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Polk County Early College

Q: Is Polk County Early College a good school?

Polk County Early College ranks 84 th of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

84^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 662 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 87% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Polk County Early College is a very small public high school in Columbus, NC, in the western North Carolina foothills, serving 52 students in grades 9–12 within Polk County Schools. Among North Carolina high schools, it ranks 84th out of 662 (87th percentile) in the most recent year, and in 2023–24 it ranked 29th statewide (95th percentile) — outstanding results for a school where roughly 94% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Just 0.16 miles away, Polk County High School ranks 324th (51st percentile), and the gap on identical End-of-Course exams is dramatic. Biology proficiency stands at 100% at Polk County Early College versus 51.2% at Polk County High; English II is 90.5% versus 66.9%. The early college also outpaced district and state averages in every tested subject. This regional pattern repeats nearby: Henderson County Early College ranks 9th statewide, and Rutherford Early College High School ranks 108th, while traditional schools — CHASE High School, R-S Central High School, Hendersonville High, North Henderson High, and East Henderson High — all sit in the middle or lower half of North Carolina rankings.

Attendance and graduation results also stand out. Polk County Early College’s chronic absenteeism rate is just 9.2%, far below the Polk County Schools average of 23.5% and the state’s 24.2%. Graduation rates have consistently met or exceeded district and state levels, reaching 95% in 2024–25. A caution for parents: with only 52 students, small year-to-year swings can look large, and some subjects go unreported in some years. But the school’s strong results across many years and subjects suggest that Polk County Early College is a genuinely high-performing option in western North Carolina.

Students ?

18.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,557

Per pupil spending ?

94.2%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

1545 East NC 108 Hwy
Columbus, NC 28722

(828) 894-2698

District: Polk County Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:

88.5%

Hispanic:

9.6%

Two or more races:

1.9%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Polk County Early College to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 78th percentile in 2021 → 87th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (94% vs 64% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 13% of North Carolina high schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 9 percentile points since 2021

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school94%

District avg68%

North Carolina avg64%

84^th of 662

North Carolina public high schools ?

Top 13%▲ up 9 pts since 2021

From top 22% (2021) to top 13% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Polk County Schools

57^th of 246Polk 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	89.1	84 of 662	87.3%	★★★★☆
2025	90.8	70 of 641	89.1%	★★★★☆
2024	94.8	29 of 640	95.5%	★★★★★
2023	85.2	104 of 626	83.4%	★★★★☆
2022	83.3	116 of 621	81.3%	★★★★☆
2021	75.2	128 of 594	78.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	83.2	97 of 594	83.7%	★★★★☆
2019	74.3	77 of 475	83.8%	★★★★☆
2018	79.4	59 of 449	86.9%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	87.2	100 of 602	83.4%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	80.3	107 of 551	80.6%	★★★★☆
2025	86.3	79 of 542	85.4%	★★★★☆
2024	90.4	53 of 553	90.4%	★★★★★
2023	80.0	110 of 537	79.5%	★★★★☆
2022	89.1	57 of 534	89.3%	★★★★☆
2021	72.0	75 of 439	82.9%	★★★★☆
2019	85.9	30 of 444	93.2%	★★★★★
2018	79.0	63 of 427	85.2%	★★★★☆

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)

Female (2022)84th percentile~ school

Male (2023)83rd percentile~ school

White (2026)81st percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Biology100%+42 vs state

Math III93%+24 vs state

English II90%+26 vs state

★

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Schools Near Polk County Early College

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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
Polk County Early College	Public	9-12	1545 East NC 108 Hwy	Columbus	28722	Polk County	Polk County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 894-2698	52	3	18.9	94.2%	46 (88.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.9%)	89.1	84^th of 662 public high schools	87.3%		90.8	70^th of 641 public high schools	89.1%	14	100.0	90.5		92.9	$9,557	$127	$9,430
Polk County High School	Public	9-12	1681 East NC 108 Hwy	Columbus	28722	Polk County	Polk County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 894-2525	596	32	18.5	—	433 (72.7%)	42 (7.0%)	93 (15.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (4.5%)	50.6	324^th of 662 public high schools	51.1%		52	280^th of 641 public high schools	56.3%	44	51.2	66.9	46.4	75.7	$12,130	$897	$11,232
Henderson County Career Academy	Public	9-12	300 East Campus Drive	Flat Rock	28731	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4629	114	18	6.4	97.4%	71 (62.3%)	3 (2.6%)	33 (28.9%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.3%)	19	560^th of 662 public high schools	15.4%		17.7	540^th of 641 public high schools	15.8%	20	37.9	30.0	40.0	48.6	$18,459	$955	$17,504
Henderson County Early College	Public	9-12	300 East Campus Drive	Flat Rock	28731	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4561	197	6	31.5	50.3%	113 (57.4%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (33.0%)	8 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	10 (5.1%)	94.7	9^th of 662 public high schools	98.6%		95.6	13^th of 641 public high schools	98.0%	4	94.9	100.0	92.9	564.7	$7,590	$759	$6,832
East Henderson High	Public	9-12	150 Eagle Pride Drive	East Flat Rock	28726	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4768	932	61	15.2	62.7%	472 (50.6%)	18 (1.9%)	378 (40.6%)	3 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (1.9%)	43 (4.6%)	49.5	335^th of 662 public high schools	49.4%		49.3	307^th of 641 public high schools	52.1%	28	64.6	57.8	54.1	64.3	$9,768	$724	$9,044
North Henderson High	Public	9-12	35 Fruitland Road	Hendersonville	28792	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4500	1,052	69	15.3	60.6%	493 (46.9%)	34 (3.2%)	458 (43.5%)	15 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	48 (4.6%)	71.8	178^th of 662 public high schools	73.1%		66.3	194^th of 641 public high schools	69.7%	16	63.9	74.6	72.1	89.8	$8,718	$586	$8,132
R-S Central High School	Public	9-12	641 Hwy 221 North	Rutherfordton	28139	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 287-3304	763	36	21.2	—	539 (70.6%)	99 (13.0%)	60 (7.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	62 (8.1%)	44.9	368^th of 662 public high schools	44.4%		38.1	391^st of 641 public high schools	39.0%	23	56.2	64.0	22.0	75.2	$10,966	$1,171	$9,795
Rutherford Early College High School	Public	9-12	286 ICC Loop Road	Spindale	28160	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 288-2202	208	4	55.0	—	149 (71.6%)	8 (3.8%)	29 (13.9%)	9 (4.3%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.8%)	84.6	108^th of 662 public high schools	83.7%		85.9	104^th of 641 public high schools	83.8%	4	80.4	96.3	46.7	95.7	$6,973	$327	$6,646
Hendersonville High	Public	9-12	1 Bearcat Boulevard	Hendersonville	28791	Henderson County	Henderson County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 697-4802	794	47	16.9	44.3%	471 (59.3%)	69 (8.7%)	189 (23.8%)	13 (1.6%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.6%)	46 (5.8%)	61.5	245^th of 662 public high schools	63.0%		54.9	265^th of 641 public high schools	58.7%	20	69.5	80.7	43.8	73.1	$8,966	$700	$8,266
Chase High School	Public	9-12	1603 Chase High Rd	Forest City	28043	Rutherford County	Rutherford County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 245-5883	596	29	20.7	—	431 (72.3%)	37 (6.2%)	88 (14.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (6.4%)	61.8	243^rd of 662 public high schools	63.3%		62	220^th of 641 public high schools	65.7%	23	60.3	65.1	62.7	83.9	$10,771	$989	$9,782

Frequently Asked Questions about Polk County Early College

Is Polk County Early College a good school?

Polk County Early College ranks 84^th of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Polk County Early College?

Students at Polk County Early College are 88% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Polk County Early College in?

Polk County Schools

How many students attend Polk County Early College?

In the 2024-25 school year, 52 students attended Polk County Early College.

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 graduation rates (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

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

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

2017–18 through 2024–25 attendance dataSep 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.