Summary:
ZIP code 27614 in Raleigh, North Carolina is home to two public middle schools serving grades 6 through 8 — Wakefield Middle and Durant Road Middle — both part of Wake County Schools, a district ranked 60th out of 246 in North Carolina. Despite sharing the same ZIP code and district, these two neighboring schools offer strikingly different academic experiences.
Wakefield Middle is the clear academic standout, ranking 103rd out of 778 North Carolina middle schools in 2025-26 — the 87th percentile — with a 4-star rating and roughly 73.8% combined EOG proficiency. Durant Road Middle, by contrast, ranks 511th, placing it in the 34th percentile with only a 2-star rating. The nearly 400-place gap between the two schools translates to roughly a 24.5-point gap in combined EOG proficiency. Wakefield posts an average reading proficiency of 74.9% and a math proficiency of 70.1%, while Durant Road trails at 45.2% in reading and 48.7% in math — with reading showing the largest single gap of nearly 30 points.
The socioeconomic divide between the schools is stark: free/reduced lunch eligibility at Durant Road Middle is 68.6%, more than double Wakefield Middle's 31.4%. Chronic absenteeism at Durant Road is 33.3%, far above the district average of 20.5% and the state's 24.2%, while Wakefield sits below both at 19.1%. Notably, Durant Road actually spends more per student ($10,019 vs. $8,502) and has a smaller student-teacher ratio (15.7 vs. 17.7), yet outcomes remain far lower — a sign that it is serving a significantly higher-need population. On a positive note, both schools improved in several subjects between 2024-25 and 2025-26, with Durant Road making a large 17.2-point gain in 8th-grade science and Wakefield jumping 17.9 points in 8th-grade math. Closing the achievement gap will require continued attention to attendance and the greater economic challenges facing Durant Road students.
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