Summary:
Zip code 28349 contains just one elementary school, Kenansville Elementary, a K-8 school in Duplin County Schools that serves 599 students in a rural, high-poverty area where 99.5% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Because it is the only school in the zip code, there is no local school-to-school comparison. Kenansville Elementary is the standout by default, but its performance tells a nuanced story. The school consistently outperforms its district across most grade levels and subjects. For example, 3rd grade math proficiency sits at 61.7% versus the district’s 54.6%, and 7th grade reading reaches 56.5%, slightly above the state average of 56.3%. Attendance is another positive: chronic absenteeism is 18.5%, well below the state average of 24.2%. In previous years, 5th grade science also shone at 60% proficiency, nearly matching the state. However, the school lags the state overall by roughly 8–12 percentage points in math and reading, and its state ranking has slipped from the 38th percentile to the 30th percentile. The school improved modestly, but not as fast as the rest of North Carolina.
The clearest concern is middle-grade performance. Test cohorts show significant drops as students transition into middle school: math proficiency fell by about 14 points from 5th to 6th grade, and reading proficiency dropped by about 12 points from 7th to 8th grade. In the latest year, 8th graders trail the district and state badly, especially in reading (32.6% proficient vs. 56.1% statewide) and science (43.5% vs. 68.6% statewide). This suggests Kenansville Elementary does well in the lower elementary grades but loses ground by 8th grade. Ultimately, this is a school that stands out as a relative success within a struggling district, yet still faces significant academic challenges compared with the state. Parents should weigh the school’s strong attendance and district-relative strengths against its middle-grade weakness and overall low statewide ranking.
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