Rockingham Middle

Rockingham Middle serves 606 students in grades 6–8 in Rockingham, NC, making it the largest middle school in the Richmond County cluster. The school sits within Richmond County Schools, a district ranked in the 24th percentile statewide, yet Rockingham itself places in the 40th percentile among North Carolina middle schools (465th of 778) with a 2-star rating. That puts it ahead of several neighboring schools, though slightly behind nearby Ellerbe Middle at the 44th percentile. Nearly all students — 99.5% — qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a level consistent across other middle schools in the region.

Rockingham’s clearest strength is 7th grade math, where 62.9% of students were proficient in 2025-26 — comfortably above the district (51.9%) and state (56.2%) averages and stronger than every nearby middle school, including Hamlet Middle (50.8%) and Ellerbe Middle (43.6%). Progress has been steady, climbing from 42.1% proficiency in 2023-24. Seventh grade reading also beats the district average, and the school posts notable results for certain student groups: English Language Learner students rank in the 81st percentile statewide and Gifted and Talented students in the 79th, while Hispanic students sit at the 66th percentile and African American students at the 53rd.

The biggest concern is attendance. Chronic absenteeism jumped from 20.8% in 2023-24 to 36.2% in 2024-25 — well above the district (28.0%) and state (24.2%) averages. Only Cordova Middle (42.1%) is worse among nearby schools; Ellerbe Middle (20.9%) is far better. Eighth grade science is another weak spot, with 55.1% proficiency versus 68.6% statewide and 75.0% at Ellerbe. The school also carries the highest student-teacher ratio of its regional peers (15.9) and spends $9,095 per student, less than Ellerbe Middle, Cordova Middle, and Carver Middle. In sum, Rockingham is a high-poverty school with genuine pockets of excellence, but improving attendance will likely be key to sustaining its gains.