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Discovery High School

Q: Is Discovery High School a good school?

Discovery High School ranks 121 st of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

121^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 81% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Discovery High School is a public high school located in Newton, North Carolina, serving 162 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Newton Conover City Schools district, which is ranked 79 out of 242 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Discovery High School consistently outperforms the district and state in end-of-course test scores, particularly in Math I, Math III, and English II. The school has maintained a strong statewide ranking, placing in the top 20% of North Carolina high schools in recent years and earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. While the school excels in overall academic performance, its ranking for gifted and talented students is in the bottom 25% of the state, suggesting an area for potential improvement. The school's free and reduced-price lunch rates have also increased, indicating a growing population of students from lower-income backgrounds.

Compared to nearby schools, Newton-Conover High School lags behind Discovery High School in academic performance, while North Lincoln High School performs comparably in many subject areas. The specialized magnet school, Challenger Early College High School, outperforms Discovery High School in academic metrics, particularly in the top-performing student subgroups.

146

Students ?

22.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$7,999

Per pupil spending ?

29.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

301 West 18th St
Newton, NC 28658

(828) 466-5581

District: Newton Conover City Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:

58.2%

Hispanic:

19.2%

Asian:

10.3%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Discovery High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 89th percentile in 2013 → 81st in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (79% vs 53% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 19% of North Carolina high schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 8 percentile points since 2013

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

!Large classes — about 22 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school79%

District avg47%

North Carolina avg53%

121^st of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Top 19%▼ down 11 pts since 2015

From top 8% (2015) to top 19% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Newton Conover City Schools

79^th of 242Newton Conover City 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	83.0	121 of 641	81.1%	★★★★☆
2024	79.8	134 of 640	79.1%	★★★★☆
2023	77.6	141 of 626	77.5%	★★★★☆
2022	92.6	53 of 621	91.5%	★★★★★
2021	97.3	12 of 594	98.0%	★★★★★
2019	89.3	28 of 514	94.6%	★★★★★
2018	95.5	4 of 469	99.1%	★★★★★
2016	85.1	21 of 507	95.9%	★★★★★
2015	80.3	40 of 531	92.5%	★★★★★
2013	67.2	56 of 505	88.9%	★★★★☆
2012	71.0	65 of 502	87.1%	★★★★☆
2011	68.7	96 of 506	81.0%	★★★★☆
2010	58.6	206 of 499	58.7%	★★★☆☆
2009	58.4	187 of 490	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2008	59.6	152 of 477	68.1%	★★★☆☆
2007	56.7	174 of 453	61.6%	★★★☆☆
2006	72.6	52 of 431	87.9%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	79.0	128 of 610	79.0%	★★★★☆
2024	75.3	155 of 602	74.3%	★★★★☆
2023	70.3	163 of 588	72.3%	★★★★☆
2022	89.8	62 of 594	89.6%	★★★★☆
2021	96.1	6 of 475	98.7%	★★★★★
2019	86.1	31 of 475	93.5%	★★★★★
2018	95.5	2 of 449	99.6%	★★★★★

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.4	370 of 412	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	33.0	336 of 403	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.3	328 of 403	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	68.9	122 of 398	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	86.9	3 of 337	99.1%	★★★★★
2019	68.0	81 of 325	75.1%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	61.7	127 of 449	71.7%	★★★★☆
2022	96.4	23 of 436	94.7%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	83.4	96 of 606	84.2%	★★★★☆
2024	85.5	102 of 613	83.4%	★★★★☆
2023	73.5	126 of 597	78.9%	★★★★☆
2019	94.9	11 of 446	97.5%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	83.0	124 of 601	79.4%	★★★★☆
2024	84.7	115 of 607	81.1%	★★★★☆
2023	85.7	111 of 602	81.6%	★★★★☆
2022	93.6	54 of 585	90.8%	★★★★★
2021	97.6	5 of 481	99.0%	★★★★★
2019	92.3	15 of 488	96.9%	★★★★★
2018	94.9	11 of 463	97.6%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	79.1	120 of 542	77.9%	★★★★☆
2024	73.5	152 of 553	72.5%	★★★★☆
2023	71.1	158 of 537	70.6%	★★★★☆
2022	88.1	68 of 534	87.3%	★★★★☆
2021	96.6	6 of 439	98.6%	★★★★★
2019	85.6	31 of 444	93.0%	★★★★★
2018	90.2	15 of 427	96.5%	★★★★★

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)84th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)79th percentile~ school

Female (2025)79th percentile~ school

White (2025)78th percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2023)72nd percentile-6 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)10th percentile-71 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Math I83%+48 vs state

English II81%+21 vs state

Math III79%+13 vs state

Biology72%+24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Discovery High School

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
Discovery High School	Public	9-12	301 West 18th St	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 466-5581	146	7	22.1	29.5%	85 (58.2%)	4 (2.7%)	28 (19.2%)	15 (10.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (9.6%)	83	121^st of 641 public high schools	81.1%		79.8	134^th of 640 public high schools	79.1%	13	71.9	80.8	82.8	79.4	$7,999	$741	$7,259
Newton-Conover High	Public	9-12	338 W 15th Street	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Newton Conover City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 465-0920	724	44	16.5	60.5%	314 (43.4%)	71 (9.8%)	222 (30.7%)	46 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (9.8%)	28.9	466^th of 641 public high schools	27.3%		44	341^st of 640 public high schools	46.7%	125	34.6	48.5	39.9	42.5	$10,228	$626	$9,601
Challenger Early College High	Public	9-12	2550 Hwy 70 SE	Hickory	28602	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 485-2980	376	11	33.5	49.5%	131 (34.8%)	10 (2.7%)	122 (32.4%)	72 (19.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	40 (10.6%)	95.5	16^th of 641 public high schools	97.5%		95.6	21^st of 640 public high schools	96.7%	5	92.0	100.0	88.2	99.0	$6,093	$246	$5,847
Maiden High	Public	9-12	600 West Main Street	Maiden	28650	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 428-8197	852	41	20.7	49.1%	528 (62.0%)	54 (6.3%)	150 (17.6%)	57 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	63 (7.4%)	47.8	320^th of 641 public high schools	50.1%		59.8	235^th of 640 public high schools	63.3%	85	46.2	49.3	43.5	75.0	$9,016	$684	$8,333
Saint Stephens High	Public	9-12	3205 34th Street Drive NE	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 256-9841	1,268	57	22.0	99.8%	560 (44.2%)	109 (8.6%)	442 (34.9%)	62 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (7.5%)	58	243^rd of 641 public high schools	62.1%		50.2	297^th of 640 public high schools	53.6%	54	52.3	58.1	52.4	74.7	$8,502	$740	$7,761
Hickory Career Arts Magnet High School	Public	9-12	409 8th Avenue NE	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Hickory City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 328-6738	201	13	15.2	98.5%	107 (53.2%)	22 (10.9%)	45 (22.4%)	6 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (10.4%)	56.6	253^rd of 641 public high schools	60.5%		61.7	224^th of 640 public high schools	65.0%	29	47.4	78.4	22.2	80.4	$15,342	$1,043	$14,299
Bunker Hill High	Public	9-12	4675 Oxford School Road	Claremont	28610	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 241-3355	845	40	21.1	99.6%	457 (54.1%)	69 (8.2%)	179 (21.2%)	86 (10.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (6.4%)	30.3	441^st of 641 public high schools	31.2%		38.7	377^th of 640 public high schools	41.1%	64	40.5	43.6	24.7	59.4	$8,880	$745	$8,136
Hickory High	Public	9-12	1234 3rd Street NE	Hickory	28601	Catawba County	Hickory City Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 322-5860	1,024	38	26.6	99.7%	358 (35.0%)	196 (19.1%)	297 (29.0%)	47 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.6%)	120 (11.7%)	26.1	486^th of 641 public high schools	24.2%		37.8	390^th of 640 public high schools	39.1%	96	23.9	49.0	25.6	57.9	$8,704	$694	$8,010
Bandys High	Public	9-12	5040 E Bandys Road	Catawba	28609	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 241-1471	935	40	23.1	40.5%	696 (74.4%)	42 (4.5%)	116 (12.4%)	17 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (6.8%)	69.2	181^st of 641 public high schools	71.8%		68.4	192^nd of 640 public high schools	70.0%	11	61.4	63.1	56.8	85.2	$8,843	$732	$8,111
Fred T Foard High	Public	9-12	3407 Plateau Road	Newton	28658	Catawba County	Catawba County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 462-1496	930	43	21.8	46.9%	684 (73.5%)	30 (3.2%)	98 (10.5%)	48 (5.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	67 (7.2%)	52.6	274^th of 641 public high schools	57.3%		57.9	245^th of 640 public high schools	61.7%	29	52.8	66.8	50.8	54.0	$8,769	$744	$8,025

Frequently Asked Questions about Discovery High School

What is the racial makeup of Discovery High School?

Students at Discovery High School are 58% White, 19% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 10% Two or more races, 3% African American.

Is Discovery High School a good school?

Discovery High School ranks 121^st of 641 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Discovery High School in?

Newton Conover City Schools

How many students attend Discovery High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 146 students attended Discovery High School.

Rate Discovery High School!

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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.