Summary:
Zip code 28334 is served by one high school, Harnett County Early College, a small early college serving grades 9 through 12 in Dunn, North Carolina.
This single school is a remarkable academic standout. In the most recent ranking periods, Harnett County Early College ranked 23rd and 46th in the state out of roughly 640–660 high schools, placing it in the top 5–7% and earning five-star ratings both years. Its end-of-course proficiency rates are extraordinary: for example, Math I proficiency hit 96.5% in 2024–2025 and 92.9% the following year, while the district posted just 25.7% and 31.6% in those same years. English II, Biology, and Math III all show similar patterns, with the school often outperforming the state by 30 to 70 percentage points. This is especially notable because the school's own district, Harnett County Schools, ranks in the bottom third of North Carolina districts (173rd out of 246). In other words, this is a “pocket of excellence” inside a district that otherwise struggles relative to state averages.
Parents should also know that this high performance happens in a school where more than 45% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making the achievement even more meaningful. Chronic absenteeism is just 10.7%, far below the district’s 26.9% and the state’s 24.2%, reflecting strong attendance habits. The school is small with only 185 students, and its reported student-teacher ratio of 34.4:1 is very high, although early college coursework taught by college partners may not be captured in the traditional ratio. The early college model, which lets students take college-level classes, likely contributes to the outstanding results. With consistent top-tier rankings and near-universal proficiency across multiple subjects and years, Harnett County Early College is clearly one of the strongest academic options in the region.
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