Summary:
Zip code 27503, serving the Bahama area of Durham County, North Carolina, contains exactly one elementary school: Mangum Elementary, which enrolls 315 students in grades K–5 as part of Durham Public Schools. While the district as a whole ranks in the 37th percentile among North Carolina districts, Mangum has ranked in the 87th–89th percentile of elementary schools statewide for three consecutive years, placing 190th (2023–2024), 160th (2024–2025), and 186th (2025–2026) out of roughly 1,500 schools.
Mangum's academic performance is striking, especially given that 99.05% of its students qualify for free/reduced lunch. In 2025–2026, 3rd grade mathematics proficiency reached 84.2%, compared to 60.8% for the district and 66.4% statewide; 4th grade reading hit 73.8% versus 51.0% and 57.7%, respectively; and 5th grade science reached 80.9%, far surpassing the district (62.5%) and state (67.7%) averages. Across every subject and grade tested, Mangum outperformed its district by 17–27 percentage points and the state by 9–19 percentage points. The prior year (2024–2025) showed a similar pattern, with 4th grade math proficiency at 82.9% compared to 52.3% for the district and 58.9% statewide.
Non-academic indicators are also strong: Mangum's chronic absenteeism rate of 18.0% is half the district's 36.1% and below North Carolina's 24.2% average, while a favorable student–teacher ratio of 13.5:1 supports individualized instruction. Mathematics is a clear strength, with 3rd and 4th grade scores above 80% in both recent years, though 5th grade reading (68.1% in 2025–2026) is worth monitoring, as are typical year-over-year fluctuations for a school its size. For families near zip code 27503, Mangum Elementary is an outlier in the best sense: a high-poverty school delivering top-quartile results that defy both district and state averages.
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