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Alston Ridge Middle

Public Grades 6-8

44^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 773 North Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 94% of North Carolina middle schools

Summary

Alston Ridge Middle is a public middle school located in Cary, North Carolina, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 1,532 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.

Alston Ridge Middle consistently ranks among the top middle schools in North Carolina, ranking 30th out of 784 schools in 2022-2023 and 35th out of 741 schools in 2020-2021. The school's performance on state assessments is exceptional, with students consistently scoring well above the state and district averages in mathematics, reading, and science. Alston Ridge Middle also excels in supporting the academic achievement of various student subgroups, ranking highly for female students, male students, Asian students, African American students, and English Language Learners.

While Alston Ridge Middle serves a relatively affluent student population, with free and reduced lunch rates ranging from 8.89% to 20.17%, the school still performs well for subgroups such as African American and Hispanic students. This highlights the school's ability to provide a quality education for students from diverse backgrounds. Interestingly, Reedy Creek Middle and West Cary Middle, which are located in close proximity to Alston Ridge Middle, have significantly lower mathematics proficiency rates, highlighting the academic gap between the schools.

1,494

Students ?

19.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

21.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

7833 Fussell Avenue
Cary, NC 27519

(919) 694-8044

District: Wake County Schools

Racial breakdown:

Asian:

49.3%

White:

22.4%

Hispanic:

11.7%

See top rated North Carolina middle schools

Compare Alston Ridge Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 95th percentile in 2021 → 94th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the North Carolina average (80% vs 54% meeting standards)

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

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school80%

District avg64%

North Carolina avg54%

44^th of 773

North Carolina public middle schools ?

Top 6%▼ down 1 pts since 2021

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

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	92.6	44 of 773	94.3%	★★★★★
2024	94.2	36 of 793	95.5%	★★★★★
2023	94.4	30 of 784	96.2%	★★★★★
2022	94.3	36 of 786	95.4%	★★★★★
2021	94.7	35 of 741	95.3%	★★★★★

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	78.7	75 of 546	86.3%	★★★★☆
2024	90.1	38 of 560	93.2%	★★★★★
2023	93.1	29 of 559	94.8%	★★★★★
2022	91.8	33 of 550	94.0%	★★★★★
2021	91.2	28 of 533	94.7%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	76.8	28 of 111	74.8%	★★★★☆
2024	80.3	26 of 110	76.4%	★★★★☆
2023	80.0	29 of 110	73.6%	★★★★☆
2022	78.8	30 of 109	72.5%	★★★★☆
2021	78.9	27 of 99	72.7%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	96.9	6 of 449	98.7%	★★★★★
2021	90.4	11 of 478	97.7%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	95.9	8 of 371	97.8%	★★★★★
2024	94.1	9 of 356	97.5%	★★★★★
2023	91.3	13 of 318	95.9%	★★★★★
2022	98.7	4 of 312	98.7%	★★★★★
2021	94.4	5 of 236	97.9%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	91.9	41 of 733	94.4%	★★★★★
2024	93.7	33 of 738	95.5%	★★★★★
2023	93.3	36 of 731	95.1%	★★★★★
2022	93.6	36 of 733	95.1%	★★★★★
2021	93.0	39 of 706	94.5%	★★★★★

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	70.4	87 of 458	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	78.2	6 of 461	98.7%	★★★★★
2023	76.2	29 of 452	93.6%	★★★★★
2022	74.2	41 of 450	90.9%	★★★★★
2021	79.6	18 of 448	96.0%	★★★★★

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	61.1	173 of 562	69.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.2	149 of 564	73.6%	★★★★☆
2023	67.8	130 of 553	76.5%	★★★★☆
2022	69.8	107 of 541	80.2%	★★★★☆
2021	65.4	119 of 522	77.2%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	78.7	92 of 729	87.4%	★★★★☆
2024	82.0	73 of 743	90.2%	★★★★★
2023	81.5	78 of 735	89.4%	★★★★☆
2022	70.8	123 of 689	82.1%	★★★★☆
2021	74.1	101 of 633	84.0%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	92.0	47 of 733	93.6%	★★★★★
2024	93.8	36 of 751	95.2%	★★★★★
2023	94.6	26 of 747	96.5%	★★★★★
2022	94.2	35 of 748	95.3%	★★★★★
2021	95.2	30 of 711	95.8%	★★★★★

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	82.1	43 of 328	86.9%	★★★★☆
2024	84.2	29 of 306	90.5%	★★★★★
2023	87.3	24 of 302	92.1%	★★★★★
2022	96.5	8 of 283	97.2%	★★★★★
2021	96.8	5 of 248	98.0%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	77.3	35 of 478	92.7%	★★★★★
2024	86.9	18 of 473	96.2%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	88.2	59 of 649	90.9%	★★★★★
2024	87.6	67 of 652	89.7%	★★★★☆
2023	86.2	69 of 656	89.5%	★★★★☆
2022	85.2	81 of 658	87.7%	★★★★☆
2021	87.2	70 of 632	88.9%	★★★★☆

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)

Disabled (2022)99th percentile+3 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)98th percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)94th percentile~ school

Male (2025)94th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)93rd percentile~ school

White (2025)91st percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)87th percentile-7 vs school

Multi-racial (2025)87th percentile-7 vs school

African American (2025)86th percentile-8 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)81st percentile-13 vs school

Asian (2025)75th percentile-20 vs school

Hispanic (2025)69th percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science82%+22 vs state

Mathematics81%+28 vs state

Reading77%+24 vs state

2.0

8 ratings · 7 written reviews

5★2

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★6

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, May 16, 2022

We have had problems with this school from the first semester my child was there. The amount of bullying, disrespect and aggressive behavior that goes on is unacceptable. The school principals and staff tries but they are not able to control these kids. My child has received threats, and have been cyber bullied, she got punched by a boy and all they did was call him and tell him to stay away from her. I have no idea what else needs to happen for someone to take action,I mean , we had to do a police report about that first incident, for God's sake! That's how bad it was. The worse experience I've ever had with public school , period. Would not recommend at all. Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, May 20, 2021

This school teaches LGBTQ abomination things and is not good if you are a muslim or a christian person Close Quote

by a parent
Tuesday, May 11, 2021

Don’t go here if you are super liberal. Focus way to much on race. And teaching white people are the enemy. Close Quote

by a citizen
Sunday, March 21, 2021

Great school. Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, July 31, 2020

BAD BAD BAD BAD. THEY FEED MY CHILDREN LITERAL GARBAGE FOOD. NO RECESS OR SOCIAL TIME AT ALL??? BAD!!! Close Quote

by a student
Monday, May 18, 2020

This school trash. MEAN STAFF Close Quote

by a student
Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Nah, don't go here. Go to a better school. Close Quote

Schools Near Alston Ridge Middle

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 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
Alston Ridge Middle	Public	6-8	7833 Fussell Avenue	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 694-8044	1,494	79	19.0	21.3%	334 (22.4%)	171 (11.4%)	175 (11.7%)	736 (49.3%)	4 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	73 (4.9%)	92.6	44^th of 773 public middle schools	94.3%		94.2	36^th of 793 public middle schools	95.5%	8	85.3	81.4	78.1	73.7	78.7	77.7	82.0
Mills Park Middle	Public	6-8	441 Mills Park Drive	Cary	27519	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 466-1500	1,632	87	18.7	7.6%	479 (29.4%)	87 (5.3%)	112 (6.9%)	892 (54.7%)	3 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	56 (3.4%)	98.7	5^th of 773 public middle schools	99.4%		99	2^nd of 793 public middle schools	99.7%	3	96.2		95.3	91.8	91.4	92.0	95.6	$7,648	$376	$7,272
Lowe's Grove Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	4418 S Alston Avenue	Durham	27713	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 560-3946	564	29	19.7	99.5%	40 (7.1%)	269 (47.7%)	203 (36.0%)	12 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.1%)	6.7	737^th of 773 public middle schools	4.7%		9.1	743^rd of 793 public middle schools	6.3%	6	31.9	18.2	20.1	30.7	25.6	22.0	20.0	$11,779	$1,431	$10,349
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%)	97	19^th of 773 public middle schools	97.5%		96.6	21^st of 793 public middle schools	97.4%	2	91.9	93.9	88.1	84.2	85.4	83.7	88.5	$7,994	$391	$7,602
West Cary Middle	Public	6-8	1000 Evans Road	Cary	27513	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	No	No	No	(919) 460-3528	824	48	17.1	30.0%	258 (31.3%)	130 (15.8%)	142 (17.2%)	265 (32.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	26 (3.2%)	86.4	82^nd of 773 public middle schools	89.4%		89.2	69^th of 793 public middle schools	91.3%	13	73.1	72.9	80.1	66.8	69.6	71.0	79.1	$7,509	$324	$7,185
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%)	91.2	50^th of 773 public middle schools	93.5%		91.2	55^th of 793 public middle schools	93.1%	5	86.2	77.0	79.3	75.8	71.5	74.7	81.7	$9,372	$511	$8,861
Sherwood Githens Middle	Public	6-8	4800 Chapel Hill Road	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(919) 560-3966	878	51	17.1	99.7%	235 (26.8%)	238 (27.1%)	305 (34.7%)	37 (4.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (7.1%)	42.4	456^th of 773 public middle schools	41.0%		42.8	463^rd of 793 public middle schools	41.6%	7	50.7	52.1	43.3	49.5	49.0	49.4	48.5	$10,235	$1,013	$9,222
James E Shepard Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	2401 Dakota Street	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	Yes	(919) 560-3938	423	29	14.5	98.6%	10 (2.4%)	263 (62.2%)	129 (30.5%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.8%)	48.3	401^st of 773 public middle schools	48.1%		47.7	416^th of 793 public middle schools	47.5%	15	41.9	53.2	65.0	43.1	51.1	50.0	60.0	$11,998	$1,606	$10,392
Reedy Creek Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	930 Reedy Creek Road	Cary	27513	Wake County	Wake County Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 460-3504	805	54	14.9	37.1%	326 (40.5%)	159 (19.8%)	166 (20.6%)	126 (15.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	27 (3.4%)	69.5	211^th of 773 public middle schools	72.7%		76.7	155^th of 793 public middle schools	80.5%	56	68.1	57.9	57.8	65.4	56.2	61.5	67.6	$9,572	$485	$9,087
Rogers-Herr Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	911 Cornwallis Road	Durham	27707	Durham County	Durham Public Schools	No	Yes	No	No	(919) 560-3970	660	40	16.6	99.5%	195 (29.5%)	250 (37.9%)	155 (23.5%)	17 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (6.2%)	83.8	104^th of 773 public middle schools	86.5%		79.7	134^th of 793 public middle schools	83.1%	30	68.6	77.7	63.9	70.5	71.0	73.4	72.4	$11,594	$781	$10,812

Frequently Asked Questions about Alston Ridge Middle

What is the racial makeup of Alston Ridge Middle?

Students at Alston Ridge Middle are 49% Asian, 22% White, 12% Hispanic, 11% African American, 5% Two or more races.

What district is Alston Ridge Middle in?

Wake County Schools

How many students attend Alston Ridge Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,494 students attended Alston Ridge Middle.

Is Alston Ridge Middle a good school?

Yes. Alston Ridge Middle ranks in the top 5.7% of North Carolina middle schools.

Rate Alston Ridge Middle!

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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.