Summary:
Zip code 28311 contains exactly one middle school, Pine Forest Middle, located on Ramsey Street in Fayetteville, North Carolina, serving grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 703 students in the Cumberland County Schools district. Nearly 60 percent of the student body qualifies for free or reduced lunch, a measure of the area's predominantly low-income population; the school maintains a student-teacher ratio of 14.9 and a chronic absenteeism rate of 27.9 percent, which is better than the district's 33.7 percent but above the state average of 24.2 percent.
Reading is a clear strength at Pine Forest Middle. In the 2025-26 school year, all three grade-level reading proficiency rates exceeded both district and state averages: 6th graders scored 63.7 percent, 7th graders 57.4 percent, and 8th graders 62.5 percent, with the district comparison being 53.4, 53.9, and 52.4 percent respectively. Eighth grade science is another standout, with 72 percent proficiency, above the district's 67 percent and the state's 68.6 percent, and up 5.6 points from the prior year. The school has also improved its statewide ranking, moving from a 2-star rating (45th percentile) in 2023-24 to a 3-star rating (53rd percentile) in 2025-26.
The main concern is mathematics, particularly in 7th grade. Only 42.2 percent of 7th graders scored proficient in math, below the district's 47.5 percent and the state's 56.2 percent, and the rate dropped from 46.3 percent the year before. The other math scores tell a better story: 8th grade math improved to 51.9 percent, above the district average, and 6th grade math rose 7.4 points, although it remains slightly below state levels. Overall, Pine Forest Middle is a strong school within a mid-to-lower-performing district and outperforms district averages in reading and science despite serving a majority low-income population. Reducing chronic absenteeism could help close the remaining math gap.
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