Summary:
ZIP code 27342 in Sedalia, NC, is served by a single elementary school, Sedalia Elementary, which enrolls 535 students in grades PK–5 within Guilford County Schools, and is notable for its very high-poverty population, with 98.88% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch.
As the only school in this ZIP code, Sedalia Elementary provides the entire local picture. The school shows genuine strengths in early elementary grades: in the most recent school year, 68.9% of 3rd graders were proficient in math and 58.8% of 4th graders were proficient in reading, both measures beating district and state averages. However, performance declines sharply by 5th grade, where math proficiency falls to just 37.2% (versus 56.7% district and 62.9% state) and science proficiency is only 39.7% — a staggering 28 points below the statewide average. Reading in 5th grade also lags at 38.5%, compared to 52.5% in the district. Overall proficiency across all seven EOG measures dipped from 52.4% to 50.6% between the last two school years, while the district and state improved, widening the gap. SchoolDigger ranks the school in the 34th percentile of North Carolina elementary schools, with a 2-star rating that has trended downward after a brief improvement the prior year.
Looking at cohort progress, students who were strong 3rd graders saw math proficiency drop from 71.3% to 60.0% as 4th graders, and the prior 4th grade cohort's math fell sharply from 50.7% to 37.2% by 5th grade. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at 23.3% — nearly one in four students — though this is slightly better than the district rate of 29.2% and the state rate of 24.2%. With no middle or high schools in the ZIP code, students leave after 5th grade, making the upper-elementary slump particularly important. For parents, Sedalia Elementary offers a solid start in early grades, but the school clearly needs targeted support in 4th and 5th grade math and science to ensure early gains are not lost before the transition to middle school.
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