Summary:
Zip code 27587, covering Wake Forest, NC, has 8 elementary schools serving roughly 5,200 students, split between four traditional PK–5 schools in Wake County Schools and four K–8 charter schools. Endeavor Charter School is the clear academic leader with a 92.2% 3–5 grade composite and a #12 state ranking, followed by Envision Science Academy (86.5%) and Jones Dairy Elementary (83.2%), the top traditional public school. The remaining schools — Heritage Elementary, Richland Creek Elementary, Wake Forest Elementary, Wake Forest Charter Academy, and Casa Esperanza Montessori Charter School — score well below that top tier, with composites between 61.6% and 78.0%.
Across the zip code, math is a particular strength at the high-performing schools: Endeavor's 3rd grade math proficiency reaches 98.8%, and Jones Dairy's 3rd grade math is 87.5%, far above the state average. Reading tends to lag math, even among the top schools, while 5th grade science is a strong point for most schools. Chronic absenteeism also tracks closely with outcomes. The top three schools all have absenteeism at or below 9.5%, while the lower-performing schools have rates in the 17–20% range, still below the state's 24.2%.
One surprising finding is that Wake Forest Elementary has the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.7) and the highest per-pupil spending among the traditional public schools, yet its 68.3% composite is below schools like Heritage and Richland Creek that spend less and have larger classes. Additionally, many of the lower-performing schools made big gains over the past year — Casa Esperanza, Wake Forest Charter Academy, and Wake Forest Elementary each improved by about 10 points — but remain far behind the leaders. For families, 27587 offers strong school choice, and the data shows success is possible in both charter and traditional settings, so it's worth comparing individual school proficiency, attendance, and improvement trends.
Thank you for your feedback!