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Watauga Innovation Academy

Q: Is Watauga Innovation Academy a good school?

Watauga Innovation Academy ranks 293 rd of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

293^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 662 North Carolina High Schools

Better than 56% of North Carolina high schools

Summary

Watauga Innovation Academy is a small public high school in Boone, North Carolina, serving 292 students in grades 9–12 as part of Watauga County Schools, a district ranked in the 81st percentile statewide. It shares a campus with Watauga High but operates as a much smaller flexible academy with roughly a quarter of the enrollment. In the most recent state ranking, the school placed in the 56th percentile — well below Watauga High (75th percentile), roughly even with Ashe County High, and far below Ashe County Early College High, the region’s top-performing school.

Watauga Innovation Academy’s greatest strengths lie in serving students who need extra academic support. Special education students ranked in the 83rd percentile statewide this year and the 94th percentile the year before. Math is also a clear strength: 68.8% of students scored proficient in Math I, slightly above Watauga High and well above the state average of 42.1%. The school posts a 94.4% graduation rate — above all nearby high schools — and a 12.5% chronic absenteeism rate, about half the state average. Those results are particularly notable given that 44.2% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch, a higher share than Watauga High serves.

However, parents should weigh some meaningful concerns. English II proficiency (53.7%) trails Watauga High by roughly 20 percentage points, and Biology (54.9%) falls below district and state averages. The school also shows a persistent gender gap, with female students ranking in the 75th percentile and male students in the 42nd. Most striking is the reported collapse in gifted-student performance, dropping from the 82nd percentile in 2024–2025 to the 2nd percentile in the latest year. That figure may reflect small subgroup sizes, but it suggests the school’s supportive model may not be challenging its highest-achieving students enough. Improving literacy and science outcomes while protecting the strong math, attendance, and special education results already in place would likely lift the school’s overall standing considerably.

292

Students ?

60.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$2,667

Per pupil spending ?

44.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

300 Go Pioneers Drive
Boone, NC 28607

(828) 264-2407

District: Watauga County Schools

Racial breakdown:

White:

85.3%

Hispanic:

12.3%

Two or more races:

1.0%

See top rated North Carolina high schools

Compare Watauga Innovation Academy to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 77th percentile in 2017 → 56th in 2026

Strengths

✓94% graduate in 4 years — above the North Carolina average (89%)

✓Above the North Carolina median (56th percentile)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 21 percentile points since 2017

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

!English II scores 11 pts below the North Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school64%

District avg74%

North Carolina avg60%

293^rd of 662

North Carolina public high schools ?

Top 44%▼ down 21 pts since 2017

From top 23% (2017) to top 44% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of North Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2High Schools in the Watauga County Schools

46^th of 246Watauga 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	54.3	293 of 662	55.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	49.1	308 of 641	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.6	207 of 640	67.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	60.4	223 of 626	64.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	67.5	186 of 621	70.0%	★★★★☆
2021	60.9	199 of 594	66.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	70.5	93 of 514	81.9%	★★★★☆
2018	68.7	106 of 469	77.4%	★★★★☆
2017	64.6	110 of 476	76.9%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	44.9	141 of 330	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	76.8	40 of 334	88.0%	★★★★☆
2019	98.5	3 of 364	99.2%	★★★★★
2018	45.6	150 of 349	57.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	73.1	160 of 629	74.6%	★★★★☆
2025	64.0	203 of 610	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	79.5	131 of 602	78.2%	★★★★☆
2023	68.5	170 of 588	71.1%	★★★★☆
2022	61.2	218 of 594	63.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	64.5	110 of 475	76.8%	★★★★☆
2019	78.8	58 of 475	87.8%	★★★★☆
2018	59.7	163 of 449	63.7%	★★★☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	399 of 407	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	77.9	73 of 412	82.3%	★★★★☆
2022	82.6	21 of 398	94.7%	★★★★★
2021	75.2	45 of 337	86.6%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	42.4	237 of 462	48.7%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	43.8	324 of 620	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.4	255 of 606	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	58.9	193 of 613	68.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.1	225 of 597	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	70.0	125 of 544	77.0%	★★★★☆
2021	45.4	151 of 432	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	66.2	55 of 446	87.7%	★★★★☆
2018	59.0	97 of 424	77.1%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	42.9	359 of 624	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	37.6	372 of 601	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	53.7	256 of 607	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.2	254 of 602	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	70.9	158 of 585	73.0%	★★★★☆
2021	54.3	147 of 481	69.4%	★★★☆☆
2019	65.4	106 of 488	78.3%	★★★★☆
2018	73.3	78 of 463	83.2%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	65.1	65 of 372	82.5%	★★★★☆
2025	85.0	20 of 352	94.3%	★★★★★
2024	63.3	74 of 349	78.8%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	North Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	39.6	349 of 551	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	36.5	370 of 542	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	53.3	261 of 553	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	43.3	297 of 537	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	51.4	258 of 534	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	46.8	188 of 439	57.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	55.8	157 of 444	64.6%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.3	169 of 427	60.4%	★★★☆☆

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)

Special Education (2026)83rd percentile+27 vs school

Female (2026)75th percentile+19 vs school

Disabled (2022)57th percentile-13 vs school

Hispanic (2025)49th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)48th percentile-8 vs school

Male (2026)42nd percentile-13 vs school

White (2026)37th percentile-19 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)2nd percentile-54 vs school

By subject vs North Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Math III76%+7 vs state

Math I69%+27 vs state

Biology55%-4 vs state

English II54%-11 vs state

★

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Schools Near Watauga Innovation Academy

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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)				EOC Biology (2026)	EOC English II (2026)	EOC Math I (2026)	EOC Math III (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	EOC Biology End of Course	EOC English II End of Course	EOC Math I End of Course	EOC Math III End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watauga High	Public	9-12	300 Go Pioneers Drive	Boone	28607	Watauga County	Watauga County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 264-2407	1,289	82	15.6	33.0%	1,042 (80.8%)	16 (1.2%)	159 (12.3%)	27 (2.1%)	7 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (2.9%)	74.3	163^rd of 662 public high schools	75.4%		72.8	166^th of 641 public high schools	74.1%	3	73.8	75.0	65.7	87.5	$11,160	$624	$10,536
Watauga Innovation Academy	Public	9-12	300 Go Pioneers Drive	Boone	28607	Watauga County	Watauga County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 264-2407	292	0		44.2%	249 (85.3%)	1 (0.3%)	36 (12.3%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	54.3	293^rd of 662 public high schools	55.7%		49.1	308^th of 641 public high schools	52.0%	15	54.9	53.7	68.8	75.9	$2,667	$110	$2,557
Ashe County High	Public	9-12	184 Campus Drive	West Jefferson	28694	Ashe County	Ashe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 846-2400	767	41	18.7	99.1%	649 (84.6%)	4 (0.5%)	93 (12.1%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.2%)	54.3	292^nd of 662 public high schools	55.9%		41.8	364^th of 641 public high schools	43.2%	72	66.1	62.1	56.0	67.6	$10,958	$817	$10,142
Ashe County Early College High	Public	9-12	363 Campus Dr	West Jefferson	28694	Ashe County	Ashe County Schools	No	No	No	No	(336) 846-1881	143	3	51.8	97.9%	107 (74.8%)	1 (0.7%)	30 (21.0%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.1%)	88.7	93^rd of 662 public high schools	86.0%		89.7	78^th of 641 public high schools	87.8%	15	86.0	90.2	92.0	93.6	$11,089	$346	$10,742
Avery County High	Public	9-12	401 Avery County High School R	Newland	28657	Avery County	Avery County Schools	No	No	No	No	(828) 733-0151	542	27	20.2	99.3%	423 (78.0%)	1 (0.2%)	92 (17.0%)	3 (0.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	20 (3.7%)	27.1	499^th of 662 public high schools	24.6%		26.1	487^th of 641 public high schools	24.0%	12	40.9	53.5	14.9	65.5	$10,821	$537	$10,285

Frequently Asked Questions about Watauga Innovation Academy

Is Watauga Innovation Academy a good school?

Watauga Innovation Academy ranks 293^rd of 662 North Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Watauga Innovation Academy?

In the 2024-25 school year, 292 students attended Watauga Innovation Academy.

What district is Watauga Innovation Academy in?

Watauga County Schools

What is the racial makeup of Watauga Innovation Academy?

Students at Watauga Innovation Academy are 85% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

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Latest North Carolina data All new data »

2017–18 through 2025–26 attendance data & graduation ratesNewSep 2, 2026

2025–26 EOC & EOG test scoresNewSep 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.