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Crain's Creek Middle

Q: Is Crain's Creek Middle a good school?

Crain's Creek Middle ranks 414 th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

414^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 46% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Crain's Creek Middle is a public middle school located in Carthage, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 496 students. The school is part of the Moore County Schools district, which is ranked 58 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Crain's Creek Middle has consistently underperformed compared to the Moore County Schools district and the state of North Carolina in terms of proficiency rates on the End-of-Grade (EOG) tests for Mathematics, Reading, and Science. The school also struggles to serve certain student subgroups effectively, with low rankings for African American, Low Socio-Economic Status, and Military Connected students. Additionally, Crain's Creek Middle has experienced a sharp increase in the percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, from 45.07% in 2021-2022 to 99.4% in 2023-2024, indicating a growing population of economically disadvantaged students.

When compared to other middle schools in the surrounding area, such as West Pine Middle and New Century Middle, Crain's Creek Middle generally underperforms. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined over the past several years, from a high of 287 out of 705 North Carolina middle schools in 2014-2015 to a low of 414 out of 773 in 2024-2025. These challenges suggest that Crain's Creek Middle may need to re-evaluate its strategies and resources to better support the unique needs of its diverse student population and improve academic outcomes.

481

Students ?

15.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,638

Per pupil spending ?

99.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4631 Union Church Rd
Carthage, NC 28327

(910) 245-3796

District: Moore County Schools

Students who attend Crain's Creek Middle usually attend:

High:

Union Pines High

Feeder schools for Crain's Creek Middle:

Elementary:	Cameron Elementary
	McDeeds Creek Elementary
	Vass-Lakeview Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

53.2%

African American:

22.0%

Hispanic:

14.3%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Crain's Creek Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 59th percentile in 2015 → 46th in 2025

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2015

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

!Near the bottom of Moore County Schools's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school51%

District avg63%

North Carolina avg54%

414^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 46%▼ down 13 pts since 2015

From top 41% (2015) to bottom 46% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 5Middle Schools in the Moore County Schools

58^th of 242Moore 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
2025	47.3	414 of 773	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	55.6	328 of 793	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.5	425 of 784	45.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	56.8	325 of 786	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.1	351 of 741	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	51.3	374 of 737	49.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	50.4	365 of 691	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2017	49.8	369 of 694	46.8%	★★☆☆☆
2016	45.5	388 of 692	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2015	58.5	287 of 705	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2014	36.9	391 of 627	37.6%	★★☆☆☆
2013	44.8	366 of 673	45.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.9	490 of 546	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.8	432 of 560	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.3	474 of 559	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	37.6	328 of 550	40.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.3	346 of 533	35.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	38.2	340 of 519	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	51.3	215 of 494	56.5%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	43.6	202 of 449	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.7	185 of 478	61.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	39.7	298 of 504	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	47.5	204 of 475	57.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	40.7	448 of 733	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.8	310 of 738	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.3	439 of 731	39.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	53.6	322 of 733	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	48.7	344 of 706	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.9	367 of 684	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	43.1	419 of 656	36.1%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	52.2	297 of 458	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	61.5	195 of 461	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.5	380 of 452	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.2	403 of 450	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	45.1	314 of 448	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	55.8	234 of 416	43.8%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	41.4	340 of 562	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.3	229 of 564	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.7	261 of 553	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.9	184 of 541	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	39.5	324 of 522	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.3	281 of 493	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.8	195 of 472	58.7%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	27.9	563 of 729	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.2	557 of 743	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.8	584 of 735	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	48.4	318 of 689	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	47.1	299 of 633	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	51.4	291 of 639	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.7	246 of 604	59.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	51.2	349 of 733	52.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.7	326 of 751	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.7	397 of 747	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	57.2	294 of 748	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.6	325 of 711	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	49.3	363 of 697	47.9%	★★☆☆☆
2018	56.2	299 of 665	55.0%	★★★☆☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.6	54 of 64	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	77.8	10 of 58	82.8%	★★★★☆
2023	53.1	27 of 54	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2022	83.0	4 of 58	93.1%	★★★★★
2021	61.9	22 of 57	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.0	14 of 48	70.8%	★★★★☆
2018	60.5	17 of 45	62.2%	★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	39.1	212 of 328	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	64.9	88 of 306	71.2%	★★★★☆
2023	66.9	82 of 302	72.8%	★★★★☆
2022	66.7	70 of 283	75.3%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.2	202 of 478	57.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	47.5	192 of 473	59.4%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	51.9	301 of 649	53.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	58.4	256 of 652	60.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	40.5	402 of 656	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	52.9	291 of 658	55.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	38.6	387 of 632	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.7	418 of 624	33.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.8	462 of 596	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Special Education (2025)58th percentile+11 vs school

Disabled (2022)55th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)54th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)52nd percentile+6 vs school

Hispanic (2025)40th percentile-7 vs school

Female (2025)39th percentile-8 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)35th percentile-11 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)35th percentile-11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)23rd percentile-24 vs school

Military Connected (2025)16th percentile-31 vs school

African American (2025)10th percentile-36 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science61%~ state avg

Reading53%~ state avg

Mathematics45%-8 vs state

2.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Saturday, October 26, 2019

Looks like the 8th grade did a great job...too bad those teachers left. Close Quote

Schools Near Crain's Creek Middle

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
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	99.4%	256 (53.2%)	106 (22.0%)	69 (14.3%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (9.6%)	47.3	414^th of 773 public middle schools	46.4%		55.6	328^th of 793 public middle schools	58.6%	86	57.1	43.8	34.4	55.8	51.4	52.5	60.9	$9,638	$999	$8,640
New Century Middle	Public	6-8	1577 Union Church Road	Cameron	28326	Moore 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%)	85.4	89^th of 773 public middle schools	88.5%		79.5	136^th of 793 public middle schools	82.8%	47	78.8	77.8	60.8	69.4	70.0	67.0	84.0	$8,510	$600	$7,910
Southern Middle	Public	6-8	717 Johnson Street	Aberdeen	28315	Moore County	Moore County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 693-1550	620	39	15.8	98.9%	301 (48.5%)	140 (22.6%)	100 (16.1%)	11 (1.8%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (10.5%)	58.5	293^rd of 773 public middle schools	62.1%		64.9	250^th of 793 public middle schools	68.5%	43	50.0	55.1	40.9	61.0	61.8	63.2	61.7	$9,266	$896	$8,370
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	99.6%	234 (29.5%)	154 (19.4%)	361 (45.6%)	9 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (4.2%)	55.3	324^th of 773 public middle schools	58.1%		52.7	364^th of 793 public middle schools	54.1%	40	64.6	47.1	47.1	53.1	51.8	55.5	65.0	$7,599	$701	$6,898
Highland Middle	Public	6-8	345 Highland School Rd	Sanford	27332	Harnett 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%)	36.9	495^th of 773 public middle schools	36.0%		39.6	490^th of 793 public middle schools	38.2%	5	54.9	43.6	38.9	43.1	37.9	47.6	58.5	$7,358	$539	$6,819
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%)	29.2	553^rd of 773 public middle schools	28.5%		16.1	697^th of 793 public middle schools	12.1%	144	41.6	38.6	38.1	41.9	43.7	49.7	40.9	$8,316	$876	$7,440
West Pine Middle	Public	6-8	144 Archie Road	West End	27376	Moore County	Moore County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 673-1464	717	43	16.8	99.6%	524 (73.1%)	51 (7.1%)	76 (10.6%)	13 (1.8%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	47 (6.6%)	87.7	72^nd of 773 public middle schools	90.7%		88	78^th of 793 public middle schools	90.2%	6	77.5	72.5	67.2	77.5	67.2	74.9	82.6	$8,445	$445	$8,000
Ascend Leadership Remote Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter	6-8	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%)								(n/a)		43.8	6.3		43.8	31.3	50.0
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%)	19.1	645^th of 773 public middle schools	16.6%		28.2	577^th of 793 public middle schools	27.2%	68	39.0	44.4	25.1	35.3	36.3	36.8	36.6	$8,028	$700	$7,329
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%)	38.6	477^th of 773 public middle schools	38.3%		45.4	434^th of 793 public middle schools	45.3%	43	57.5	55.2	40.5	44.5	44.4	42.9	47.2	$8,179	$745	$7,434

Frequently Asked Questions about Crain's Creek Middle

What high school do graduates of Crain's Creek Middle attend?

Students who attend Crain's Creek Middle usually go on to attend Union Pines High

What is the racial makeup of Crain's Creek Middle?

Students at Crain's Creek Middle are 53% White, 22% African American, 14% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races.

What district is Crain's Creek Middle in?

Moore County Schools

How many students attend Crain's Creek Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 481 students attended Crain's Creek Middle.

Is Crain's Creek Middle a good school?

Crain's Creek Middle ranks 414^th of 773 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Crain's Creek Middle!

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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.