Best High Schools in Zip Code 27870

Zip code 27870 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, is home to two public high schools serving grades 9 through 12 — Roanoke Rapids High School and Roanoke Rapids Early College High — both part of the Roanoke Rapids City Schools district. Nearly every student at both schools comes from a low-income household (over 97% qualify for free or reduced lunch), yet their academic results could hardly be more different.

The clear standout is Roanoke Rapids Early College High, which ranks 85th out of 662 North Carolina high schools (top 13%) and holds a 4-star rating. Its end-of-course proficiency rates are extraordinary — 100% in both Math I and Math III, 88.9% in English II, and 82.9% in Biology — averaging about 93% across subjects. By contrast, Roanoke Rapids High School ranks 583rd out of 662 (bottom 12%) with a 1-star rating, and its proficiency rates average just 35.7%, well below district and state averages. Both schools sit in the same district, but the Early College outperforms the district average by roughly 49 percentage points while Roanoke Rapids High trails it by about 8 points.

Beyond academics, the differences continue. Chronic absenteeism affects 46.1% of students at Roanoke Rapids High School — nearly double the state average and a serious warning sign — while the Early College's available chronic absenteeism rate was just 10.6%. Graduation rates tell a similar story: Roanoke Rapids High graduates 84.3% of students (below the state's 88.8%), while the Early College's most recent reported rate was 92.6%. Roanoke Rapids High did show modest year-over-year improvement in most subjects, which offers some hope. The most important takeaway for parents is that high poverty does not have to mean low achievement. The Early College proves that students in the same zip code, with the same economic challenges, can succeed at the highest levels when supported by an effective school model.