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Carroll Middle

Public, Magnet Grades 6-8
441st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 778 North Carolina Middle Schools
Better than 43% of North Carolina middle schools
Summary

Carroll Middle is a public school in Raleigh, NC, serving grades 6–8 with about 898 students as part of Wake County Schools, a high-performing district rated in the 76th percentile statewide. The school itself, however, sits in the middle-low range for North Carolina: it ranks 441st out of 778 middle schools this year, placing it in the 43rd percentile with 2 stars. That is a modest improvement from 2024–2025, when it ranked 505th (35th percentile), but Carroll has remained in roughly the 34th–45th percentile band for the past decade.

The clearest academic red flag is math. Only 39.1% of Carroll's 8th graders score proficient in math, versus 64.4% across Wake County, with double-digit gaps in reading at nearly every grade level. Context matters: about 61% of Carroll's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and 24.8% are chronically absent. Nearby high performers look quite different. Leesville Road Middle — ranked 72nd in the state — has a poverty rate roughly half of Carroll's and 87.9% proficiency in 8th-grade math. Moore Square Middle, Martin Middle, and Carnage Middle are all top-120 schools serving student populations with about 29–35% poverty.

There are genuine strengths to note. Carroll's 8th-grade science proficiency reached 70% this year — above the state average of 68.6% — and English Learner students jumped from the 9th to the 53rd percentile over two school years, a remarkable gain. Still, low-income students rank in the 25th percentile and special education students fell from the 40th to 13th percentile, signaling real equity challenges. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.8 to 1 and per-pupil spending comparable to higher-performing peers, class size and funding are not the whole story. The recent uptick is encouraging, but sustained improvement across all student groups will be key for Carroll to close the gap with the strong schools around it.

898
Students ?
14.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
61.1%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 4520 Six Forks Rd
       Raleigh, NC  27609-5710

(919) 881-1370

District: Wake County Schools


Students who attend Carroll Middle usually attend:

High:    Sanderson High
    Wake Early College of Health and Science
    Wake STEM Early College High School
    Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy
    More...

Feeder schools for Carroll Middle:

Elementary:    Douglas Elementary
    Lead Mine Elementary
    Lynn Road Elementary
Racial breakdown:

White:
31.8%
African American:
30.8%
Hispanic:
30.5%
more
 See top rated North Carolina middle schools

 Compare Carroll Middle to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 45th percentile in 2016 → 43rd in 2026
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school53%
District avg68%
North Carolina avg58%
441st of 778
North Carolina public middle schools ?
Bottom 43%▼ down 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
60th of 246Wake County 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202644.1441 of 77843.3%★★☆☆☆
202536.1505 of 77334.7%★★☆☆☆
202439.0494 of 79337.7%★★☆☆☆
202337.0490 of 78437.5%★★☆☆☆
202235.1519 of 78634.0%★★☆☆☆
202135.1469 of 74136.7%★★☆☆☆
201944.7425 of 73742.3%★★☆☆☆
201845.5402 of 69141.8%★★☆☆☆
201737.0460 of 69433.7%★★☆☆☆
201646.2383 of 69244.7%★★☆☆☆
201534.7476 of 70532.5%★★☆☆☆
201431.4437 of 62730.3%★★☆☆☆
201326.1501 of 67325.6%★☆☆☆☆
201226.9541 of 66218.3%★☆☆☆☆
201129.0518 of 64820.1%★☆☆☆☆
201041.4439 of 64031.4%★★☆☆☆
200938.3447 of 63029.0%★☆☆☆☆
200850.4344 of 62044.5%★★☆☆☆
200754.2318 of 60647.5%★★☆☆☆
200653.2330 of 59844.8%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202633.3379 of 55331.5%★★☆☆☆
202527.3426 of 54622.0%★☆☆☆☆
202434.8369 of 56034.1%★★☆☆☆
202333.4391 of 55930.1%★★☆☆☆
202231.1395 of 55028.2%★☆☆☆☆
202128.9395 of 53325.9%★☆☆☆☆
201935.5359 of 51930.8%★★☆☆☆
201841.4305 of 49438.3%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202438.374 of 11032.7%★★☆☆☆
201928.987 of 10214.7%★☆☆☆☆
201814.088 of 957.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202235.3272 of 44939.4%★★☆☆☆
202149.5187 of 47860.9%★★★☆☆
201944.1258 of 50448.8%★★☆☆☆
201860.5106 of 47577.7%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202644.5170 of 36353.2%★★★☆☆
202530.4274 of 37126.1%★☆☆☆☆
202421.1323 of 3569.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202322.5294 of 3187.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202224.9276 of 31211.5%★☆☆☆☆
201929.2165 of 21121.8%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202642.8427 of 73141.6%★★☆☆☆
202531.7519 of 73329.2%★☆☆☆☆
202437.7464 of 73837.1%★★☆☆☆
202332.1502 of 73131.3%★★☆☆☆
202225.5574 of 73321.7%★☆☆☆☆
202134.0459 of 70635.0%★★☆☆☆
201938.3456 of 68433.3%★★☆☆☆
201839.2439 of 65633.1%★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202650.8311 of 46533.1%★★☆☆☆
202554.1275 of 45840.0%★★☆☆☆
202471.070 of 46184.8%★★★★☆
202347.6309 of 45231.6%★★☆☆☆
202258.7214 of 45052.4%★★★☆☆
202158.7214 of 44852.2%★★★☆☆
201956.7226 of 41645.7%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202628.3436 of 56623.0%★☆☆☆☆
202521.5483 of 56214.1%★☆☆☆☆
202416.3516 of 5648.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.2496 of 55310.3%★☆☆☆☆
202215.2505 of 5416.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.5454 of 52213.0%★☆☆☆☆
201925.4414 of 49316.0%★☆☆☆☆
201817.1431 of 4728.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202655.823 of 5961.0%★★★☆☆
202549.916 of 4463.6%★★★☆☆
202455.816 of 5068.0%★★★☆☆
202338.636 of 5028.0%★☆☆☆☆
202218.536 of 372.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201940.238 of 7146.5%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202629.1547 of 72524.6%★☆☆☆☆
202521.2625 of 72914.3%★☆☆☆☆
202421.1642 of 74313.6%★☆☆☆☆
202319.5646 of 73512.1%★☆☆☆☆
202219.2612 of 68911.2%★☆☆☆☆
202123.5513 of 63319.0%★☆☆☆☆
201927.5506 of 63920.8%★☆☆☆☆
201821.7515 of 60414.7%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202642.7429 of 73641.7%★★☆☆☆
202539.3446 of 73339.2%★★☆☆☆
202438.5470 of 75137.4%★★☆☆☆
202339.7450 of 74739.8%★★☆☆☆
202243.4420 of 74843.9%★★☆☆☆
202136.1445 of 71137.4%★★☆☆☆
201947.7381 of 69745.3%★★☆☆☆
201849.7361 of 66545.7%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202656.0138 of 33358.6%★★★☆☆
202545.3184 of 32843.9%★★☆☆☆
202456.7121 of 30660.5%★★★☆☆
202237.7183 of 28335.3%★★☆☆☆
201942.6136 of 23742.6%★★☆☆☆
201851.398 of 22155.7%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202625.6437 of 50012.6%★☆☆☆☆
202532.8332 of 47830.5%★★☆☆☆
202435.6282 of 47340.4%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankNorth Carolina percentileRating
202675.6138 of 64478.6%★★★★☆
202573.1157 of 64975.8%★★★★☆
202477.4137 of 65279.0%★★★★☆
202373.0163 of 65675.2%★★★★☆
202264.8214 of 65867.5%★★★☆☆
202163.4208 of 63267.1%★★★☆☆
201975.9130 of 62479.2%★★★★☆
201878.2100 of 59683.2%★★★★☆
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)79th percentile+35 vs school
Homeless (2026)61st percentile+18 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)59th percentile+15 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)53rd percentile+10 vs school
Male (2026)42nd percentile~ school
Female (2026)42nd percentile~ school
Disabled (2022)39th percentile+5 vs school
Gifted and Talented (2026)33rd percentile-10 vs school
Asian (2024)33rd percentile-5 vs school
African American (2026)31st percentile-12 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)25th percentile-19 vs school
Hispanic (2026)23rd percentile-20 vs school
Special Education (2026)13th percentile-31 vs school
By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?
Science70%~ state avg
Reading52%-4 vs state
Mathematics49%-8 vs state

1.3
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Open Quote Carroll has an uncoordinated faculty that is clearly at odds with each other. This lack of coordination is apparent in the varied approaches and mediums that the teachers use to communicate. In sum, there is no one system that the teachers are using to communicate. Additionally, the level of concern for the students by the teachers various from what could generously be described as "a little" to "absolutely none". Add the poor communication with the lack of caring and mix in the ambiguous grading system, and what you have is an absolute mess where most kids are getting left behind and/or poorly taught. This is an abysmal school that needs a fully house cleaning of leadership and staff. Close Quote


by a teacher
Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Open Quote As a former teacher, I can say the staff culture at Carroll Magnet Middle School is one that is extremely toxic and one in which is a relief to leave. The principal does not show her care for her teachers, with her other administrators carrying on the dog and pony show. There is a reason the Work Conditions rating is particularly low. Close Quote


by a parent
Thursday, April 4, 2019

Open Quote New grading system includes no grades. Close Quote


by a student
Thursday, March 14, 2019

Open Quote Carroll is not a good school and I advise anyone looking to immediately turn away. Most of the teachers care about what they do, they care about their students and they teach well. The problem is the admin and school rules, as they don't make sense and often turn their back on students, parents, and even their own teachers in order to look like a "model" school. The competency system could work but they somehow twisted it so bad that I have only met one teacher out of around 20 teachers that actually like it, not counted students as they are completely shafted daily by this incomplete and terrible system. The admin overlooks bullying to save face for the school and instead focuses on giving all of 7th grade a leadership EOG. I can't make this up. If you ever take a tour ask a student privately what they think of anything at the school and they will likely tell you exactly what I am saying right now. Students are basically expected to lie about how they feel to tours as parents are mislead into wasting 3 years of their child's important years going to this heap of absolute garbage called Carroll. Don't make the same mistake I did. Close Quote


by a citizen
Friday, March 4, 2016

Open Quote Carroll Middle has a long history of this type of violence, gang activity, and cover ups.

WCPSS failed to follow proper procedure and policies – and they need to own up to it and make it right.

Mrs. MacWilliams admits negligence on the schools behalf.
Thank goodness, the child only had a serious concussion and not a brain bleed – she could have died alone in the nurses office that day. Wow.

I completely understand you are all unable to provide me details on the open and shut investigation, as I am not a parent or guardian of the children involved. I am not asking for anything – I am telling you, Mrs. MacWilliams, WCPSS, WRAL, and the community that THIS IS NOT OKAY! The way the school system handled it is NOT okay. I am a voice of parents in Wake County and I will make sure any all citizens are made aware of what kind of school Carroll Middle is and how they treat their students. (This young lady could be traumatized for life.)

OUR STUDENTS LIVES AND FUTURES MATTER!

This is not okay. This is not over. This will be handled and changes needs to be made for our current and future students. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Carroll Middle

In the 2024-25 school year, 898 students attended Carroll Middle.

Carroll Middle ranks 441st of 778 North Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Carroll Middle are 32% White, 31% African American, 31% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

Students who attend Carroll Middle usually go on to attend Sanderson High

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »
2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesSep 2, 2026
2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresSep 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.

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