Elizabeth City Middle

Elizabeth City Middle is a public school in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, serving 484 students in grades 6–8 as part of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools district. Nearly all of its students (99.4%) qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and about one in three was chronically absent in the most recent school year, so families should view test scores with that context in mind. Overall, the school ranks in the 34th percentile of North Carolina middle schools (510th out of 778), earning two stars on SchoolDigger.

The school's biggest academic challenge is math — only 33.3% of 8th graders scored proficient, compared with 53% statewide — but there are genuine bright spots. Seventh grade reading proficiency reached 61.9%, above both the district (53.8%) and state (56.3%), and 8th grade science hit 66.2%, nearly matching the state average. In the local area, Camden Middle and Moyock Middle outperform Elizabeth City Middle by a wide margin, while same-district River Road Middle is nearly identical in overall rank. Notably, Perquimans County Middle serves a similarly high-poverty population yet finishes in the 66th percentile — a sign that the school's results are not fixed by demographics.

Elizabeth City Middle's performance for subgroups is mixed. It ranks above the statewide median for African American students, Hispanic students, and English language learners, with these groups showing consistent strength over multiple years. However, special education students ranked in the 6th percentile in 2025–2026 — a sharp drop from the mid-50s in prior years — while male, White, and multiracial students also trail state averages. For parents, the key takeaways are that attendance and math deserve attention, but 7th grade reading, 8th grade science, and the school's work with several historically underserved groups provide meaningful reasons for optimism.