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Harding University High School

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12
601st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 641 North Carolina High Schools
Better than 6% of North Carolina high schools
Summary

Harding University High School is a public magnet high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, serving 1,233 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools district, which is ranked 119 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being a magnet school, Harding University High School consistently underperforms compared to the state and district averages on end-of-course exams, with proficiency rates significantly lower in subjects like Biology, English II, Math I, and Math III. The school's four-year graduation rates have also been relatively low, ranging from 72.5% to 87.7% over the past few years. Additionally, the school's student subgroups, such as Asian, Hispanic, and low-socioeconomic status students, perform poorly compared to their peers across the state.

Interestingly, nearby magnet schools like Military and Global Leadership, Hawthorne Academy of Health Sciences, and Williams Secondary Montessori generally outperform Harding University High School on academic measures, despite serving a more diverse student population with lower percentages of students from low-income backgrounds. The school's high student-teacher ratio and low spending per student may also contribute to its academic challenges.

1,204
Students ?
16.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,138
Per pupil spending ?
99.8%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 2001 Alleghany St
       Charlotte, NC  28208-3734

(980) 343-6007

District: Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools


Feeder schools for Harding University High School:

Elementary:    Charles H. Parker Academic Center
    Nations Ford Elementary
    Pinewood Elementary
    Reid Park Academy
    More...
Middle:    Wilson STEM Academy
Racial breakdown:

African American:
66.4%
Hispanic:
26.2%
Asian:
3.2%
more
 See top rated North Carolina high schools

 Compare Harding University High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 16th percentile in 2015 → 6th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the North Carolina average (24% vs 53% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)
!Graduation rate below the North Carolina average (72% vs 88%)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school24%
District avg53%
North Carolina avg53%
601st of 641
North Carolina public high schools ?
Bottom 6%▼ down 10 pts since 2015
From bottom 16% (2015) to bottom 6% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
28th of 29High Schools in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
119th of 242Charlotte-Mecklenburg 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20259.2601 of 6416.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.4589 of 6408.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.8562 of 62610.2%★☆☆☆☆
20229.8578 of 6216.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202110.1560 of 5945.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.4453 of 51411.9%★☆☆☆☆
201811.6417 of 46911.1%★☆☆☆☆
20179.9422 of 47611.3%★☆☆☆☆
201616.9403 of 50720.5%★☆☆☆☆
201511.6446 of 53116.0%★☆☆☆☆
201414.7382 of 45115.3%★☆☆☆☆
201319.8389 of 50523.0%★☆☆☆☆
201221.9414 of 50217.5%★☆☆☆☆
201180.325 of 50695.1%★★★★★
201066.7109 of 49978.2%★★★★☆
200944.6298 of 49039.2%★★☆☆☆
200852.5227 of 47752.4%★★★☆☆
200752.0209 of 45353.9%★★★☆☆
200627.4355 of 43117.6%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202517.4396 of 44010.0%★☆☆☆☆
202421.8376 of 43714.0%★☆☆☆☆
202323.4351 of 43419.1%★☆☆☆☆
202220.0380 of 43011.6%★☆☆☆☆
202124.9281 of 36422.8%★☆☆☆☆
201925.2293 of 36920.6%★☆☆☆☆
201830.0254 of 35929.2%★☆☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20248.595 of 1015.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.389 of 989.2%★☆☆☆☆
202215.183 of 918.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.080 of 833.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201935.465 of 8927.0%★☆☆☆☆
201814.368 of 7711.7%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202120.5306 of 3348.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.4292 of 36419.8%★☆☆☆☆
201827.7257 of 34926.4%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202538.0163 of 27340.3%★★☆☆☆
202432.5178 of 26232.1%★★☆☆☆
202326.2181 of 22619.9%★☆☆☆☆
202220.1152 of 1562.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201937.2103 of 17340.5%★★☆☆☆
201820.7128 of 14712.9%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20258.2583 of 6104.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20247.3582 of 6023.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20239.3554 of 5885.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.8568 of 5944.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.2449 of 4755.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.3444 of 4756.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20189.8419 of 4496.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202450.7269 of 40333.3%★★☆☆☆
202381.328 of 40393.1%★★★★★

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202515.6430 of 4626.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.4413 of 4549.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202317.9403 of 44910.2%★☆☆☆☆
202213.3416 of 4364.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202114.5351 of 3705.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201916.1328 of 3547.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.5330 of 3402.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202522.333 of 3915.4%★☆☆☆☆
202447.621 of 4755.3%★★★☆☆
202327.136 of 4520.0%★☆☆☆☆
202228.030 of 3411.8%★☆☆☆☆
202178.51 of 988.9%★★★★★
201939.628 of 4436.4%★★☆☆☆
201857.06 of 1764.7%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202514.2564 of 6066.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202415.4556 of 6139.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.0522 of 59712.6%★☆☆☆☆
202218.1484 of 54411.0%★☆☆☆☆
202120.0364 of 43215.7%★☆☆☆☆
201920.3368 of 44617.5%★☆☆☆☆
201824.1341 of 42419.6%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
20259.0574 of 6014.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.0547 of 6079.9%★☆☆☆☆
202313.6541 of 60210.1%★☆☆☆☆
202210.8546 of 5856.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.4463 of 4813.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201912.6440 of 4889.8%★☆☆☆☆
201810.8422 of 4638.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202521.7310 of 35211.9%★☆☆☆☆
202417.3335 of 3494.0%☆☆☆☆☆
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)
English Language Learner (2025)40th percentile+34 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2024)33rd percentile+25 vs school
Homeless (2025)15th percentile+9 vs school
Special Education (2025)12th percentile+6 vs school
African American (2025)10th percentile+4 vs school
Disabled (2021)8th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)7th percentile~ school
Asian (2024)6th percentile~ school
Male (2025)4th percentile~ school
Female (2025)4th percentile~ school
By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Math III37%-30 vs state
English II29%-31 vs state
Biology17%-31 vs state
Math I11%-23 vs state

5.0
2 ratings · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a student
Monday, November 1, 2010

Open Quote This school as a whole is great. There is nothing about this school that I do not like. If Peter Gorman wants to close down a school it should be E.E. Waddell. Harding University is a school that has a graduating rank of 87% and E.E. Waddell has a graduating rank of a sadly 52%. Now that is a school that needs to be closed down. And if I worked with someone who's dead husbands name was on the school I wouldn't close it down either. But Harding University High School is a school with A LOT of history. And can Peter Gorman tell me why he is not closing any other magnet school. Is it because this school is a mostly African American school.

I WANT AN ANSWER PETER GORMAN.... WE ALL WANT AN ANSWER!!!!

-D.J. Williams Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Harding University High School

Students at Harding University High School are 66% African American, 26% Hispanic, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 2% White.

Harding University High School ranks in the bottom 6.2% of North Carolina high schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,204 students attended Harding University High School.

Harding University High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Charles H. Parker Academic Center
Elementary : Nations Ford Elementary
Elementary : Pinewood Elementary
Elementary : Reid Park Academy
Elementary : Westerly Hills Academy
Middle : Wilson STEM Academy


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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.





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