Best Public Schools in Zip Code 27244

In zip code 27244 (Elon, NC), four public schools in the Alamance-Burlington Schools district serve students from elementary through high school, including two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Altamahaw-Ossipee Elementary stands out as the strongest school in the area, ranking at the 64th percentile statewide and beating state averages in most subjects despite 99.5% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Western Alamance High posts impressive math results—77.6% proficiency in Math III versus a 68.9% state average—but struggles with chronic absenteeism at 38.2% and a Biology proficiency rate well below the state. Western Alamance Middle improved dramatically year-over-year, yet its 8th-grade math proficiency (35.0%) is the weakest subject result in the entire zip code, and Elon Elementary outperforms the district in every tested subject despite having the highest poverty rate at 99.6%.

The most notable trend is a “middle school slide”: 6th-grade math at Western Alamance Middle reaches 69% proficiency, but by 8th grade it collapses to 35%, suggesting gaps accumulate during these years. Attendance problems are concentrated at the high school, while elementary schools enjoy much healthier attendance. Three of the four schools are improving their statewide rankings, with Altamahaw-Ossipee jumping from 735th to 541st and Western Alamance Middle from 532nd to 424th. The high school is the exception, dropping from the 58th to the 48th percentile. Although the district overall ranks in the 27th percentile, these schools are clear islands of stronger performance—none are elite 4- or 5-star institutions, but they offer solid mid-tier academics, and the elementary schools are especially remarkable given their near-universal poverty rates.