SCORE Academy

SCORE Academy is a small high school in Cary, North Carolina, serving roughly 584 students in grades 9–12 within the Wake County Schools district, one of the strongest districts in the state. Yet SCORE Academy's own record tells a very different story: it ranked 650th out of 662 North Carolina high schools in 2025–2026, placing it in the bottom 2% statewide — and it has ranked near the very bottom for every year on record.

Families considering SCORE Academy will see academic proficiency numbers far below what nearby traditional high schools post. In 2025–2026, only 10% of students scored proficient in Biology and just 19.6% in English II. That compares with Biology proficiency of roughly 63–76% and English II proficiency of roughly 66–86% at nearby Cary High, Athens Drive High, and Apex High. The graduation rate is similarly concerning: 54.2% of SCORE Academy students graduate on time, about 37 points below the district average of 91.3%, and well short of Cary High's 88.8% or Apex High's 93.5%. Nearly all SCORE Academy students — roughly 99% — come from economically disadvantaged households, far higher than at neighboring schools.

That said, context matters. SCORE Academy's near-universal poverty, high per-pupil spending (about $16,937 per student — roughly double Cary High's), and co-location with Crossroads FLEX strongly suggest a specialized credit-recovery or alternative program rather than a typical neighborhood high school. Students likely arrive with significant academic gaps that simple test-score comparisons won't capture. Interestingly, chronic absenteeism is just 10.7% — roughly half the Wake County average and far below nearby Needham Broughton High — so students are coming to school. The deeper challenges appear to be academic preparation and credit recovery, with low performance spanning every measured subgroup. Wake STEM Early College High School, one of the state's strongest schools, sits just down the road, underscoring that SCORE Academy's outcomes reflect its specialized mission and high-need population rather than its geography.