Schools in Zip Code 27504

Zip code 27504 in Benson, North Carolina, is served by five public schools in Johnston County Public Schools — West Johnston High, McGee's Crossroads Middle, Benson Middle, Benson Elementary, and Meadow School — enrolling about 4,062 students from pre-K through 12th grade. All five campuses serve similarly high-poverty populations, with free or reduced lunch rates between 98.3 and 99.6 percent, yet outcomes vary dramatically. McGee's Crossroads Middle stands out: it ranks in the 74th percentile of state middle schools, beats district and state averages in every subject, and posts the group's lowest chronic absenteeism at 16.6 percent.

Meadow School is the area's hidden asset: it is ranked as an elementary school (60th percentile) even though it serves students through 8th grade, and its middle-grades results are exceptional — 87.7 percent proficient in 7th-grade math and 84.1 percent in 8th-grade science, both far above state averages and higher than McGee's Crossroads Middle in science. West Johnston High, the only high school, is middling on state tests (47th percentile) and weak in Math I (35.7 percent), but it graduates 95 percent of students, far above the state's 88.8 percent. Benson Middle, the smallest campus at 377 students, still trails McGee's Crossroads Middle throughout, though it jumped from the 39th to the 51st percentile in one year.

Benson Elementary and Meadow School have both slid in their elementary rankings over two years — Benson from the 75th to the 61st percentile, Meadow from the 76th to the 60th — so the elementary trend is worth watching. Benson Middle has the highest chronic absenteeism (25.0 percent), yet Meadow's similar rate (24.5 percent) shows attendance alone does not determine success. McGee's Crossroads Middle also proves that money and class size are not everything: it spends the least per student yet ranks highest. Overall, families here have an excellent middle-grades choice at McGee's, a surprisingly strong program at Meadow, a dependable graduation outcome at West Johnston High, and an improving Benson Middle; the two elementary campuses deserve the most attention.