Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 27817

Zip code 27817 is served by just one middle school, Chocowinity Middle, which enrolls 366 students in grades 5 through 8 as part of Beaufort County Schools. Since there are no neighboring middle schools in the area to compare, this report focuses on Chocowinity Middle’s strengths and challenges relative to district and state averages.

Chocowinity Middle stands out most in mathematics. In the 2025–2026 school year, math proficiency exceeded state averages in three of four grades, including a striking 82.4% proficiency rate for 6th graders versus 59.2% statewide, and 69.9% for 7th graders versus 56.2% statewide. The prior year showed similarly strong results for 5th and 6th grade math. This is especially notable because 99.18% of students receive free or reduced lunch, making the school a high-poverty institution delivering top-tier math outcomes. Reading results are more mixed: the school outperforms its district in most grades but trails the state in 5th, 7th, and 8th grade reading. The exception is 6th grade reading, where 63.5% proficiency tops both the district and state. Science is the clearest weakness, with 8th grade science proficiency at 56.0%—roughly 13 points below the state average of 68.6%. Overall, the school has earned a consistent 3-star rating and ranked in the 58th to 61st percentile statewide over the past three years.

The biggest underlying concern is chronic absenteeism, which sits at 31.9%, higher than the district’s 26.9% and the state’s 24.2%. This means roughly one in three students misses significant school time, and addressing this could help boost reading and science scores. Meanwhile, large differences between grade cohorts—ranging from 47.3% to 85.1% in math proficiency depending on the year and grade—show that school-wide averages can hide considerable variation. For parents, the bottom line is that Chocowinity Middle is a school where high-poverty students achieve impressive math gains, but where science and upper-grade reading need improvement, and attendance remains a key factor for future success.