Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 27203

Zip code 27203 contains two public middle schools — North Asheboro Middle and South Asheboro Middle — both part of Asheboro City Schools and serving grades 6 through 8 in a high-poverty setting where about 99 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Both schools serve very similar student populations, yet they produce noticeably different results, making them useful to compare side by side.

South Asheboro Middle is the stronger overall school. It earned a 2-star state rating and ranked 506th out of 778 North Carolina middle schools in 2025–26, outperforming about 35 percent of schools statewide. North Asheboro Middle earned 1 star and ranked 598th, outperforming about 23 percent. South outperformed North on five of seven EOG tests in the latest year, with its best result in 7th-grade math, where 62 percent of students scored proficient — above both the district (55.1 percent) and state (56.2 percent) averages. South also had a lower chronic absenteeism rate (23.6 percent) than North (27.5 percent). North's bright spot is 8th-grade science: 64.8 percent of its students scored proficient, above the district average of 63.1 percent and higher than South's 61.3 percent.

Averaging all seven EOG proficiency scores shows the overall gap: 49.9 percent proficient at South versus 44.1 percent at North. Both schools struggle with reading, with proficiency in the mid-30s to mid-40s across grades, well below state averages around 55 to 56 percent. Eighth-grade math is the biggest weakness at both schools, and South's math proficiency drops sharply from 62 percent in 7th grade to 39.6 percent in 8th grade. Notably, North actually spends more per student ($10,102 versus $9,818) and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (13.5 versus 15.8), yet still trails South academically. Both schools remain below the state median overall, but South's 7th-grade math and North's science results show that progress is possible even in high-poverty settings.