Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 28358

Zip code 28358, in Lumberton, NC, contains two public middle-level schools—Lumberton Junior (grades 6–8) and Littlefield Middle (grades 4–8)—both part of Public Schools of Robeson County, a district ranked 190th of 246 in North Carolina, with nearly identical student bodies where roughly 99.5% of students at each school qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Littlefield Middle is the clear standout in this pairing. In the 2025-26 state ranking, Littlefield placed 408th out of 778 schools—around the 48th percentile with 2 stars—while Lumberton Junior ranked 748th, landing in just the 4th percentile with 0 stars. In the grades both schools share (6th through 8th), Littlefield's average EOG proficiency across math, reading, and science is about 55.5%, compared to just 26.4% at Lumberton Junior: a striking 29-point gap between schools with nearly identical poverty levels. Littlefield also improved dramatically in one year, jumping from 590th to 408th in the state rankings. Lumberton Junior, by contrast, has ranked in the bottom 10 percent of North Carolina middle schools for three consecutive years, and its most recent year is its weakest relative showing.

The spending comparison is particularly striking: Lumberton Junior spends $12,283 per student and has a lower student-teacher ratio of 16.8, yet its academic outcomes are far worse than Littlefield Middle, which spends $8,506 per student with a ratio of 19.6. Chronic absenteeism is elevated at both schools—37.5% at Lumberton and 33.2% at Littlefield—though both remain below the 42.1% district average. Science is a relative strength at both schools, especially in 8th grade, where Littlefield matches the state average of 68.6% and Lumberton reaches 45.2%. Littlefield's strongest performance is in its lower grades, with 5th-grade math proficiency at 75.0% versus a 62.9% state average. For parents, Littlefield Middle is the standout choice in this area, proving that a high-poverty school can still deliver respectable results, while Lumberton Junior's persistently low proficiency rates warrant immediate attention.