Hobbton Middle

Hobbton Middle in Newton Grove, NC, is a public school serving 428 students in grades 6–8 within Sampson County Schools. Nearly all students (99.3%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, reflecting the high-poverty, rural region where the school sits. After a difficult 2023-24 school year in which the school ranked at the 19th percentile statewide, Hobbton has recovered to the 41st percentile and earned a 2-star rating. Hobbton ranks above nearby Dunn Middle, Brogden Middle, Mount Olive Middle, Sampson Middle, and Roseboro-Salemburg Middle in overall performance, though it trails Grantham Middle and Four Oaks Middle.

Hobbton's strongest results are in 6th grade. In 2025-26, 62.4% of 6th graders were proficient in math and 57.1% in reading — both above district and state averages and among the top neighboring schools. Eighth-grade science is another bright spot, with 68.1% proficient — nearly identical to the state average but well above Sampson Middle (51.4%) and Roseboro-Salemburg Middle (53.6%). Academic gains since 2023-24 have been broadly shared, with low-income, White, African American, and Hispanic students all rising from the low 20s or below to the 49th–56th percentile range.

The school's biggest challenge is a slide in math and reading as students move through middle school. While 6th graders outperform state averages, only 41.1% of 8th graders are proficient in math (12 points below the state) and 42.6% in reading (13.5 points below). Chronic absenteeism has improved dramatically, from 49.2% in 2021-22 to 28.6% in 2024-25, but it remains above the state's 24.2% rate — even as Hobbton posts better attendance than most nearby schools. Gifted students rank at only the 8th percentile, suggesting high-achieving learners may need additional challenge, and special education results have swung widely from year to year.