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Southeast Middle

Public Grades 6-8

695^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 778 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 11% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Southeast Middle in Salisbury, NC, serves grades 6–8 and enrolls 628 students in the Rowan-Salisbury Schools district. The school serves a deeply impoverished community: 99.5% of students qualified for free/reduced lunch in 2024-25, and chronic absenteeism reached 35.2%, compared with the state average of 24.2%. In 2025-26, Southeast Middle ranked in the bottom 11% of North Carolina middle schools — an improvement from the 6th percentile in the prior year but still far below the state median. Proficiency is below state averages in nearly every tested subject and grade.

Nearby comparisons add important context. China Grove Middle and Erwin Middle have nearly identical poverty levels (99.5% and 98.4% free/reduced lunch) yet rank in the 32nd and 31st percentiles, with dramatically higher proficiency in 7th-grade math (51.3% vs. 25.6%) and 7th-grade reading (51.8% vs. 33.8%). Among neighboring Rowan-Salisbury middle schools, only North Rowan Middle ranks below Southeast. In the neighboring Cabarrus County Schools district, Mount Pleasant Middle ranks in the 61st percentile with far less poverty, while Concord Middle matches Southeast at 99.5% free/reduced lunch and reaches only the 16th percentile — evidence that concentrated poverty strongly shapes outcomes but does not fully determine them.

There is some encouraging news for parents: the latest year shows a real rebound, and 6th-grade math proficiency (41.1%) is slightly above the district average. However, scores are volatile from year to year — 8th-grade math jumped from 6.5% to 33.5% in a single year, likely reflecting differences between student cohorts. A major red flag is the special education subgroup, which fell from the 53rd percentile statewide to the 2nd percentile over two years and deserves close attention. Because some nearby schools achieve stronger results while serving comparable populations, Southeast Middle has a clear path forward through better attendance, targeted instruction, and stronger support for its most vulnerable students.

628

Students ?

18.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

99.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1570 Peeler Rd
Salisbury, NC 28146

(704) 638-5561

District: Rowan-Salisbury Schools

Students who attend Southeast Middle usually attend:

High:

Carson High

Feeder schools for Southeast Middle:

Elementary:	Knollwood Elementary
	Koontz Elementary

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

43.2%

White:

30.4%

African American:

18.8%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Southeast Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 25th percentile in 2016 → 11th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the North Carolina average (36% vs 58% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (11th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (35% vs 24% North Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school36%

District avg39%

North Carolina avg58%

695^th of 778

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 11%▼ down 14 pts since 2016

From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 11% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

199^th of 246Rowan-Salisbury 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	13.4	695 of 778	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	9.3	723 of 773	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	727 of 793	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	673 of 784	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	690 of 786	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	22.2	592 of 741	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	23.3	605 of 737	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.4	537 of 691	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	34.3	481 of 694	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2016	27.7	520 of 692	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	31.8	502 of 705	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	32.1	432 of 627	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2013	37.4	427 of 673	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2012	41.4	452 of 662	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	44.6	431 of 648	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2010	46.4	412 of 640	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2009	44.5	413 of 630	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2008	42.0	401 of 620	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2007	51.6	348 of 606	42.6%	★★☆☆☆
2006	53.0	332 of 598	44.5%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	17.0	501 of 553	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.1	511 of 546	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.1	483 of 560	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	33.8	384 of 559	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	28.9	422 of 550	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	36.4	333 of 533	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2019	24.1	446 of 519	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.1	376 of 494	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	15.5	439 of 449	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.8	422 of 478	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	52.9	182 of 504	63.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	64.5	83 of 475	82.5%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	13.9	359 of 363	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	284 of 312	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.9	190 of 211	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	128 of 151	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	12.7	671 of 731	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.2	709 of 733	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.4	694 of 738	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.4	666 of 731	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.6	646 of 733	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.1	577 of 706	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.4	607 of 684	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.0	549 of 656	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	17.7	446 of 465	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.6	456 of 458	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.3	450 of 461	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.5	434 of 452	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	33.6	394 of 450	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	59.9	209 of 448	53.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	43.5	325 of 416	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	40.4	103 of 127	18.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	13.1	540 of 566	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.5	544 of 562	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	541 of 564	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.8	537 of 553	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.3	527 of 541	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.3	513 of 522	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	10.8	483 of 493	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	452 of 472	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	14.7	677 of 725	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.7	698 of 729	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	701 of 743	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.5	645 of 735	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	599 of 689	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	26.1	491 of 633	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.8	530 of 639	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.7	468 of 604	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	12.8	669 of 736	9.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	10.7	685 of 733	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.0	699 of 751	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	631 of 747	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	664 of 748	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.0	551 of 711	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	549 of 697	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.8	516 of 665	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	14.1	309 of 333	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.1	297 of 328	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.7	304 of 306	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	14.2	287 of 302	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.0	282 of 283	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.0	230 of 248	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	208 of 237	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	16.1	490 of 500	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	24.6	422 of 478	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	43.3	222 of 473	53.1%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	15.7	583 of 644	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.3	616 of 649	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.2	624 of 652	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.0	621 of 656	5.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.4	625 of 658	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.5	551 of 632	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.3	574 of 624	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	550 of 596	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

White (2026)9th percentile~ school

African American (2026)9th percentile~ school

Male (2026)9th percentile~ school

Female (2026)8th percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)7th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)7th percentile-4 vs school

Hispanic (2026)5th percentile-6 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)4th percentile-7 vs school

Disabled (2022)2nd percentile-10 vs school

Special Education (2026)2nd percentile-9 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)1st percentile-10 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science44%-25 vs state

Reading35%-21 vs state

Mathematics33%-23 vs state

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Schools Near Southeast Middle

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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)				EOG Mathematics (2026)			EOG Reading (2026)			EOG Science (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/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	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 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Southeast Middle	Public	6-8	1570 Peeler Rd	Salisbury	28146	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 638-5561	628	35	18.2	99.5%	191 (30.4%)	118 (18.8%)	271 (43.2%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (7.0%)	13.4	695^th of 778 public middle schools	10.7%		9.3	723^rd of 773 public middle schools	6.5%	28	41.1	25.6	33.5	31.9	33.8	38.1	43.8	$8,744	$966	$7,779
China Grove Middle	Public	6-8	1013 North Main St	China Grove	28023	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 857-7038	572	30	19.0	99.5%	410 (71.7%)	17 (3.0%)	111 (19.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (5.6%)	33	528^th of 778 public middle schools	32.1%		36.2	502^nd of 773 public middle schools	35.1%	26	51.4	51.3	30.6	49.2	51.3	42.6	56.9	$9,348	$833	$8,516
Erwin Middle	Public	6-8	170 St Luke's Church Rd	Salisbury	28146	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 279-7265	763	45	17.0	98.4%	517 (67.8%)	104 (13.6%)	93 (12.2%)	6 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (5.4%)	32.6	533^rd of 778 public middle schools	31.5%		21.1	625^th of 773 public middle schools	19.1%	92	47.5	45.9	36.0	45.1	51.8	49.8	57.7	$8,912	$644	$8,268
Corriher Lipe Middle	Public	6-8	214 West Rice St	Landis	28088	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 857-7946	457	26	17.9	99.3%	246 (53.8%)	50 (10.9%)	119 (26.0%)	4 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (7.9%)	22.7	629^th of 778 public middle schools	19.2%		22.6	613^th of 773 public middle schools	20.7%	16	44.8	40.0	45.7	45.9	40.6	31.4	43.8	$9,905	$690	$9,216
North Rowan Middle	Public	6-8	512 Charles St	Spencer	28159	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 639-3018	649	43	15.2	99.5%	101 (15.6%)	283 (43.6%)	201 (31.0%)	8 (1.2%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (8.2%)	5.5	747^th of 778 public middle schools	4.0%		7.1	733^rd of 773 public middle schools	5.2%	14	18.8	20.9	19.2	22.3	32.5	30.7	40.4	$11,802	$1,547	$10,255
West Rowan Middle	Public	6-8	5925 Statesville Blvd	Salisbury	28147	Rowan County	Rowan-Salisbury Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 633-4775	707	39	18.2	98.9%	335 (47.4%)	157 (22.2%)	144 (20.4%)	6 (0.8%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (8.8%)	21.3	644^th of 778 public middle schools	17.2%		18.2	656^th of 773 public middle schools	15.1%	12	35.8	29.2	39.8	35.7	36.3	47.6	62.4	$9,051	$678	$8,373
Kannapolis Middle School 6	Public	6	1445 Oakwood Ave.	Kannapolis	28081	Cabarrus County	Kannapolis City Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(704) 932-4102	358	18	20.0	99.2%	78 (21.8%)	107 (29.9%)	139 (38.8%)	3 (0.8%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (7.8%)								(n/a)	35.2			30.4
Kannapolis Middle School 7/8	Public	7-8	1000 Virginia Dare Street	Kannapolis	28081	Cabarrus County	Kannapolis City Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 932-4102	782	47	16.5	99.6%	211 (27.0%)	189 (24.2%)	322 (41.2%)	10 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	50 (6.4%)	8.2	733^rd of 778 public middle schools	5.8%		13.8	694^th of 773 public middle schools	10.2%	39		30.6	25.5		29.1	28.5	40.5	$9,092	$930	$8,162
Concord Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1500 Gold Rush Drive	Concord	28025	Cabarrus County	Cabarrus County Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(704) 260-6430	583	36	16.2	99.5%	108 (18.5%)	218 (37.4%)	219 (37.6%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (6.0%)	19.3	657^th of 778 public middle schools	15.6%		7.5	732^nd of 773 public middle schools	5.3%	75	42.9	31.3	35.4	34.4	41.6	35.8	59.1	$9,893	$515	$9,378
Mount Pleasant Middle	Public	6-8	466 Walker Road	Mount Pleasant	28124	Cabarrus County	Cabarrus County Schools	No	No	No	No	(704) 260-6530	660	39	16.9	47.9%	461 (69.8%)	49 (7.4%)	116 (17.6%)	12 (1.8%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.6%)	59.6	305^th of 778 public middle schools	60.8%		67	231^st of 773 public middle schools	70.1%	74	61.7	60.0	47.2	58.2	57.1	60.6	77.8	$8,999	$443	$8,556

Frequently Asked Questions about Southeast Middle

What is the racial makeup of Southeast Middle?

Students at Southeast Middle are 43% Hispanic, 30% White, 19% African American, 7% Two or more races.

What district is Southeast Middle in?

Rowan-Salisbury Schools

What high school do graduates of Southeast Middle attend?

Students who attend Southeast Middle usually go on to attend Carson High

How many students attend Southeast Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 628 students attended Southeast Middle.

Is Southeast Middle a good school?

Southeast Middle ranks in the bottom 10.7% of North Carolina middle schools.

Rate Southeast Middle!

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresNewSep 2, 2026

2016–17 through 2024–25 graduation ratesSep 3, 2025

2024–25 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 3, 2025

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.