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Pender Early College High

Public Grades 9-12

18^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 662 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 97% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Pender Early College High is a small, specialized public high school in Burgaw, North Carolina, serving roughly 215 students in grades 9–12 through an application-based early-college model within Pender County Schools, where students take college-level classes while earning their diplomas. It is an extraordinary academic outlier compared with the traditional high schools around it: the school ranks 18th of 662 high schools statewide with a 5-star rating, placing it in the 97th percentile.

Standardized End-of-Course tests make the contrast concrete. Pender Early College High posts proficiency rates of 97.5% in Biology, 98.3% in English II, 94.7% in Math I, and 100% in Math III, compared with district averages of 64.4%, 66.5%, 44.4%, and 71.0%. The gap with nearby traditional high schools is enormous — Pender High, for example, has just 43.7% proficiency in English II and 25.5% in Math I, while Wallace-Rose Hill High sits near 16.2% in Math I and Topsail High reaches only 57.5%. Even among other regional early-college schools like SEA-Tech and Wilmington Early College High, Pender Early College High leads in most subjects, including a roughly 28-point advantage over Wilmington Early College High in Biology.

Equally notable is the school's consistency year after year: Pender Early College High has finished among the top 30 high schools in North Carolina every year since at least 2020–2021, so the results are not a one-cohort fluke. The same holds across student subgroups, including low-income students, for whom the school ranks in the 94th percentile statewide. These results also come with lower reported per-pupil spending ($7,865) than every nearby high school. Two caveats are worth knowing: school-level graduation and chronic-absenteeism figures are not reported for this school, and the unusual reported 50.8:1 student-teacher ratio likely reflects heavy reliance on college faculty rather than full-time high school teachers. That said, for a school with barely 200 students, the evidence of exceptional, sustained academic performance is compelling for parents considering it.

215

Students ?

50.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

Community Eligibility

All students receive free meals (2024-25) ?

100 East Industrial Drive
Burgaw, NC 28425

(910) 362-7925

District: Pender County Schools

Feeder schools for Pender Early College High:

Elementary:	C.F. Pope Elementary
	Cape Fear Elementary
	Malpass Corner Elementary
	North Topsail Elementary
	More...
	Penderlea Elementary
	Rocky Point Elementary
	South Topsail Elementary
	Topsail Annandale Elementary School
Middle:	Burgaw Middle
	Cape Fear Middle
	Topsail Middle
	West Pender Middle

Racial breakdown:

White:

65.1%

Hispanic:

23.3%

Two or more races:

5.6%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Pender Early College High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 99th percentile in 2021 → 97th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (98% vs 60% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 3% of North Carolina high schools

Worth a look

!Large classes — about 51 students per teacher

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school98%

District avg63%

North Carolina avg60%

18^th of 662

North Carolina public high schools ?

Top 3%▼ down 2 pts since 2021

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

120^th of 246Pender 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
2026	93.8	18 of 662	97.3%	★★★★★
2025	94.3	30 of 641	95.3%	★★★★★
2024	95.5	22 of 640	96.6%	★★★★★
2023	95.4	20 of 626	96.8%	★★★★★
2022	96.1	16 of 621	97.4%	★★★★★
2021	98.2	4 of 594	99.3%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	92.8	24 of 629	96.2%	★★★★★
2025	93.9	25 of 610	95.9%	★★★★★
2024	94.9	18 of 602	97.0%	★★★★★
2023	95.0	15 of 588	97.4%	★★★★★
2022	95.4	13 of 594	97.8%	★★★★★

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	75.4	14 of 407	96.6%	★★★★★
2025	79.6	55 of 412	86.7%	★★★★☆
2024	74.1	80 of 403	80.1%	★★★★☆
2023	76.6	79 of 403	80.4%	★★★★☆
2022	82.5	25 of 398	93.7%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	96.0	26 of 474	94.5%	★★★★★
2025	97.9	6 of 462	98.7%	★★★★★
2024	99.0	1 of 454	99.8%	★★★★★
2022	98.9	6 of 436	98.6%	★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	95.7	39 of 620	93.7%	★★★★★
2025	95.6	48 of 606	92.1%	★★★★★
2024	97.5	23 of 613	96.2%	★★★★★
2023	96.5	34 of 597	94.3%	★★★★★
2022	98.8	16 of 544	97.1%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	94.1	26 of 624	95.8%	★★★★★
2025	92.0	69 of 601	88.5%	★★★★☆
2024	95.9	25 of 607	95.9%	★★★★★
2023	97.7	1 of 602	99.8%	★★★★★
2022	97.2	8 of 585	98.6%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	91.9	13 of 551	97.6%	★★★★★
2025	91.0	42 of 542	92.3%	★★★★★
2024	93.9	18 of 553	96.7%	★★★★★
2023	93.3	30 of 537	94.4%	★★★★★
2022	94.8	14 of 534	97.4%	★★★★★

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)

White (2026)98th percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2026)97th percentile~ school

Female (2026)96th percentile~ school

Male (2026)96th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)95th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)94th percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Math III100%+31 vs state

English II98%+34 vs state

Biology98%+39 vs state

Math I95%+53 vs state

5.0

5 ratings · 3 written reviews

5★5

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3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, September 18, 2018

I've had one child graduate from PECHS and one currently enrolled. It is a great school. The staff really care about the students succeeding. My daughters both like the school because they are allowed to express themselves without the typical peer pressure. Close Quote

by a teacher
Friday, January 1, 2010

Pender Early College is the best school I have ever worked for. We don't just teach subjects ,rather we teach students how to learn for themselves in all content areas. Close Quote

by a teacher
Monday, October 19, 2009

Pender Early college students continue to excel in Algebra I, Algebra II, and English I. Our students scored higher than the district and state in these areas on the EOC exams. Close Quote

Schools Near Pender Early College High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (2026)	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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
Pender Early College High	Public	9-12	100 East Industrial Drive	Burgaw	28425	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 362-7925	215	4	50.8	—	140 (65.1%)	10 (4.7%)	50 (23.3%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.6%)	93.8	18^th of 662 public high schools	97.3%		94.3	30^th of 641 public high schools	95.3%	12	97.5	98.3	94.7	100.0	$7,865	$425	$7,440
Pender High	Public	9-12	5380 NC Hwy 53 W	Burgaw	28425	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 259-0162	648	29	22.1	—	265 (40.9%)	201 (31.0%)	151 (23.3%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.7%)	11.6	597^th of 662 public high schools	9.8%		13.9	576^th of 641 public high schools	10.1%	21	19.8	43.7	25.5	33.8	$10,022	$530	$9,492
Heide Trask High	Public	9-12	14328 NC Hwy 210	Rocky Point	28457	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 602-6810	732	33	21.8	—	300 (41.0%)	111 (15.2%)	281 (38.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (4.9%)	21.7	541^st of 662 public high schools	18.3%		18.8	530^th of 641 public high schools	17.3%	11	39.1	49.2	26.8	52.4	$10,484	$771	$9,712
SEA-Technical	Public	9-12	5301 Sidbury Road	Castle Hayne	28429	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 530-6300	227	17	13.6	—	144 (63.4%)	26 (11.5%)	38 (16.7%)	5 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (6.2%)	91.9	57^th of 662 public high schools	91.4%		89.1	86^th of 641 public high schools	86.6%	29	93.2	95.5	88.9	96.4	$13,361	$253	$13,108
Wilmington Early College High	Public	9-12	4500 Blue Clay Rd	Castle Hayne	28429	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 362-7789	270	13	20.6	—	146 (54.1%)	57 (21.1%)	48 (17.8%)	8 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.1%)	83.4	119^th of 662 public high schools	82.0%		84.2	114^th of 641 public high schools	82.2%	5	69.3	92.1	79.2	100.0	$8,673	$273	$8,400
Wallace-Rose Hill High	Public	9-12	602 High School Road	Teachey	28464	Duplin County	Duplin County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 285-7501	738	42	17.4	—	140 (19.0%)	205 (27.8%)	364 (49.3%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (3.0%)	12	595^th of 662 public high schools	10.1%		11.5	590^th of 641 public high schools	8.0%	5	25.0	37.0	16.2	51.2	$12,968	$891	$12,077
Topsail High	Public	9-12	245 St. Johns Church Road	Hampstead	28443	Pender County	Pender County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 270-2755	1,945	67	29.0	23.5%	1,603 (82.4%)	60 (3.1%)	148 (7.6%)	15 (0.8%)	6 (0.3%)	3 (0.2%)	110 (5.7%)	73.5	168^th of 662 public high schools	74.6%		79.4	136^th of 641 public high schools	78.8%	32	78.3	75.6	57.5	86.0	$8,065	$589	$7,476
Emsley A Laney High	Public	9-12	2700 N College Rd	Wilmington	28405	New Hanover County	New Hanover County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 350-2089	2,243	111	20.2	95.3%	1,243 (55.4%)	409 (18.2%)	415 (18.5%)	40 (1.8%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	132 (5.9%)	43.8	378^th of 662 public high schools	42.9%		42.9	351^st of 641 public high schools	45.2%	27	56.3	70.7	39.0	56.5	$8,690	$533	$8,157

Frequently Asked Questions about Pender Early College High

How many students attend Pender Early College High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 215 students attended Pender Early College High.

What district is Pender Early College High in?

Pender County Schools

What is the racial makeup of Pender Early College High?

Students at Pender Early College High are 65% White, 23% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 5% African American, 1% Asian.

Is Pender Early College High a good school?

Yes! Pender Early College High is one of the best high schools in the state. It ranks 18^th of 662 North Carolina high schools.

What schools feed into Pender Early College High?

Pender Early College High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : C.F. Pope Elementary
Elementary : Cape Fear Elementary
Elementary : Malpass Corner Elementary
Elementary : North Topsail Elementary
Elementary : Penderlea Elementary
Elementary : Rocky Point Elementary
Elementary : South Topsail Elementary
Elementary : Topsail Annandale Elementary School
Middle : Burgaw Middle
Middle : Cape Fear Middle
Middle : Topsail Middle
Middle : West Pender Middle

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2020–21 through 2025–26 immunization ratesNewOct 19, 2026

2022–23 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 2, 2026

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.