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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 28129

At a glance

School

353

Students

Top rankedOakboro Choice STEM234^th of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools

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Summary:

Zip code 28129 is home to a single elementary school: Oakboro Choice STEM in Oakboro, NC, which serves 353 students across grades K–8 and is part of Stanly County Schools. Despite being categorized as an elementary school, it functions as a combined elementary and middle school with strong results across all grade levels. The school holds a 4-star state rating and has ranked among North Carolina's best for three consecutive years, placing 234th out of 1,492 schools in 2025–26 — an 84th percentile finish statewide, after ranking in the 86th percentile the year before.

What makes Oakboro Choice STEM especially noteworthy is that 99.15% of its students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet academic performance is far above district and state expectations. Chronic absenteeism sits at just 5.3%, compared to 19.7% for the district and 24.2% for the state, and the student-teacher ratio is a favorable 13.9 to 1. In both 2024–25 and 2025–26, every reported EOG proficiency score in math, reading, and science exceeded the North Carolina state average. The only subject where the school trailed its own district was 4th Grade Math in 2024–25 (61.4% vs. 66.7%), and even then it still beat the state average of 58.9%.

The school's most striking outcomes appear in the middle grades. In 2025–26, 8th Grade Reading and 8th Grade Science both reached 93.3% proficiency, and 8th Grade Math hit 86.7% — roughly 25 to 40 percentage points above state averages. The prior year, 8th Grade Math peaked at 95.6% versus about 48% statewide. Elementary grade scores are solid but more variable, with 5th Grade Math dipping to 63.8% in 2025–26 after 82.6% the prior year, and 3rd Grade Reading at 54.2% in 2024–25 as the school's lowest result. As the only school in this zip code, there are no local rivals for comparison, but within Stanly County Schools — a mid-tier district ranked 100th of 246 — Oakboro Choice STEM is a clear standout, delivering top-quartile academic results in a high-poverty setting with exceptionally strong engagement and attendance.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				EOG Mathematics (2026)						EOG Reading (2026)						EOG Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	EOG Mathematics 3rd Grade	EOG Mathematics 4th Grade	EOG Mathematics 5th Grade	EOG Mathematics 6th Grade	EOG Mathematics 7th Grade	EOG Mathematics 8th Grade	EOG Reading 3rd Grade	EOG Reading 4th Grade	EOG Reading 5th Grade	EOG Reading 6th Grade	EOG Reading 7th Grade	EOG Reading 8th Grade	EOG Science 5th Grade	EOG Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Oakboro Choice STEM	Public	K-8	1244 N Main St	Oakboro	28129	Stanly County	Stanly County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(704) 961-4700	353	25	13.9		288 (81.6%)	9 (2.5%)	35 (9.9%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.5%)	80.8	234^th of 1492 public elementary schools	84.3%		83	204^th of 1490 public elementary schools	86.3%	30	87.0	84.8	63.8	68.2	79.3	86.7	69.6	76.1	68.1	68.2	86.2	93.3	76.6	93.3	$8,393	$828	$7,565

Cities Near Zip Code 28129

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Oakboro	0.52 mi	2	36^th
Locust	3.81 mi	2	43^rd
Stanfield	5.41 mi	1	186^th
Albemarle	5.44 mi	10	319^th
Norwood	6.15 mi	4	287^th

See the top NC North Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the North Carolina Dept of Public Instruction.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.