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Tar River Academy

Q: Is Tar River Academy a good school?

Tar River Academy ranks in the bottom 1.1% of North Carolina high schools.

Q: How many students attend Tar River Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 74 students attended Tar River Academy.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Tar River Academy?

Students at Tar River Academy are 58% African American, 20% Hispanic, 14% White, 8% Two or more races.

Public Grades 9-12

634^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 1% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Tar River Academy is a small public high school in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a student population of just 67. As part of the Nash County Public Schools district, which is ranked 147 out of 242 districts in the state, Tar River Academy consistently ranks among the lowest-performing high schools in North Carolina.

The school has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very poor academic performance. Its test scores are significantly lower than the state and district averages, with only 10.3% of students proficient or better in EOC/Biology, compared to 39.7% for the Nash County Public Schools district and 48.3% for the state. Tar River Academy's four-year graduation rate has also fluctuated between 75.8% and 87.7% over the past few years, which is lower than the state and district averages. The school's performance is particularly low for specific student subgroups, such as female, male, African American, and low socioeconomic status students.

Interestingly, Tar River Academy's performance is significantly lower than the nearby NRM Early College High School, Northern Nash High, Nash Central High, and Rocky Mount High, which generally have higher academic rankings, better test scores, and higher graduation rates. The school is also located very close (0.05 miles) to the much higher-performing CITI High School, which has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Students ?

12.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,339

Per pupil spending ?

95.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

906 Hammond Street
Rocky Mount, NC 27804

(252) 451-2875

District: Nash County Public Schools

Racial breakdown:

African American:

58.1%

Hispanic:

20.3%

White:

13.5%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Tar River Academy to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 6th percentile in 2008 → 1st in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (12% vs 58% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)

!Graduation rate below the North Carolina average (76% vs 88%)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school12%

District avg53%

North Carolina avg58%

634^th of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 1%▼ down 1 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7High Schools in the Nash County Public Schools

147^th of 242Nash 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	45.3	421 of 786	46.4%	★★☆☆☆
2016	1.2	685 of 692	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	2.4	690 of 705	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	5.9	643 of 673	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	2.5	637 of 662	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	0.1	646 of 648	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	0.2	635 of 640	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	0.8	620 of 630	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	15.0	550 of 620	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	7.0	574 of 606	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	2.3	584 of 598	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	47.5	244 of 550	55.6%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	47.7	370 of 733	49.5%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	47.1	332 of 689	51.8%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	42.4	432 of 748	42.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	34.0	451 of 658	31.5%	★★☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	2.7	634 of 641	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.3	621 of 626	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	1.3	498 of 507	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	2.1	518 of 531	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	5.1	495 of 505	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	0.0	502 of 502	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	10.5	447 of 506	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	1.8	483 of 499	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	5.3	459 of 490	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	4.1	449 of 477	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	3.4	436 of 453	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	7.0	406 of 431	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	7.3	433 of 440	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.8	431 of 434	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	3.0	601 of 610	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	5.8	597 of 606	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.0	596 of 597	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.9	536 of 544	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	2.2	599 of 601	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.1	601 of 602	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.8	330 of 352	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

African American (2022)41st percentile+22 vs school

Female (2022)31st percentile+12 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)22nd percentile+3 vs school

Male (2022)13th percentile-6 vs school

Middle school

African American (2022)56th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)52nd percentile+5 vs school

Female (2022)50th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2022)42nd percentile-4 vs school

White (2022)31st percentile-15 vs school

High school

Special Education (2025)6th percentile+5 vs school

African American (2025)2nd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)1st percentile~ school

Female (2025)1st percentile~ school

Male (2025)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English II22%-37 vs state

Math III10%-56 vs state

Biology10%-38 vs state

★

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Schools Near Tar River Academy

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
Tar River Academy	Public	9-12	906 Hammond Street	Rocky Mount	27804	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 451-2875	74	6	12.3	95.9%	10 (13.5%)	43 (58.1%)	15 (20.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (8.1%)	2.7	634^th of 641 public high schools	1.1%					(n/a)	10.3	22.2		10.5	$22,339	$2,188	$20,151
Rocky Mount High	Public	9-12	1400 Bethlehem Road	Rocky Mount	27803	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 937-9050	1,023	43	23.9	97.7%	78 (7.6%)	791 (77.3%)	98 (9.6%)	17 (1.7%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (3.4%)	16.4	551^st of 641 public high schools	14.0%		16.6	541^st of 640 public high schools	15.5%	10	28.0	38.6	21.8	36.0	$9,474	$733	$8,740
Nash Central High	Public	9-12	4279 Nash Central High Road	Rocky Mount	27804	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 451-2860	703	32	21.8	99.6%	240 (34.1%)	351 (49.9%)	73 (10.4%)	6 (0.9%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (4.3%)	50.8	290^th of 641 public high schools	54.8%		34.8	406^th of 640 public high schools	36.6%	116	29.5	64.7	55.3	71.7	$9,453	$925	$8,529
NRM Early College High School	Public	9-12	530 North Old Carriage Road	Rocky Mount	27804	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 451-2890	376	12	30.4	99.2%	124 (33.0%)	132 (35.1%)	86 (22.9%)	14 (3.7%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	16 (4.3%)	93.8	42^nd of 641 public high schools	93.4%		90.2	73^rd of 640 public high schools	88.6%	31	83.6	96.8	89.5	99.0	$6,841	$367	$6,474
CITI High School	Public	9-12	530-A North Old Carriage Rd	Rocky Mount	27804	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 462-2842	87	5	15.9	96.6%	20 (23.0%)	39 (44.8%)	22 (25.3%)	3 (3.4%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.3%)	80.3	134^th of 641 public high schools	79.1%		73.2	162^nd of 640 public high schools	74.7%	28	80.0	63.2	65.0	95.0	$14,539	$900	$13,639
Northern Nash High	Public	9-12	4230 Green Hills Road	Rocky Mount	27804	Nash County	Nash County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 937-9040	1,035	42	24.7	99.7%	308 (29.8%)	564 (54.5%)	93 (9.0%)	15 (1.4%)	15 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (3.9%)	49.4	306^th of 641 public high schools	52.3%		36	400^th of 640 public high schools	37.5%	94	39.3	54.8	39.4	83.5	$9,163	$811	$8,352
SouthWest Edgecombe High	Public	9-12	5912 NC 43 North	Pinetops	27864	Edgecombe County	Edgecombe County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 827-5016	798	36	22.0	99.5%	208 (26.1%)	449 (56.3%)	101 (12.7%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	36 (4.5%)	9	602^nd of 641 public high schools	6.1%		12	576^th of 640 public high schools	10.0%	26	23.6	27.1	6.1	33.7	$9,044	$1,025	$8,019
North Edgecombe High	Public	9-12	7589 Nc 33-Nw	Tarboro	27886	Edgecombe County	Edgecombe County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(252) 823-3562	358	21	17.0	99.2%	20 (5.6%)	272 (76.0%)	51 (14.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.9%)	6	616^th of 641 public high schools	3.9%		13	567^th of 640 public high schools	11.4%	49	8.5	27.3	12.2	17.7	$16,211	$2,225	$13,986
NE Carolina Prep School Remote Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	274 Husky Trail	Tarboro	27886	Edgecombe County	North East Carolina Preparatory School	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(252) 641-0464	0				0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Edgecombe Early College High	Public	9-12	2009 West Wilson St	Tarboro	27886	Edgecombe County	Edgecombe County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(252) 618-6554	171	8	21.9	98.2%	65 (38.0%)	55 (32.2%)	43 (25.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.7%)	93.2	47^th of 641 public high schools	92.7%		90.5	69^th of 640 public high schools	89.2%	22	81.3	96.9		100.0	$9,262	$487	$8,775

Frequently Asked Questions about Tar River Academy

What is the racial makeup of Tar River Academy?

Students at Tar River Academy are 58% African American, 20% Hispanic, 14% White, 8% Two or more races.

What district is Tar River Academy in?

Nash County Public Schools

Is Tar River Academy a good school?

Tar River Academy ranks in the bottom 1.1% of North Carolina high schools.

How many students attend Tar River Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 74 students attended Tar River Academy.

Rate Tar River Academy!

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NCNorth Carolina High School Rankings

NCNorth Carolina District Rankings

Schools in Rocky Mount, NC

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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.