Summary:
Zip code 27504, which covers the Benson, North Carolina area, contains just one high school: West Johnston High, serving grades 9 through 12 with roughly 1,563 students as part of Johnston County Public Schools. Because it is the only high school in this zip code, there is no within-area school-to-school comparison; the most relevant benchmarks are the district and the state of North Carolina.
West Johnston High stands out for strong graduation and attendance despite very high economic need. Its 95.0% graduation rate exceeds the Johnston County district average (92.6%) and the state average (88.8%), while chronic absenteeism of 19.8% is lower than both the district (21.8%) and state (24.2%). This is especially striking given that 99.23% of students receive free or reduced-price lunch, making this a high-poverty school that still keeps students engaged and on track. In academics, English II is a clear strength — 66.7% proficiency in 2025–2026, just above the state's 64.6% — while math remains the biggest challenge, with only 35.7% of students proficient in Math I, well below the state's 42.1%. Math III is closer, but still trails the state by roughly 3.5 percentage points.
The school has shown substantial improvement over the last reported year. Biology proficiency jumped from 45.6% to 61.7%, and Math III rose from 53.7% to 65.4%; Math I, while still low at 35.7%, also improved by 8.3 points. These gains pushed the school's state ranking from the 43rd to the 47th percentile (among 662 schools in 2025–2026), though its star rating remains at 2 stars. If this momentum continues, West Johnston is well positioned to reach a 3-star rating and close the gap with the rest of Johnston County.
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