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Combs Elementary

Q: Is Combs Elementary a good school?

Combs Elementary ranks 248 th of 1490 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5

248^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,490 North Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 83% of North Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Combs Elementary is a public magnet elementary school located in Raleigh, North Carolina, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 635 students. The school is part of the Wake County Schools district, which is ranked 60th out of 242 districts in North Carolina and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Combs Elementary has consistently performed well, ranking in the top 20% of North Carolina elementary schools over the past 10 years. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school ranked 248th out of 1,490 North Carolina elementary schools and received a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school consistently outperforms the state and district averages in mathematics, reading, and science proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, Combs Elementary's 5th-grade students achieved 83.3% proficiency in mathematics, compared to 59.3% for the state and 67.7% for the Wake County district.

While Combs Elementary performs exceptionally well for its White and Gifted and Talented student subgroups, the school's performance for its African American and Hispanic student subgroups is more mixed, ranging from the top 15% to the bottom 50% of North Carolina elementary schools. The school also has a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 12.3 to 13.2 students per teacher over the past three school years, which is lower than the nearby schools like Lacy Elementary and Partnership Elementary.

695

Students ?

13.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,127

Per pupil spending ?

41.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2001 Lorimer Rd
Raleigh, NC 27606-2661

(919) 233-4300

District: Wake County Schools

Students who attend Combs Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Centennial Campus Middle
High:	Athens Drive High
	Wake Early College of Health and Science
	Wake STEM Early College High School
	Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy
	More...
	Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy

Racial breakdown:

White:

43.7%

African American:

22.6%

Hispanic:

16.8%

See top rated North Carolina elementary schools

Compare Combs Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 84th percentile in 2015 → 83rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (71% vs 57% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 17% of North Carolina elementary schools

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school71%

District avg66%

North Carolina avg57%

248^th of 1,490

North Carolina public elementary schools ?

Top 17%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

38^th of 115Elementary Schools in the Wake County Schools

60^th of 242Wake 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	79.8	248 of 1490	83.4%	★★★★☆
2024	76.7	299 of 1505	80.1%	★★★★☆
2023	74.8	329 of 1502	78.1%	★★★★☆
2022	79.9	247 of 1514	83.7%	★★★★☆
2021	79.8	240 of 1489	83.9%	★★★★☆
2019	75.6	296 of 1473	79.9%	★★★★☆
2018	78.1	255 of 1434	82.2%	★★★★☆
2017	77.9	260 of 1429	81.8%	★★★★☆
2016	81.4	200 of 1425	86.0%	★★★★☆
2015	80.3	233 of 1440	83.8%	★★★★☆
2014	76.9	287 of 1390	79.4%	★★★★☆
2013	80.7	218 of 1403	84.5%	★★★★☆
2012	65.1	509 of 1388	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2011	67.6	459 of 1381	66.8%	★★★☆☆
2010	70.9	381 of 1363	72.0%	★★★★☆
2009	66.8	466 of 1354	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2008	65.2	444 of 1324	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2007	72.7	297 of 1293	77.0%	★★★★☆
2006	83.7	123 of 1276	90.4%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	75.3	148 of 918	83.9%	★★★★☆
2024	55.6	356 of 924	61.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	42.5	526 of 933	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	53.9	352 of 927	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	56.1	280 of 896	68.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	57.5	340 of 949	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2018	49.1	456 of 927	50.8%	★★★☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.8	94 of 131	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.0	96 of 130	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.2	80 of 106	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	46.9	67 of 99	32.3%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	63.2	211 of 878	76.0%	★★★★☆
2018	37.9	563 of 897	37.2%	★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.9	273 of 563	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	49.5	222 of 533	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	66.5	97 of 514	81.1%	★★★★☆
2022	62.6	105 of 485	78.4%	★★★★☆
2019	71.8	76 of 497	84.7%	★★★★☆
2018	74.5	54 of 421	87.2%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	78.6	235 of 1451	83.8%	★★★★☆
2024	76.8	259 of 1455	82.2%	★★★★☆
2023	63.2	498 of 1459	65.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	78.3	252 of 1458	82.7%	★★★★☆
2021	78.7	246 of 1440	82.9%	★★★★☆
2019	77.1	260 of 1424	81.7%	★★★★☆
2018	74.8	307 of 1405	78.1%	★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	60.9	310 of 710	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	71.2	19 of 669	97.2%	★★★★★
2023	61.9	241 of 582	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	68.8	111 of 500	77.8%	★★★★☆
2021	61.1	226 of 494	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	64.3	234 of 612	61.8%	★★★☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	44.1	549 of 961	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	49.4	458 of 951	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.9	303 of 915	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	73.3	164 of 893	81.6%	★★★★☆
2021	52.2	345 of 843	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	58.7	313 of 865	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2018	66.1	221 of 851	74.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	42.2	859 of 1437	40.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.4	1072 of 1450	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	34.0	1003 of 1437	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	51.6	621 of 1366	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.1	583 of 1329	56.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.4	480 of 1361	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2018	57.6	542 of 1332	59.3%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	78.0	260 of 1450	82.1%	★★★★☆
2024	73.0	336 of 1464	77.0%	★★★★☆
2023	80.7	215 of 1461	85.3%	★★★★☆
2022	78.0	262 of 1464	82.1%	★★★★☆
2021	77.3	275 of 1444	81.0%	★★★★☆
2019	72.3	336 of 1430	76.5%	★★★★☆
2018	79.2	225 of 1413	84.1%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2018	90.3	4 of 86	95.3%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	52.1	308 of 821	62.5%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	86.1	110 of 1172	90.6%	★★★★★
2024	87.1	93 of 1166	92.0%	★★★★★
2023	84.2	130 of 1183	89.0%	★★★★☆
2022	84.2	130 of 1194	89.1%	★★★★☆
2021	83.5	146 of 1172	87.5%	★★★★☆
2019	82.7	149 of 1183	87.4%	★★★★☆
2018	87.5	84 of 1178	92.9%	★★★★★

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)

Multi-racial (2018)95th percentile+13 vs school

White (2025)91st percentile+7 vs school

African American (2025)84th percentile~ school

Female (2025)84th percentile~ school

Male (2025)82nd percentile~ school

Disabled (2019)76th percentile-4 vs school

Special Education (2025)62nd percentile-21 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)56th percentile-27 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)52nd percentile-32 vs school

Hispanic (2025)43rd percentile-40 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)40th percentile-43 vs school

Asian (2025)28th percentile-55 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science75%+13 vs state

Mathematics75%+14 vs state

Reading66%+13 vs state

3.0

3 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★1

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Sunday, January 2, 2011

Combs is a nice school overall, but is not without its issues. Some inexperienced, insecure teachers can create misunderstandings with parents. The administration will back the teachers up no matter what, and are unwilling to acknowledge fault or shortcomings on their part. The praise this school has received seems to have gone to their heads a bit.

Be sure to document everything, especially if you have a child with special needs. Also, ask if your child's teacher has experience teaching children with your child's special need to try to avoid problems later. This school has some very good teachers, but some could improve with better training on dealing with certain types of students and in dealing sensitively with parents. The administration could definitely learn to deal more sensitively with parents and learn to acknowledge their school is not perfect----there is always room for improvement! Close Quote

by a parent
Sunday, December 27, 2009

They have no Autism program at this school! Kids who live in the Combs district with Autism are shipped off to a a crumbling run down facility that is 1 hour each way by transportation. Parents of autistic kids are stuck paying higher property taxes to pay for a school their child is not even allowed to attend. A better facility for Autism education is closer but due to Combs being the child's base school they are not allowed to attend the closer school. If you have an Autistic child of Elementary school age do not even think about purchasing a home in the Combs district. Close Quote

Schools Near Combs Elementary

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOG Mathematics (2025)						EOG Reading (2025)						EOG Science (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	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Combs Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	2001 Lorimer Rd	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 233-4300	695	51	13.5	41.7%	304 (43.7%)	157 (22.6%)	117 (16.8%)	86 (12.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.2%)	79.8	248^th of 1490 public elementary schools	83.4%		76.7	299^th of 1505 public elementary schools	80.1%	51	67.0	74.7	83.3				57.1	68.7	72.2				75.0		$9,127	$525	$8,602
Mount Vernon	Public	K-8	5418 Chapel Hill Rd	Raleigh	27607	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 233-4313	70	26	2.6	95.7%	16 (22.9%)	32 (45.7%)	15 (21.4%)	2 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (7.1%)								(n/a)						14.0						27.9		25.6	$39,441	$8,764	$30,677
Dillard Drive Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5018 Dillard Drive	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 233-4200	648	54	12.0	56.5%	230 (35.5%)	183 (28.2%)	160 (24.7%)	45 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (4.5%)	32.4	1049^th of 1490 public elementary schools	29.6%		26.4	1176^th of 1505 public elementary schools	21.9%	127	52.3	47.1	44.8				45.9	51.4	39.7				51.7		$10,061	$1,014	$9,047
Olds Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	204 Dixie Trail	Raleigh	27607	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 856-7699	244	20	12.0	32.4%	160 (65.6%)	42 (17.2%)	20 (8.2%)	17 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.0%)	74.5	326^th of 1490 public elementary schools	78.1%		77.1	294^th of 1505 public elementary schools	80.5%	32	80.0	69.6	67.4				62.5	67.4	62.8				62.8		$11,339	$870	$10,469
Swift Creek Elementary	Public	K-5	5601 Tryon Rd	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 233-4320	310	25	12.5	44.2%	150 (48.4%)	53 (17.1%)	73 (23.5%)	14 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.5%)	73	346^th of 1490 public elementary schools	76.8%		72.2	367^th of 1505 public elementary schools	75.6%	21	71.4	66.7	60.7				64.3	64.6	64.3				73.2		$9,861	$588	$9,272
Wiley Elementary	Public, Magnet	PK, KG-5	301 St. Mary's Street	Raleigh	27605	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 856-7723	429	35	12.2	38.9%	202 (47.1%)	97 (22.6%)	91 (21.2%)	12 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.1%)	61.4	540^th of 1490 public elementary schools	63.8%		65.9	475^th of 1505 public elementary schools	68.4%	65	63.2	62.7	54.8				60.3	65.7	54.8				62.9		$11,295	$640	$10,655
Yates Mill Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5993 Yates Mill Pond Road	Raleigh	27606	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 233-4244	538	39	13.6	99.4%	184 (34.2%)	76 (14.1%)	233 (43.3%)	23 (4.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.9%)	52.9	691^st of 1490 public elementary schools	53.6%		52.6	707^th of 1505 public elementary schools	53.0%	16	56.2	62.8	67.1				44.9	53.8	52.4				63.4		$10,080	$966	$9,114
Lacy Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2001 Lake Boone Trail	Raleigh	27607	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 881-4920	695	48	14.5	23.7%	506 (72.8%)	94 (13.5%)	67 (9.6%)	17 (2.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.4%)	85.7	162^nd of 1490 public elementary schools	89.1%		83.7	191^st of 1505 public elementary schools	87.3%	29	78.9	69.7	76.7				69.9	69.7	74.2				81.7		$9,968	$302	$9,666
The Exploris School	Public, Charter	K-8	401 Hillsborough St.	Raleigh	27603	Wake County	The Exploris School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(919) 715-3690	448	38	11.7		283 (63.2%)	77 (17.2%)	34 (7.6%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	47 (10.5%)	62.7	516^th of 1490 public elementary schools	65.4%		38.3	964^th of 1505 public elementary schools	35.9%	448	47.2	41.7	63.2	60.0	60.8	67.6	66.7	66.7	57.9	67.1	74.3	73.7	71.1	75.7
Partnership Elementary	Public, Magnet	K-5	601 Devereux Street	Raleigh	27605	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 856-8200	276	27	10.2	38.8%	125 (45.3%)	63 (22.8%)	72 (26.1%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	11 (4.0%)	79.3	255^th of 1490 public elementary schools	82.9%		83	205^th of 1505 public elementary schools	86.4%	50	61.8	69.6	79.5				61.8	73.2	68.2				88.6		$12,073	$582	$11,491

Frequently Asked Questions about Combs Elementary

Is Combs Elementary a good school?

Combs Elementary ranks 248^th of 1490 North Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What district is Combs Elementary in?

Wake County Schools

What schools do graduates of Combs Elementary attend?

Students who attend Combs Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Centennial Campus Middle
High : Athens Drive High
High : Wake Early College of Health and Science
High : Wake STEM Early College High School
High : Wake Young Men's Leadership Academy
High : Wake Young Women's Leadership Academy

How many students attend Combs Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 695 students attended Combs Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Combs Elementary?

Students at Combs Elementary are 44% White, 23% African American, 17% Hispanic, 12% Asian, 4% Two or more races.

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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.