Summary:
ZIP code 28016 is served by just one middle school: Bessemer City Middle, a public school in Bessemer City, NC, that serves grades 6 through 8 as part of Gaston County Schools. With 497 students, Bessemer City Middle is a high-poverty school: 99.4% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Since there are no other middle schools in the area to compare it against, the most useful benchmarks are Gaston County Schools and North Carolina statewide averages.
Bessemer City Middle has received a 1-star rating three years in a row, and its statewide rank has slipped from 579th out of 793 in 2023–24 to 678th out of 778 in 2025–26. It scored below both the district and state in every tested subject in 2025–26. The biggest gaps were in 7th grade: only 23.1% of students were proficient in math (56.2% statewide) and 28.4% in reading (56.3% statewide). Sixth and 8th grade results were stronger but still far behind. Chronic absenteeism is also a concern, with 31.7% of students chronically absent, above the district rate of 23.2% and the state rate of 24.2%.
The clearest bright spot is 8th-grade science, where proficiency jumped from 41.4% to 55.5% between 2024–25 and 2025–26, the school’s highest score in any subject, though it still trails the district and state. Sixth-grade math and reading also improved from the prior year. In contrast, 7th-grade math and reading fell sharply, making 7th grade the school’s most pressing area for support. Overall, Bessemer City Middle remains well below district and state averages in nearly every measure, and its declining statewide rank signals ongoing challenges linked to high poverty and absenteeism. Since it is the only middle school in ZIP code 28016, families who prefer a different educational environment likely need to look outside the area; families who enroll here should ask how Gaston County Schools plans to improve attendance, boost 7th-grade learning, and strengthen math achievement.
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