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Holly Grove Middle

Public Grades 6-8

46^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 778 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 94% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Holly Grove Middle in Holly Springs, NC, serves roughly 979 students in grades 6–8 and is part of Wake County Schools. Ranked 46th out of 778 North Carolina middle schools for 2025–2026, the school sits in the 94th percentile with a 5-star rating — an elite position by any measure.

Academically, Holly Grove is comfortably ahead of district and state averages on every End-of-Grade test. In 6th grade math, 90.3% of students scored proficient versus 59.2% across the state, and 6th grade reading proficiency reached 84.0% against a 54.8% state average. Just as notable is the school's consistency across different student populations: English learner students rank in the 96th percentile among North Carolina schools serving that group, and special education students rank in the 93rd percentile — a sign of strong instructional support for students who often need it most. Within a highly competitive southern Wake County cluster, only Apex Friendship Middle (18th) and Davis Drive Middle (23rd) rank higher, with Salem Middle (61st) following close behind.

There are also things parents may want to watch. Proficiency declines as students move through the grades: 8th grade math (77.7%) and reading (72.8%) are far less dominant than the school's 6th and 7th grade results and much closer to nearby school averages. Chronic absenteeism has risen to 15.9% in 2024–2025 from 12.0% two years earlier — still better than district and state rates, but above the roughly 10% posted by the top neighboring schools. And gifted students rank in the 63rd percentile statewide, a relative soft spot given the school's otherwise elite profile. Holly Grove remains an excellent school with a strong equity story; addressing those trends would put it squarely in reach of the very top tier.

979

Students ?

16.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

17.7%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1401 Avent Ferry Road
Holly Springs, NC 27540

(919) 567-4177

District: Wake County Schools

Students who attend Holly Grove Middle usually attend:

High:	Holly Springs 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

Feeder schools for Holly Grove Middle:

Elementary:	Ballentine Elementary
	Herbert Akins Rd Elementary
	Holly Grove Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.7%

Asian:

11.8%

Hispanic:

11.1%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Holly Grove Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 84th percentile in 2016 → 94th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (82% vs 58% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 6% of North Carolina middle schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 10 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school82%

District avg68%

North Carolina avg58%

46^th of 778

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Top 6%▲ up 10 pts since 2016

From top 16% (2016) to top 6% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

60^th 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	91.5	46 of 778	94.1%	★★★★★
2025	88.4	66 of 773	91.5%	★★★★★
2024	92.3	49 of 793	93.8%	★★★★★
2023	90.2	65 of 784	91.7%	★★★★★
2022	80.3	137 of 786	82.6%	★★★★☆
2021	78.5	148 of 741	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	83.5	95 of 737	87.1%	★★★★☆
2018	86.1	58 of 691	91.6%	★★★★★
2017	86.7	59 of 694	91.5%	★★★★★
2016	80.5	109 of 692	84.2%	★★★★☆
2015	79.8	120 of 705	83.0%	★★★★☆
2014	76.8	132 of 627	78.9%	★★★★☆
2013	84.2	83 of 673	87.7%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	87.0	51 of 553	90.8%	★★★★★
2025	80.2	64 of 546	88.3%	★★★★☆
2024	85.2	55 of 560	90.2%	★★★★★
2023	80.7	71 of 559	87.3%	★★★★☆
2022	63.0	136 of 550	75.3%	★★★★☆
2021	66.7	98 of 533	81.6%	★★★★☆
2019	81.1	53 of 519	89.8%	★★★★☆
2018	85.5	42 of 494	91.5%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	70.2	47 of 121	61.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	73.1	39 of 111	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	74.4	42 of 110	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.4	45 of 110	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.4	56 of 109	48.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.0	72 of 99	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	58.1	49 of 102	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	48.2	58 of 95	38.9%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	61.7	87 of 449	80.6%	★★★★☆
2021	63.9	88 of 478	81.6%	★★★★☆
2019	80.2	43 of 504	91.5%	★★★★★
2018	73.8	49 of 475	89.7%	★★★★☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	87.6	16 of 363	95.6%	★★★★★
2025	92.2	13 of 371	96.5%	★★★★★
2024	91.5	14 of 356	96.1%	★★★★★
2022	41.9	156 of 312	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	35.4	156 of 236	33.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	43.7	100 of 211	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	40.1	84 of 151	44.4%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	91.5	36 of 731	95.1%	★★★★★
2025	87.3	65 of 733	91.1%	★★★★★
2024	90.4	53 of 738	92.8%	★★★★★
2023	88.4	68 of 731	90.7%	★★★★★
2022	78.8	135 of 733	81.6%	★★★★☆
2021	80.2	113 of 706	84.0%	★★★★☆
2019	80.7	108 of 684	84.2%	★★★★☆
2018	84.9	73 of 656	88.9%	★★★★☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	63.3	171 of 465	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.3	167 of 458	63.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	74.3	39 of 461	91.5%	★★★★★
2023	72.8	56 of 452	87.6%	★★★★☆
2022	66.8	117 of 450	74.0%	★★★★☆
2021	70.1	115 of 448	74.3%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	93.0	25 of 566	95.6%	★★★★★
2025	76.9	78 of 562	86.1%	★★★★☆
2024	88.1	41 of 564	92.7%	★★★★★
2023	85.6	42 of 553	92.4%	★★★★★
2022	49.4	259 of 541	52.1%	★★★☆☆
2021	35.4	355 of 522	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	48.2	249 of 493	49.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	63.1	137 of 472	71.0%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	75.7	109 of 725	85.0%	★★★★☆
2025	70.6	146 of 729	80.0%	★★★★☆
2024	76.8	100 of 743	86.5%	★★★★☆
2023	68.4	167 of 735	77.3%	★★★★☆
2022	40.7	401 of 689	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.9	352 of 633	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	49.3	322 of 639	49.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	54.0	263 of 604	56.5%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	90.7	46 of 736	93.8%	★★★★★
2025	87.8	65 of 733	91.1%	★★★★★
2024	92.7	43 of 751	94.3%	★★★★★
2023	90.4	57 of 747	92.4%	★★★★★
2022	80.0	129 of 748	82.8%	★★★★☆
2021	74.9	161 of 711	77.4%	★★★★☆
2019	84.4	86 of 697	87.7%	★★★★☆
2018	87.3	58 of 665	91.3%	★★★★★

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	51.9	34 of 67	49.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	86.1	3 of 58	94.8%	★★★★★
2023	88.2	4 of 54	92.6%	★★★★★
2022	76.2	8 of 58	86.2%	★★★★☆
2021	67.2	15 of 57	73.7%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	72.1	73 of 333	78.1%	★★★★☆
2025	74.2	64 of 328	80.5%	★★★★☆
2024	77.3	49 of 306	84.0%	★★★★☆
2023	79.0	52 of 302	82.8%	★★★★☆
2022	73.1	45 of 283	84.1%	★★★★☆
2021	58.7	72 of 248	71.0%	★★★★☆
2019	82.1	23 of 237	90.3%	★★★★★
2018	84.3	23 of 221	89.6%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	78.6	34 of 500	93.2%	★★★★★
2025	83.5	23 of 478	95.2%	★★★★★
2024	79.6	33 of 473	93.0%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	83.1	92 of 644	85.7%	★★★★☆
2025	80.9	105 of 649	83.8%	★★★★☆
2024	87.3	68 of 652	89.6%	★★★★☆
2023	83.4	92 of 656	86.0%	★★★★☆
2022	78.9	125 of 658	81.0%	★★★★☆
2021	79.3	107 of 632	83.1%	★★★★☆
2019	82.5	89 of 624	85.7%	★★★★☆
2018	84.6	71 of 596	88.1%	★★★★☆

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)

English Language Learner (2026)96th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)96th percentile~ school

Female (2026)95th percentile~ school

Male (2026)94th percentile~ school

Special Education (2026)93rd percentile~ school

African American (2026)91st percentile-3 vs school

White (2026)86th percentile-8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)85th percentile-9 vs school

Disabled (2022)81st percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2026)78th percentile-16 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)63rd percentile-31 vs school

Asian (2026)61st percentile-33 vs school

Military Connected (2026)49th percentile-45 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Mathematics86%+30 vs state

Science83%+15 vs state

Reading79%+23 vs state

★

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Schools Near Holly Grove 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
Holly Grove Middle	Public	6-8	1401 Avent Ferry Road	Holly Springs	27540	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 567-4177	979	58	16.9	17.7%	594 (60.7%)	101 (10.3%)	109 (11.1%)	116 (11.8%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	55 (5.6%)	91.5	46^th of 778 public middle schools	94.1%		88.4	66^th of 773 public middle schools	91.5%	20	90.3	89.0	77.7	84.0	80.2	72.8	83.1	$8,219	$420	$7,799
Holly Ridge Middle	Public	6-8	950 Holly Springs Road	Holly Springs	27540	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 577-1335	955	54	17.5	26.0%	589 (61.7%)	143 (15.0%)	125 (13.1%)	46 (4.8%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	48 (5.0%)	81.3	118^th of 778 public middle schools	84.8%		84.8	97^th of 773 public middle schools	87.5%	21	69.7	71.6	78.6	65.3	70.2	70.7	81.8	$8,619	$411	$8,207
Herbert Akins Road Middle	Public	6-8	2275 Herbert Akins Road	Fuquay Varina	27526	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(919) 694-8300	1,253	77	16.2	33.5%	730 (58.3%)	136 (10.9%)	279 (22.3%)	56 (4.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (4.1%)	76.1	167^th of 778 public middle schools	78.5%		73.6	177^th of 773 public middle schools	77.1%	10	75.2	66.2	68.8	68.9	61.4	64.6	79.0
Fuquay-Varina Middle	Public	6-8	1201 Bowling Road	Fuquay Varina	27526	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 557-2727	1,004	57	17.6	28.3%	524 (52.2%)	164 (16.3%)	165 (16.4%)	95 (9.5%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	51 (5.1%)	76.2	166^th of 778 public middle schools	78.7%		74.3	170^th of 773 public middle schools	78.0%	4	72.3	65.4	66.0	67.4	61.9	67.0	82.6	$8,708	$369	$8,339
West Lake Middle	Public	6-8	4600 West Lake Rd	Apex	27539	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 662-2900	687	42	16.2	42.9%	327 (47.6%)	134 (19.5%)	184 (26.8%)	13 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (4.2%)	66.7	232^nd of 778 public middle schools	70.2%		65.1	250^th of 773 public middle schools	67.7%	18	66.2	56.0	62.8	64.3	61.1	60.0	76.8	$8,884	$574	$8,310
Apex Friendship Middle	Public	6-8	7701 Humie Olive Rd	Apex	27502	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 694-8960	1,412	73	19.3	7.9%	848 (60.1%)	77 (5.5%)	114 (8.1%)	302 (21.4%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	68 (4.8%)	96.9	18^th of 778 public middle schools	97.7%		97.1	18^th of 773 public middle schools	97.7%		94.5	92.8	89.7	86.2	88.4	84.9	95.1	$8,250	$361	$7,890
Lufkin Road Middle	Public	6-8	1002 Lufkin Road	Apex	27539	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 387-4465	1,035	62	16.8	33.5%	499 (48.2%)	117 (11.3%)	228 (22.0%)	159 (15.4%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	29 (2.8%)	73.6	187^th of 778 public middle schools	76.0%		70.2	200^th of 773 public middle schools	74.1%	13	65.8	66.1	62.4	66.8	70.4	65.5	75.1	$9,106	$406	$8,700
Apex Middle	Public	6-8	400 East Moore Street	Apex	27502	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 387-2181	867	54	15.9	24.8%	551 (63.6%)	72 (8.3%)	125 (14.4%)	76 (8.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	41 (4.7%)	78.1	147^th of 778 public middle schools	81.1%		85.7	85^th of 773 public middle schools	89.0%	62	75.2	64.7	77.9	64.8	63.7	67.2	81.6	$8,531	$520	$8,012
Salem Middle	Public	6-8	6150 Old Jenks Road	Apex	27523	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 363-1870	1,057	60	17.7	19.2%	545 (51.6%)	78 (7.4%)	159 (15.0%)	217 (20.5%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (5.0%)	89.2	61^st of 778 public middle schools	92.2%		91.2	50^th of 773 public middle schools	93.5%	11	82.4	78.7	83.2	69.0	78.3	77.9	83.9	$9,372	$511	$8,861
Davis Drive Middle	Public	6-8	2101 Davis Drive	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 387-3033	992	57	17.4	13.3%	372 (37.5%)	44 (4.4%)	113 (11.4%)	419 (42.2%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.7%)	36 (3.6%)	96	23^rd of 778 public middle schools	97.0%		97	19^th of 773 public middle schools	97.5%	4	92.9	91.4	88.7	84.1	84.7	83.8	92.8	$7,994	$391	$7,602

Frequently Asked Questions about Holly Grove Middle

How many students attend Holly Grove Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 979 students attended Holly Grove Middle.

What district is Holly Grove Middle in?

Wake County Schools

What high school do graduates of Holly Grove Middle attend?

Students who attend Holly Grove Middle usually go on to attend Holly Springs High

Is Holly Grove Middle a good school?

Yes. Holly Grove Middle ranks in the top 5.9% of North Carolina middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Holly Grove Middle?

Students at Holly Grove Middle are 61% White, 12% Asian, 11% Hispanic, 10% African American, 6% Two or more races.

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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.