Summary:
ZIP code 27868 contains exactly one school: Red Oak Elementary, a public elementary school in Red Oak, NC, serving grades PK–5 with 696 students. It belongs to Nash County Public Schools, a district ranked 158 of 246 in North Carolina with a 2-star rating. Red Oak, however, has earned a 3-star rating in each of the past three school years.
Despite 99.57% of students receiving free/reduced lunch, Red Oak outperforms its district in every subject and grade level and tops state averages in math and science. In 2025–26, math proficiency was 65.1% in third grade, 70.3% in fourth, and 71.2% in fifth—beating the state (66.4%, 61.4%, and 62.9%) at the upper grades. Science is a clear strength: 74.4% of fifth graders were proficient, nearly 10 points above the state. Red Oak also shows steady upward momentum in statewide elementary rankings, improving from 641st to 517th over three years.
Chronic absenteeism is just 16.5%, well below the district (25.9%) and state (24.2%), a likely factor in the school's success. Reading is the relative weak spot; third-grade reading (53.8%) trails the state (55.6%), although it soared from 46.0% the prior year, and fourth- and fifth-grade reading now beat the state average. With no middle or high school in the ZIP code, Red Oak Elementary is the neighborhood anchor and a standout example of a high-poverty school achieving strong academic results.
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