Saint Pauls Middle

Saint Pauls Middle serves 678 students in grades 5–8 in the small town of Saint Pauls, North Carolina, and operates within the Public Schools of Robeson County. The school currently ranks 746th out of 778 middle schools in North Carolina, placing it in the 4th percentile with a 0-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year. It has received 0 stars for six consecutive reporting periods, and its ranking has fallen steadily over the past several years. An overwhelming 99.56% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a deeply economically disadvantaged student body.

Academic proficiency is low across every subject. In math, proficiency rates range from just 11.7% in 8th grade to 28.9% in 6th grade, far below the state's range of roughly 53%–63%. Reading scores are somewhat closer to district averages but still well below the state, with 8th grade reading at 24.0% proficiency compared with 56.1% statewide. Science shows a similar pattern, with just 29.2% of 8th graders proficient versus 68.6% across North Carolina. Chronic absenteeism affects 31.8% of students, a serious concern, though notably lower than the district's 42.1% rate.

A comparison with nearby schools makes the situation clearer. Littlefield Middle, located roughly 12 miles away in the same district, serves a nearly identical population — 99.53% free/reduced lunch — and spends less per student, yet it ranks in the 48th percentile statewide with a 2-star rating. In 8th grade math, 50% of Littlefield students are proficient versus just 11.7% at Saint Pauls Middle. Douglas Byrd Middle and Hope Mills Middle, both high-poverty schools in Cumberland County Schools, also outperform Saint Pauls Middle substantially. These comparisons show that poverty alone does not explain the outcomes, and that the school's low performance stems from school-level factors that can potentially be improved.