	30.6	446 of 640	30.3%	★★☆☆☆
2023	28.3	448 of 626	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.0	459 of 621	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.3	484 of 594	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.7	430 of 514	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.4	367 of 469	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	22.4	361 of 476	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	40.8	226 of 507	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2015	43.1	242 of 531	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2014	33.5	250 of 451	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	23.9	353 of 505	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	47.6	253 of 502	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2011	63.4	143 of 506	71.7%	★★★★☆
2010	65.8	120 of 499	76.0%	★★★★☆
2009	64.1	125 of 490	74.5%	★★★★☆
2008	60.1	147 of 477	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2007	53.3	200 of 453	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2006	63.1	132 of 431	69.4%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.5	305 of 440	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	35.9	269 of 437	38.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.0	312 of 434	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.2	273 of 430	36.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	29.2	239 of 364	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2019	8.0	359 of 369	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.5	351 of 359	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	19.7	305 of 330	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	24.7	278 of 334	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.1	324 of 364	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.1	227 of 349	35.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	33.6	183 of 273	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.4	162 of 262	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.0	167 of 226	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	53.4	36 of 124	71.0%	★★★★☆
2019	34.2	117 of 173	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	24.8	117 of 147	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	34.5	414 of 610	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.6	440 of 602	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.6	417 of 588	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.7	433 of 594	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.7	409 of 475	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.8	424 of 475	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.6	361 of 449	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	54.6	242 of 412	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	65.4	149 of 403	63.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	65.6	153 of 403	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	65.7	145 of 398	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.1	210 of 337	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	27.7	279 of 325	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	62.6	33 of 100	67.0%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	39.6	251 of 462	45.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.7	308 of 454	32.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.2	326 of 449	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.0	365 of 436	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	17.0	338 of 370	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	11.5	345 of 354	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	319 of 340	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	41.4	310 of 606	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	34.8	382 of 613	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.8	397 of 597	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.8	376 of 544	30.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.1	328 of 432	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.1	404 of 446	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	364 of 424	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	41.8	336 of 601	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	31.0	416 of 607	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	26.1	449 of 602	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.4	455 of 585	22.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.7	369 of 481	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.7	422 of 488	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	387 of 463	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	40.7	163 of 253	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.7	110 of 261	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.8	169 of 249	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	16.1	211 of 226	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.6	173 of 199	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	179 of 195	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	42.7	181 of 352	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	26.3	276 of 349	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	40.5	332 of 542	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.9	441 of 553	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.8	459 of 537	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.3	444 of 534	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.7	396 of 439	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.7	409 of 444	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	17.4	383 of 427	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)49th percentile+8 vs school

Special Education (2025)49th percentile+8 vs school

Hispanic (2025)46th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)44th percentile+4 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)41st percentile~ school

White (2025)39th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)36th percentile-5 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)33rd percentile-7 vs school

Female (2025)32nd percentile-8 vs school

African American (2025)31st percentile-10 vs school

Disabled (2022)8th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Math III61%-5 vs state

English II54%-6 vs state

Biology42%-7 vs state

Math I36%~ state avg

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Schools Near South Johnston High

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (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	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
South Johnston High	Public	9-12	10381 US Hwy 301 S	Four Oaks	27524	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 894-3146	1,355	60	22.5	99.8%	642 (47.4%)	167 (12.3%)	485 (35.8%)	4 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.1%)	52 (3.8%)	39.4	382^nd of 641 public high schools	40.4%		30.6	446^th of 640 public high schools	30.3%	64	41.5	53.7	36.2	61.1	$9,204	$547	$8,657
West Johnston High	Public	9-12	5935 Raleigh Road	Benson	27504	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 934-7333	1,563	66	23.6	99.2%	797 (51.0%)	209 (13.4%)	458 (29.3%)	13 (0.8%)	10 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (4.9%)	41.7	365^th of 641 public high schools	43.1%		41.4	363^rd of 640 public high schools	43.3%	2	45.6	64.7	27.4	53.7	$8,533	$535	$7,999
Harnett County Early College	Public	9-12	910 W. Harnett Street	Dunn	28334	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 814-3470	185	5	34.4	45.4%	62 (33.5%)	38 (20.5%)	65 (35.1%)	6 (3.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (7.0%)	95.1	23^rd of 641 public high schools	96.4%		89.8	80^th of 640 public high schools	87.5%	57	90.9	98.2	96.5	90.9	$8,448	$103	$8,345
Cleveland High	Public	9-12	1892 Polenta Rd	Clayton	27520	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 934-2455	1,889	80	23.5	98.7%	933 (49.4%)	369 (19.5%)	464 (24.6%)	28 (1.5%)	2 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	91 (4.8%)	52.4	277^th of 641 public high schools	56.8%		49.7	300^th of 640 public high schools	53.1%	23	46.1	62.0	46.9	69.1	$7,646	$466	$7,180
Triton High	Public	9-12	215 Maynard Lake Road	Erwin	28339	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 897-8121	1,274	58	22.0	99.5%	463 (36.3%)	332 (26.1%)	408 (32.0%)	5 (0.4%)	9 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (4.4%)	20.9	517^th of 641 public high schools	19.3%		19.9	515^th of 640 public high schools	19.5%	2	22.3	49.4	27.5	39.5	$8,782	$698	$8,084
Johnston County Early College Academy	Public	9-12	245 College Rd	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 464-2314	251	7	34.9	98.8%	142 (56.6%)	22 (8.8%)	72 (28.7%)	5 (2.0%)	3 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.8%)	94.1	34^th of 641 public high schools	94.7%		95.9	11^th of 640 public high schools	98.3%	23		98.4		100.0	$6,903	$137	$6,766
Johnston County Schools Career Technical	Public	9-12	245 College Road	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 464-2303	241	6	41.1	98.8%	101 (41.9%)	31 (12.9%)	98 (40.7%)	3 (1.2%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	6 (2.5%)	95.5	17^th of 641 public high schools	97.3%		95.8	13^th of 640 public high schools	98.0%	4	98.1	98.7	94.3	98.5	$7,440	$137	$7,303
Smithfield-Selma High	Public	9-12	700 M. Durwood Stephenson Park	Smithfield	27577	Johnston County	Johnston County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 934-5191	1,548	86	17.9	99.8%	290 (18.7%)	398 (25.7%)	793 (51.2%)	13 (0.8%)	4 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (3.2%)	27.3	479^th of 641 public high schools	25.3%		29.3	458^th of 640 public high schools	28.4%	21	41.5	45.6	19.2	50.8	$10,069	$868	$9,200
Harnett Central High	Public	9-12	2911 Harnett Central Rd	Angier	27501	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 639-6161	1,522	62	24.4	56.1%	626 (41.1%)	281 (18.5%)	506 (33.2%)	10 (0.7%)	8 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	90 (5.9%)	23.4	503^rd of 641 public high schools	21.5%		25.8	476^th of 640 public high schools	25.6%	27	42.2	47.7	18.8	33.8	$7,920	$580	$7,341
Midway High	Public	9-12	15274 Spiveys Corner Highway	Newton Grove	28366	Sampson County	Sampson County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 567-6664	726	36	20.2	98.9%	353 (48.6%)	80 (11.0%)	260 (35.8%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (3.9%)	64.1	203^rd of 641 public high schools	68.3%		62	221^st of 640 public high schools	65.5%	18	46.9	67.3	50.8	89.3	$8,712	$908	$7,804

Frequently Asked Questions about South Johnston High

What is the racial makeup of South Johnston High?

Students at South Johnston High are 47% White, 36% Hispanic, 12% African American, 4% Two or more races.

What district is South Johnston High in?

Johnston County Public Schools

Is South Johnston High a good school?

South Johnston High ranks 382^nd of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools feed into South Johnston High?

South Johnston High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Benson Elementary
Elementary : Four Oaks Elementary
Elementary : Meadow School
Middle : Benson Middle
Middle : Four Oaks Middle

How many students attend South Johnston High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,355 students attended South Johnston High.

Rate South Johnston High!

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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.