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Purnell Swett High

Public Grades 9-12

493^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 641 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 23% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Purnell Swett High is a public high school located in Pembroke, North Carolina, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 1,604 students. The school is part of the Public Schools of Robeson County district, which is ranked 215 out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Purnell Swett High has consistently ranked in the bottom half of North Carolina high schools, with a ranking between 374 and 533 out of 514-641 schools over the past 10 years. The school has maintained a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of this period, indicating it is among the lowest-performing schools in the state. Purnell Swett High's four-year graduation rate has ranged from 84.1% to 87.7% over the past few years, which is slightly below the state average. The school's proficiency rates on end-of-course (EOC) exams are significantly lower than the state and district averages, with proficiency rates as low as 23.8% in Biology and 22% in Math I.

While Purnell Swett High's performance is generally lower than the nearby high schools in the Public Schools of Robeson County district, such as Fairmont High, Saint Pauls High, and Lumberton Senior High, one notable exception is the PSRC Early College at RCC, a small public high school located about 13 miles from Purnell Swett High. This school has consistently ranked among the top 5% of high schools in North Carolina, with exceptional test scores and a 4- or 5-star rating from SchoolDigger, suggesting that a targeted, high-quality educational program can produce significantly better outcomes, even in a district with generally low-performing schools.

1,583

Students ?

18.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$10,198

Per pupil spending ?

99.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

11344 Deep Branch Road
Pembroke, NC 28372

(910) 521-3253

District: Public Schools of Robeson County

Feeder schools for Purnell Swett High:

Elementary:	Deep Branch Elementary
	Pembroke Elementary
	Prospect Elementary
Middle:	Pembroke Middle

Racial breakdown:

American Indian:

78.6%

African American:

9.3%

Hispanic:

5.4%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Purnell Swett High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 21st percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (41% vs 53% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school41%

District avg43%

North Carolina avg53%

493^rd of 641

North Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 23%▲ up 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6High Schools in the Public Schools of Robeson County

215^th of 242Public 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.2	493 of 641	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.5	447 of 640	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.6	408 of 626	34.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	23.4	473 of 621	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.5	533 of 594	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.8	374 of 514	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.9	352 of 469	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	15.8	392 of 476	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	14.0	426 of 507	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	17.6	419 of 531	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	12.7	393 of 451	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	17.1	405 of 505	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	25.0	401 of 502	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	39.8	361 of 506	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	31.6	395 of 499	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	39.0	349 of 490	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	37.0	343 of 477	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	30.0	343 of 453	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	37.2	316 of 431	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	37.0	257 of 440	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	36.8	257 of 437	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	40.5	227 of 434	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.9	303 of 430	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.4	318 of 364	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.5	281 of 369	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	31.5	247 of 359	31.2%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	24.5	264 of 330	20.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.0	265 of 334	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	330 of 364	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	40.8	178 of 349	49.0%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	30.9	190 of 262	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.7	481 of 610	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.4	422 of 602	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.0	384 of 588	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.6	443 of 594	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	421 of 475	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.1	378 of 475	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.6	335 of 449	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.8	350 of 412	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.5	316 of 403	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	50.7	244 of 403	39.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	61.7	177 of 398	55.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	29.7	267 of 337	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	55.4	155 of 325	52.3%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.4	424 of 462	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	29.4	326 of 454	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.6	306 of 449	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.3	301 of 436	31.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	15.0	344 of 370	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.3	497 of 606	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.6	418 of 613	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.8	387 of 597	35.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	24.0	439 of 544	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	402 of 432	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	32.1	275 of 446	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	27.1	310 of 424	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	24.1	478 of 601	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.9	449 of 607	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.5	417 of 602	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.6	484 of 585	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	435 of 481	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.6	352 of 488	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.5	375 of 463	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	8.4	248 of 253	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	35.1	179 of 261	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	12.6	235 of 249	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	5.1	198 of 199	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	46.5	104 of 195	46.7%	★★☆☆☆

Native American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	49.1	5 of 15	66.7%	★★★★☆
2024	56.2	5 of 15	66.7%	★★★★☆
2023	65.9	2 of 16	87.5%	★★★★★
2022	48.5	6 of 15	60.0%	★★★★☆
2021	36.2	10 of 13	23.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	51.7	7 of 17	58.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.4	9 of 16	43.8%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.7	331 of 352	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	76.5	34 of 349	90.3%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	23.0	441 of 537	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	499 of 534	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.0	393 of 427	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Native American (2025)67th percentile+44 vs school

African American (2025)42nd percentile+19 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)27th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)21st percentile~ school

Male (2025)20th percentile-3 vs school

Disabled (2022)20th percentile-4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)18th percentile-5 vs school

White (2023)18th percentile-17 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)15th percentile-8 vs school

Hispanic (2025)8th percentile-15 vs school

Special Education (2025)6th percentile-17 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)2nd percentile-21 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Math III64%~ state avg

English II36%-24 vs state

Biology24%-24 vs state

Math I22%-12 vs state

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Schools Near Purnell Swett High

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOC Biology (2025)	EOC English II (2025)	EOC Math I (2025)	EOC Math III (2025)	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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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
Purnell Swett High	Public	9-12	11344 Deep Branch Road	Pembroke	28372	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 521-3253	1,583	87	18.2	99.5%	36 (2.3%)	147 (9.3%)	86 (5.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1,244 (78.6%)	2 (0.1%)	67 (4.2%)	25.2	493^rd of 641 public high schools	23.1%		30.5	447^th of 640 public high schools	30.2%	46	23.8	35.7	22.0	64.3	$10,198	$1,489	$8,709
Red Springs High	Public	9-12	509 N Vance Street	Red Springs	28377	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 843-4211	867	48	18.0	98.7%	42 (4.8%)	152 (17.5%)	321 (37.0%)	0 (0.0%)	318 (36.7%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (3.8%)	21.7	512^th of 641 public high schools	20.1%		17.9	530^th of 640 public high schools	17.2%	18	23.6	38.3	20.3	58.9	$11,416	$1,497	$9,918
PSRC Early College at RCC	Public	9-12	5160 Fayetteville Road	Lumberton	28360	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 737-5232	274	11	24.2	41.2%	69 (25.2%)	27 (9.9%)	56 (20.4%)	7 (2.6%)	97 (35.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.6%)	94.2	32^nd of 641 public high schools	95.0%		94.9	28^th of 640 public high schools	95.6%	4	95.9	93.2	84.2	97.2	$8,192	$839	$7,353
Scotland Early College High	Public	9-12	615 W. Covington Street	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 410-1945	238	11	21.2	98.7%	106 (44.5%)	56 (23.5%)	13 (5.5%)	11 (4.6%)	33 (13.9%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (8.0%)	93.2	49^th of 641 public high schools	92.4%		95.4	25^th of 640 public high schools	96.1%	24	96.7	87.1	81.0	100.0	$10,574	$1,020	$9,554
Scotland High School	Public	9-12	1000 West Church St	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 276-7370	1,294	84	15.4	99.8%	303 (23.4%)	659 (50.9%)	60 (4.6%)	5 (0.4%)	188 (14.5%)	1 (0.1%)	78 (6.0%)	18.3	532^nd of 641 public high schools	17.0%		12.9	568^th of 640 public high schools	11.3%	36	30.1	37.5	18.4	46.9	$11,796	$1,003	$10,793
Lumberton Senior High	Public	9-12	3901 Fayetteville Rd	Lumberton	28358	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 671-6050	1,894	116	16.3	98.8%	300 (15.8%)	597 (31.5%)	429 (22.7%)	22 (1.2%)	414 (21.9%)	3 (0.2%)	129 (6.8%)	34	419^th of 641 public high schools	34.6%		31.4	435^th of 640 public high schools	32.0%	16	23.6	41.5	29.8	76.8	$10,521	$1,493	$9,028
Shaw Academy	Public	6-12	18700 Old Wire Road	Laurinburg	28352	Scotland County	Scotland County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 276-0611	122	12	10.6	97.5%	15 (12.3%)	92 (75.4%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.5%)								(n/a)		15.4			$39,039	$1,552	$37,486
Fairmont High	Public	9-12	5419 Old Stage Road	Fairmont	28340	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 628-6727	780	58	13.4	99.6%	123 (15.8%)	317 (40.6%)	69 (8.8%)	1 (0.1%)	192 (24.6%)	3 (0.4%)	75 (9.6%)	20.8	518^th of 641 public high schools	19.2%		8.7	601^st of 640 public high schools	6.1%	83	14.7	36.6	25.9	58.7	$12,871	$1,995	$10,877
Saint Pauls High	Public	9-12	648 North Old Stage Rd	Saint Pauls	28384	Robeson County	Public Schools of Robeson County	No	No	No	Yes	(910) 865-4177	1,142	63	18.0	99.7%	148 (13.0%)	235 (20.6%)	529 (46.3%)	5 (0.4%)	172 (15.1%)	1 (0.1%)	52 (4.6%)	30.2	445^th of 641 public high schools	30.6%		26.4	473^rd of 640 public high schools	26.1%	28	36.4	40.7	30.5	59.7	$10,368	$1,515	$8,853
Hoke County High	Public	9-12	505 S Bethel Road	Raeford	28376	Hoke County	Hoke County Schools	No	No	No	No	(910) 875-2156	2,110	113	18.7	99.9%	343 (16.3%)	841 (39.9%)	572 (27.1%)	13 (0.6%)	143 (6.8%)	6 (0.3%)	192 (9.1%)	33.9	420^th of 641 public high schools	34.5%		33	421^st of 640 public high schools	34.2%	1	34.5	43.9	15.4	69.0	$10,531	$821	$9,710

Frequently Asked Questions about Purnell Swett High

What schools feed into Purnell Swett High?

Purnell Swett High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Deep Branch Elementary
Elementary : Pembroke Elementary
Elementary : Prospect Elementary
Middle : Pembroke Middle

Is Purnell Swett High a good school?

Purnell Swett High ranks in the bottom 23.1% of North Carolina high schools.

How many students attend Purnell Swett High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,583 students attended Purnell Swett High.

What is the racial makeup of Purnell Swett High?

Students at Purnell Swett High are 79% American Indian, 9% African American, 5% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% White.

What district is Purnell Swett High in?

Public Schools of Robeson County

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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.