Summary:
ZIP code 28133 is served by just one elementary school, Peachland-Polkton Elementary, which enrolls 473 students in grades K–6 in the rural town of Peachland, NC, and is part of the Anson County Schools district.
Peachland-Polkton stands out because, despite a student body in which 99.37% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, it outperforms its district on every single EOG subject and grade combination reported for 2025–2026. It beats the state average in five of nine comparisons, with especially strong results in reading and science. For example, 5th-grade reading proficiency is 61.7% — 6.4 points above the state average and 22 points above the district — and 5th-grade science is 73.3%, well above the state's 67.7%. Over the past year, the school posted dramatic gains in 5th-grade reading (+15.4 points), 3rd-grade reading (+13.2), 4th-grade math (+11.1), and 5th-grade science (+10.3). However, math remains the main weakness: the school trails the state by 14.6 points in 5th-grade math and 12.0 points in 3rd-grade math, though 6th-grade math is actually above the state average. These mixed results explain a volatile state ranking, from the 75th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 49th in 2024–2025, then back up to the 53rd percentile (3 stars) in 2025–2026.
Attendance is another important story. Chronic absenteeism at the school is 26.8%, which is better than the district's alarming 42.0% rate but worse than the state's 24.2%. For a school with nearly universal economic disadvantage, managing attendance is a meaningful challenge and a likely lever for future improvement. The student-teacher ratio of 16.8 is typical, and per-pupil spending ($10,790, though from 2018–2019) reflects a solid investment for a rural high-poverty school. In short, Peachland-Polkton is a school that delivers competitive reading and science outcomes in a challenging context, even as it continues to look for consistency in elementary math and across grade levels.
Thank you for your feedback!