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West Lee Middle

Q: Is West Lee Middle a good school?

West Lee Middle ranks 544 th of 778 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

544^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 778 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 30% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

West Lee Middle is a public middle school in Sanford, NC, serving 522 students in grades 6–8 as part of Lee County Schools. After bottoming out at 697th (12th percentile) among North Carolina middle schools in 2023–2024, the school improved to 544th (30th percentile) in 2025–2026. That progress shows in the classroom: 6th-grade math proficiency jumped from 22.6% to 51.6%, while 6th-grade reading rose from 32.9% to 44.4%. Still, it has not returned to its mid-2010s level of performance.

The clearest academic concern is math in the upper grades. In 2025–2026, 6th-grade math proficiency was 51.6%, but 8th-grade math proficiency was just 32.7% — well below the district’s 46.1% and the state’s 53.0%. Since 8th-grade math is a gateway to high school coursework, this deserves attention. Science is a brighter spot: 8th-grade science proficiency reached 65.1%, close to the state average of 68.6%. The comparison with SanLee Middle School is telling: located just 2.6 miles away, it serves an even higher share of low-income families yet ranks 323rd statewide and outperforms West Lee Middle in every subject, including 8th-grade science (78.9% vs. 65.1%).

Chronic absenteeism is another area to watch. The school’s rate was 25.3% in 2024–2025 — above the district’s 21.4% and the state’s 24.2%, though well down from the 44% rates seen during the pandemic years. On the positive side, the school’s student-teacher ratio is a favorable 13.7-to-1, lower than most nearby middle schools. The sharp rise in free/reduced-lunch eligibility to 96.9% likely reflects a federal meal program change rather than a dramatic shift in the student body. And George M. Horton Middle, serving similar demographics about 17 miles away, ranks in the 84th percentile statewide — proof that strong outcomes are achievable in comparable settings.

522

Students ?

13.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

96.9%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

3301 Wicker St
Sanford, NC 27330

(919) 775-7351

District: Lee County Schools

Students who attend West Lee Middle usually attend:

High:	Lee Early College
	Southern Lee High School

Feeder schools for West Lee Middle:

Elementary:

J R Ingram Junior Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

55.0%

White:

19.5%

African American:

18.6%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare West Lee Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Rebounding — 12th percentile in 2024 → 30th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is rebounding — up to 30th (2026) from a 12th-percentile low (2024)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (47% vs 58% meeting standards)

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

!Mathematics scores 13 pts below the North Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school47%

District avg52%

North Carolina avg58%

544^th of 778

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 30%▼ down 15 pts since 2016

From bottom 45% (2016) to bottom 30% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

151^st of 246Lee County 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
2026	31.2	544 of 778	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	29.2	553 of 773	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.1	697 of 793	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.1	646 of 784	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.5	587 of 786	25.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.1	532 of 741	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.4	554 of 737	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	42.9	423 of 691	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2017	46.6	399 of 694	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2016	47.1	378 of 692	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2015	42.9	410 of 705	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2014	35.9	394 of 627	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2013	58.0	257 of 673	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	56.6	345 of 662	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2011	57.2	328 of 648	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2010	59.8	312 of 640	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	69.0	197 of 630	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2008	63.9	240 of 620	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2007	68.5	187 of 606	69.1%	★★★☆☆
2006	66.2	196 of 598	67.2%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	30.3	409 of 553	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	49.0	235 of 546	57.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	19.5	495 of 560	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.6	510 of 559	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.6	509 of 550	7.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.0	491 of 533	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	21.1	466 of 519	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.0	367 of 494	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	18.5	427 of 449	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	31.0	362 of 478	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.6	395 of 504	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.4	294 of 475	38.1%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	38.5	208 of 363	42.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	36.4	221 of 371	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	17.6	344 of 356	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	307 of 318	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.5	304 of 312	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	26.4	202 of 236	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.4	183 of 211	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.6	141 of 151	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	27.7	549 of 731	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.1	569 of 733	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	682 of 738	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	647 of 731	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.7	580 of 733	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.9	515 of 706	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.5	522 of 684	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	46.6	398 of 656	39.3%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	40.4	377 of 465	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.5	420 of 458	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	445 of 461	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	441 of 452	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.9	441 of 450	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.4	416 of 448	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	30.7	370 of 416	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	74.2	7 of 127	94.5%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	38.7	347 of 566	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.3	440 of 562	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.2	526 of 564	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.2	483 of 553	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.5	444 of 541	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.3	391 of 522	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.3	415 of 493	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	39.2	312 of 472	33.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	40.4	429 of 725	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.8	443 of 729	39.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	16.8	675 of 743	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.1	634 of 735	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.2	517 of 689	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.8	464 of 633	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.8	496 of 639	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	38.7	390 of 604	35.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.9	505 of 736	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	32.6	503 of 733	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	19.8	631 of 751	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.5	588 of 747	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.6	548 of 748	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.7	510 of 711	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.7	550 of 697	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	36.4	453 of 665	31.9%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.8	122 of 333	63.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	48.0	116 of 248	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	12.5	227 of 237	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	44.2	232 of 500	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	43.9	206 of 478	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	12.6	472 of 473	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	42.5	399 of 644	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.9	295 of 649	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	30.0	495 of 652	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	40.0	406 of 656	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	41.2	396 of 658	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	48.0	311 of 632	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	59.7	243 of 624	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2018	69.8	167 of 596	72.0%	★★★★☆

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)

Multi-racial (2026)63rd percentile+33 vs school

Special Education (2026)54th percentile+24 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)43rd percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)41st percentile+11 vs school

Hispanic (2026)39th percentile+9 vs school

White (2026)38th percentile+8 vs school

Male (2026)31st percentile~ school

African American (2026)26th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2026)25th percentile-5 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)19th percentile-11 vs school

Disabled (2022)5th percentile-20 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science65%-3 vs state

Reading45%-11 vs state

Mathematics43%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near West Lee 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 (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Math I (2026)	EOG Mathematics (2026)				EOG Reading (2026)				EOG Science (2026)		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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOC Math I End of Course	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
West Lee Middle	Public	6-8	3301 Wicker St	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 775-7351	522	38	13.7	96.9%	102 (19.5%)	97 (18.6%)	287 (55.0%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (5.7%)	31.2	544^th of 778 public middle schools	30.1%		29.2	553^rd of 773 public middle schools	28.5%	9			51.6	43.2	32.7		44.4	41.9	47.6		65.1	$8,316	$876	$7,440
SanLee Middle School	Public	6-8	2309 Tramway Rd	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 708-7227	792	52	15.2	—	234 (29.5%)	154 (19.4%)	361 (45.6%)	9 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (4.2%)	57.8	323^rd of 778 public middle schools	58.5%		55.3	324^th of 773 public middle schools	58.1%	1			67.4	55.6	55.9		56.4	52.2	53.6		78.9	$7,599	$701	$6,898
Ascend Leadership Remote Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter	6-10	283 Harvey Faulk Rd	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Ascend Leadership Academy: Lee County	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(919) 842-5411	27			—	14 (51.9%)	4 (14.8%)	4 (14.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (18.5%)	61.2	284^th of 778 public middle schools	63.5%					(n/a)	15.4		69.0	50.0	31.0		75.9	91.7	64.3		65.5
East Lee Middle	Public	6-8	1337 Broadway Rd	Sanford	27330	Lee County	Lee County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 776-8441	526	34	15.4	97.5%	148 (28.1%)	111 (21.1%)	233 (44.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	32 (6.1%)	29.3	565^th of 778 public middle schools	27.4%		19.1	645^th of 773 public middle schools	16.6%	80			39.8	47.0	46.1		39.5	45.0	47.4		58.4	$8,028	$700	$7,329
New Century Middle	Public	6-8	1577 Union Church Road	Cameron	28326	Harnett County	Moore County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 947-1301	602	39	15.3	32.4%	461 (76.6%)	36 (6.0%)	64 (10.6%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	33 (5.5%)	85.6	87^th of 778 public middle schools	88.8%		85.4	89^th of 773 public middle schools	88.5%	2			77.8	68.2	69.5		76.9	67.7	76.9		92.3	$8,510	$600	$7,910
Crain's Creek Middle	Public	6-8	4631 Union Church Rd	Carthage	28327	Moore County	Moore County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 245-3796	481	31	15.6	—	256 (53.2%)	106 (22.0%)	69 (14.3%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (9.6%)	60.5	293^rd of 778 public middle schools	62.3%		47.3	414^th of 773 public middle schools	46.4%	121			54.2	54.4	50.0		58.1	61.1	69.9		79.5	$9,638	$999	$8,640
Highland Middle	Public	6-8	345 Highland School Rd	Sanford	27332	Lee County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 498-3331	762	50	15.3	63.9%	318 (41.7%)	135 (17.7%)	222 (29.1%)	9 (1.2%)	4 (0.5%)	5 (0.7%)	69 (9.1%)	37.9	497^th of 778 public middle schools	36.1%		36.9	495^th of 773 public middle schools	36.0%	2			57.5	46.5	40.8		47.2	46.1	43.8		69.6	$7,358	$539	$6,819
Western Harnett Middle	Public	6-8	11135 NC Hwy 27 West	Lillington	27546	Harnett County	Harnett County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 499-4497	700	46	15.3	55.6%	330 (47.1%)	128 (18.3%)	176 (25.1%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (8.4%)	59.2	310^th of 778 public middle schools	60.2%		38.6	477^th of 773 public middle schools	38.3%	167			71.0	60.3	53.6		57.3	55.4	57.5		68.7	$8,179	$745	$7,434
George M. Horton Middle	Public	5-8	79 Horton Road	Pittsboro	27312	Chatham County	Chatham County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 542-2303	414	27	15.4	—	217 (52.4%)	78 (18.8%)	70 (16.9%)	6 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (10.1%)	80.7	122^nd of 778 public middle schools	84.3%		80.5	134^th of 773 public middle schools	82.7%	12		75.0	76.7	74.0	57.1	72.2	76.7	73.8	70.7	74.1	78.3	$9,575	$632	$8,943

Frequently Asked Questions about West Lee Middle

Is West Lee Middle a good school?

West Lee Middle ranks 544^th of 778 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is West Lee Middle in?

Lee County Schools

How many students attend West Lee Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 522 students attended West Lee Middle.

What is the racial makeup of West Lee Middle?

Students at West Lee Middle are 55% Hispanic, 20% White, 19% African American, 6% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of West Lee Middle attend?

Students who attend West Lee Middle usually go on to attend Lee Early College

Rate West Lee Middle!

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026

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

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

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.