Best Public Schools in Zip Code 28382

ZIP code 28382 is a rural area in North Carolina served by three public schools — two elementary schools and one middle school — with a combined enrollment of about 850 students. Roseboro Elementary and Roseboro-Salemburg Middle belong to Sampson County Schools, while Beaver Dam Elementary is part of Cumberland County Schools. All three serve high-poverty populations, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility ranging from 95.4% at Roseboro Elementary to 99.2% at Roseboro-Salemburg Middle.

The clear standout is Beaver Dam Elementary, ranked 10th out of 1,492 North Carolina elementary schools (99th percentile) with a 5-star rating held for three straight years. Its EOG proficiency averages about 92% across tested subjects, including 90.9% in 3rd-grade math and 95.6% in 4th-grade reading, putting it 24 to 38 points above state averages despite 96.6% poverty. At the other extreme, Roseboro-Salemburg Middle ranks in the 18th percentile of 778 middle schools and has earned only 1 star for three consecutive years, running 10 to 19 points below state proficiency in every subject. Roseboro Elementary sits in between at the 35th percentile with a 2-star rating; its math scores are relatively close to state averages, but reading lags by roughly 10 to 16 points. Science is a relative strength, especially 5th-grade science at Roseboro Elementary, which exceeds the district and state averages.

These schools prove that high poverty does not predict low performance, but other factors line up strongly with outcomes. Chronic absenteeism tracks almost perfectly with achievement: 22.5% at Beaver Dam, 29.0% at Roseboro Elementary, and 33.6% at Roseboro-Salemburg Middle, where attendance is nearly 10 points worse than the state average. Resources and class sizes also align: Beaver Dam Elementary has the smallest student-teacher ratio (9.1:1) and highest spending per student ($14,341), while the middle school has the largest classes (21.8:1) and lowest spending ($9,500). Elementary students in the ZIP code generally outperform middle-school students, which may signal a difficult transition into 6th grade at Roseboro-Salemburg. The biggest opportunities for improvement in this area are attendance, reading proficiency, and support for students entering middle school.