Schools in Zip Code 27531

Zip code 27531 contains exactly one school, Wayne School of Technical Arts, a 6–12 secondary campus in Goldsboro, North Carolina, that serves 271 students within the Wayne County Public Schools district and is the only public school option for grades 6 through 12 in this area.

As the sole school in the zip code, Wayne School of Technical Arts is automatically the standout. It earns a 4-star rating and ranks #97 out of 662 North Carolina high schools (85th percentile) for 2025–2026. Even more remarkable, its student body is extremely high-poverty — 97.8% qualify for free/reduced lunch — yet the school exceeds district and state proficiency rates in every single reported test subject. Across ten current-year tests, the school averages roughly 91.7% proficient, compared with about 57.2% for the district and 59.6% statewide. That is a 32-point advantage over the state. Highlights include 100% proficiency in 8th grade Science, 97.9% in 7th grade Math, and 97.5% in 8th grade Reading. Even the lowest score — 84.4% in 6th grade Math — is more than 25 points above the state average for that test.

This high performance extends beyond test scores. Chronic absenteeism is just 19.9%, well below the district’s 31.6% and the state’s 24.2%, a notable achievement given the poverty level. However, because the school has only 271 students spread across seven grade levels, average cohort sizes are about 39 students, which can cause large year-to-year swings. For example, 8th grade math jumped from 71.4% to 95% in one year, while 6th grade math dipped by 9.5 points. These fluctuations likely reflect the strengths of small student groups rather than major program changes. Overall, families in zip code 27531 have one clear pathway for grades 6–12, and the data show that Wayne School of Technical Arts is a high-performing outlier that beats the odds in both academics and attendance.