Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 28037

ZIP code 28037 is home to just one middle school, North Lincoln Middle, which serves grades 6–8 in Denver, NC, as part of Lincoln County Schools. This single school is a strong performer: it ranks in the 79th percentile among North Carolina middle schools (165 out of 778), earning a 4-star rating, while its district ranks 75 out of 246 in the state. The school enrolls about 774 students with a 17.1:1 student-teacher ratio, and roughly 29% of students qualify for free/reduced-price lunch. In 2025–2026, North Lincoln Middle exceeded the state proficiency average in every tested subject and grade level, and it beat the district average in nearly all of them.

Looking at the 2025–2026 EOG results, the overall unweighted proficiency average at North Lincoln Middle is 69.2%, compared to 61.7% for Lincoln County Schools and 57.7% for the state. The school’s biggest strengths are in 6th grade math (74.4% proficient, 15.2 points above the state) and 7th grade math (70.3% proficient, 14.1 points above the state), plus solid reading scores across all grades. The one relative gap is 8th grade science: the school posts 73.6% proficiency, slightly below the district’s 74.6% but still above the state average of 68.6%. Math proficiency does trend downward as grade levels rise, from 74.4% in 6th grade to 65.6% in 8th grade, a pattern also seen statewide.

While North Lincoln Middle remains a top-quartile school, its statewide rank has slipped modestly from the 85th percentile (2023–2024) to the 82nd (2024–2025) and 79th (2025–2026), even though its own average proficiency improved from 67.4% to 69.2% over that span. This suggests other schools are improving faster, not that North Lincoln is declining. Chronic absenteeism is 16.9%, better than the district (17.2%) and well below the state (24.2%). Per-student spending data is dated at $7,347 from 2018–2019, so it should be interpreted cautiously. Overall, this is a solidly above-average school with strong academics, healthy attendance, and moderate poverty levels—a compelling option for families in the Denver area.