Best High Schools in Zip Code 27103

Zip code 27103 in Winston-Salem, NC, contains two public high schools in the Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools district: Early College of Forsyth County (grades 9–12, 306 students) and Middle College of Forsyth County (grades 11–12, 121 students). Both share nearly the same Silas Creek Parkway campus yet show starkly contrasting academic profiles. Early College of Forsyth County is the standout, ranking in the 89th percentile statewide (#73 of 662 in 2025–2026), climbing from the 81st to the 89th percentile over three years and earning 4 stars each year.

Parents should know that Early College of Forsyth County posts extraordinary End-of-Course results: 98.5% proficiency in Biology, 97.4% in English II, and 88.9% in Math III in 2025–2026, roughly 30–50 points above district averages. Its weakest subject, Math I at 66.7%, still more than doubles the district's 26.2%. The school's economic-need population is lower too—about 34% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch versus 47% at Middle College of Forsyth County. However, Early College of Forsyth County also has a striking 40.5% chronic absenteeism rate, above the district's 33.6% and nearly double the state's 24.2%, showing that high achievement and attendance challenges coexist.

Middle College of Forsyth County, by contrast, faces serious difficulties. More than half of its small student body (53.7%) is chronically absent, its only reported proficiency rate—Math III at 54.2%—trails the state, and it has no recent statewide ranking, with its last rank dating to 2010–2011. Although Middle College of Forsyth County spends nearly twice as much per student ($11,250 vs. $6,298 at Early College of Forsyth County), that spending has not produced stronger outcomes, and its student-teacher ratio of 25.9 is worse than the 21.3 at Early College of Forsyth County. For families choosing between these two schools on the same campus, the evidence clearly favors Early College of Forsyth County, while Middle College of Forsyth County grapples with attendance, economic need, and measurable performance.