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Townsend Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1154^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,492 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Townsend Elementary is a small PK–5 school in Maxton, North Carolina, serving about 280 students in the Public Schools of Robeson County, where nearly all families (about 99%) have significant economic need. The school's most distinctive pattern is a "grade cliff": 3rd graders recently posted 81.8% math proficiency, above the state (66.4%) and most nearby schools, but 4th and 5th graders scored the lowest in the local area — 23.1% and 14.7%, respectively — while schools such as Union Elementary and Prospect Elementary hold steady across grades. Science tells a similar story: only 17.6% of 5th graders were proficient versus a 67.7% state average.

This is not a story of poverty alone: Townsend's reported per-pupil spending of roughly $12,374 is the highest of any local school with available data, yet its upper-grade results are the weakest of the group. Chronic absenteeism is also a red flag at about 39–40%, compared with roughly 30% at Union and Prospect and just 22% at South Johnson Elementary, all serving similarly high-poverty communities. There are genuine bright spots: Native American students earned a 3-star state ranking (62nd percentile), well above the school's overall 23rd-percentile ranking, and female students outperformed males.

The school's statewide ranking has swung wildly — from the 0th percentile to the 25th and back — reflecting both small class sizes and genuine volatility, but the upper-grade weakness has persisted across four straight years, suggesting a structural problem between 3rd and 5th grade. Attendance is the most actionable target: with roughly 4 in 10 students chronically absent, improving attendance could have an outsize impact. One hopeful sign is 3rd-grade reading, which jumped from about 20–24% in prior years to 65.9% recently. If that cohort keeps its momentum through 4th and 5th grade, it could finally flatten the school's familiar pattern of decline.

280

Students ?

16.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

Community Eligibility

All students receive free meals (2024-25) ?

98.2%

Kindergartners up to date on all required vaccines (2025-26)

Exemptions: 0% (any vaccine)

105 Carolina Street
Maxton, NC 28364-2206

(910) 844-5086

District: Public Schools of Robeson County

Students who attend Townsend Elementary usually attend:

High:

PSRC Early College at RCC

Racial breakdown:

African American:

56.1%

American Indian:

30.0%

Hispanic:

6.8%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare Townsend Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 12th percentile in 2021 → 23rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 11 percentile points since 2021

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (37% vs 61% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 24% North Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school37%

District avg46%

North Carolina avg61%

1,154^th of 1,492

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 10 pts since 2021

From bottom 12% (2021) to bottom 23% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

190^th of 246Public Schools of Robeson County 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)

Elementary school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	27.3	1154 of 1492	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	7.3	1447 of 1490	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	1126 of 1505	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	1286 of 1502	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	3.1	1509 of 1514	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.4	1305 of 1489	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	29.4	704 of 903	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.6	845 of 918	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	48.4	450 of 924	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	36.5	615 of 933	34.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.3	874 of 927	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	724 of 896	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	4.6	943 of 949	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.8	925 of 927	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	40.0	906 of 1447	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	8.0	1407 of 1451	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	39.6	914 of 1455	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.5	1023 of 1459	29.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.6	1408 of 1458	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.5	1206 of 1440	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	1.2	1423 of 1424	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	0.8	1405 of 1405	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.9	1067 of 1434	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	9.1	1408 of 1437	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	38.1	948 of 1450	34.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.1	1209 of 1437	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	6.3	1363 of 1366	0.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	22.6	1088 of 1329	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	3.9	1354 of 1361	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	2.2	1331 of 1332	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	27.3	1117 of 1451	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	10.5	1386 of 1450	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	1236 of 1464	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.8	1409 of 1461	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.0	1459 of 1464	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.1	1323 of 1444	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.4	1421 of 1430	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.9	1408 of 1413	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.5	11 of 29	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	30.7	23 of 30	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	51.3	16 of 28	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	8.0	29 of 29	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	32.4	24 of 28	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.1	24 of 27	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	11.5	27 of 28	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	3.0	772 of 786	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	5.8	724 of 741	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	2.8	716 of 737	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.2	679 of 691	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	3.4	670 of 694	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	6.4	653 of 692	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	6.2	655 of 705	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	3.6	618 of 627	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	8.7	628 of 673	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	27.7	536 of 662	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	14.8	590 of 648	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	6.7	602 of 640	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	14.9	564 of 630	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	17.7	529 of 620	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	20.0	532 of 606	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	16.0	535 of 598	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	9.8	536 of 550	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	20.8	477 of 533	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.3	499 of 519	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	5.1	489 of 494	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	3.2	725 of 733	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	2.1	706 of 706	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.7	670 of 684	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.1	653 of 656	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	6.0	677 of 689	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.5	593 of 633	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.7	616 of 639	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.9	601 of 604	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	3.7	738 of 748	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	13.1	641 of 711	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.1	681 of 697	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	0.8	663 of 665	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	12.3	19 of 20	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	18.0	22 of 23	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.0	22 of 24	8.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	4.2	23 of 23	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

Native American (2026)62nd percentile+39 vs school

Female (2026)37th percentile+15 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)26th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2026)23rd percentile~ school

African American (2026)22nd percentile~ school

Middle school

Native American (2022)5th percentile+3 vs school

African American (2022)3rd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2022)2nd percentile~ school

Male (2022)1st percentile~ school

Female (2022)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics43%-21 vs state

Reading38%-19 vs state

Science18%-50 vs state

★

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Schools Near Townsend Elementary

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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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		Vaccination (2025-26)		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	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Vaccination: Kindergartners up to date on all required vaccines	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Townsend Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	105 Carolina Street	Maxton	28364	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 844-5086	280	17	16.1	—	8 (2.9%)	157 (56.1%)	19 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	84 (30.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (4.3%)	27.3	1154^th of 1492 public elementary schools	22.7%		7.3	1447^th of 1490 public elementary schools	2.9%	293	81.8	23.1	14.7				65.9	23.1	17.6				17.6		98.2%	0%	$12,374	$1,964	$10,410
South Johnson Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	13100 Old Johns Rd	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 276-2469	654	47	13.9	—	114 (17.4%)	342 (52.3%)	24 (3.7%)	7 (1.1%)	125 (19.1%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (6.4%)	15.2	1361^st of 1492 public elementary schools	8.8%		32.5	1047^th of 1490 public elementary schools	29.7%	314	48.6	25.9	53.7				38.9	34.3	32.6				50.5		97.6%	0%
Prospect Elementary	Public	PK, KG-8	4024 Missouri Road	Maxton	28364	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 521-4766	775	52	14.9	—	17 (2.2%)	14 (1.8%)	14 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	704 (90.8%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.4%)	41.2	892^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	40.2%		40.7	905^th of 1490 public elementary schools	39.3%	13	70.3	48.8	64.1	53.5	62.8	77.8	44.0	43.9	42.3	54.9	58.5	62.2	66.7	78.9	94.9%	1.3%	$9,609	$1,583	$8,026
Oxendine Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	5599 Oxendine School Rd	Maxton	28364	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 843-4243	301	17	17.7	—	15 (5.0%)	10 (3.3%)	9 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	238 (79.1%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (9.6%)	33.7	1031^st of 1492 public elementary schools	30.9%		45.2	829^th of 1490 public elementary schools	44.4%	202	50.0	65.8	55.6	65.0			48.1	39.5	25.9	45.0			51.9		100%	0%	$11,200	$1,851	$9,348
Sycamore Lane Elementary	Public	3-5	2100 Sycamore Lane	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 384-0679	347	27	12.7	98.0%	67 (19.3%)	195 (56.2%)	19 (5.5%)	4 (1.2%)	36 (10.4%)	2 (0.6%)	24 (6.9%)	12.4	1392^nd of 1492 public elementary schools	6.7%		11.9	1394^th of 1490 public elementary schools	6.4%	2	46.0	43.9	32.0				31.6	31.3	32.0				54.8				$11,857	$1,616	$10,241
Sycamore Lane Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	2098 Elm Ave	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 384-0673	435	33	13.3	—	88 (20.2%)	254 (58.4%)	16 (3.7%)	5 (1.1%)	47 (10.8%)	2 (0.5%)	23 (5.3%)								(n/a)															81.5%	0.8%
Union Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	2547 NC Hwy 710 South	Rowland	28383	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 521-4272	351	22	15.7	—	9 (2.6%)	11 (3.1%)	18 (5.1%)	0 (0.0%)	295 (84.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.1%)	62.2	545^th of 1492 public elementary schools	63.5%		56	636^th of 1490 public elementary schools	57.3%	91	64.6	67.4	73.5	77.8			66.7	46.5	49.0	52.8			81.6		96.5%	0%	$9,927	$1,943	$7,984
Old Main STREAM Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	200 North Odum Street	Pembroke	28372	Robeson County	Old Main Stream	Yes	No	No	No	(910) 775-9191	437	32	13.5	—	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	11 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	373 (85.4%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (10.5%)	78.3	266^th of 1492 public elementary schools	82.2%		70	395^th of 1490 public elementary schools	73.5%	129	87.0	72.9	72.9	75.5	80.4	75.6	68.1	70.8	54.2	61.2	56.5	65.9	83.3	85.4	97.2%	1.4%
Pembroke Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	505 South Jones Street	Pembroke	28372	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 521-4204	703	44	15.8	—	24 (3.4%)	40 (5.7%)	31 (4.4%)	3 (0.4%)	559 (79.5%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (6.5%)	39.6	914^th of 1492 public elementary schools	38.7%		28.2	1115^th of 1490 public elementary schools	25.2%	201	61.0	55.0	58.1				48.8	50.5	45.3				64.2				$9,720	$1,679	$8,041
Wagram Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	24081 Main Street	Wagram	28396	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 384-0735	508	35	14.5	—	89 (17.5%)	254 (50.0%)	32 (6.3%)	4 (0.8%)	83 (16.3%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (9.1%)	10.9	1408^th of 1492 public elementary schools	5.6%		15.7	1341^st of 1490 public elementary schools	10.0%	67	53.2	26.7	38.9				36.4	37.2	27.8				40.3		98.5%	0%	$11,834	$2,053	$9,781

Frequently Asked Questions about Townsend Elementary

What schools do graduates of Townsend Elementary attend?

Students who attend Townsend Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : PSRC Early College at RCC

What is the racial makeup of Townsend Elementary?

Students at Townsend Elementary are 56% African American, 30% American Indian, 7% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 3% White.

What district is Townsend Elementary in?

Public Schools of Robeson County

Is Townsend Elementary a good school?

Townsend Elementary ranks in the bottom 22.7% of North Carolina elementary schools.

How many students attend Townsend Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 280 students attended Townsend Elementary.

Rate Townsend Elementary!

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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.