Summary:
Zip code 28513 is served by just one public high school, Ayden-Grifton High, a grades 9-12 school enrolling 757 students in Pitt County Schools. Because no other high school exists in this area for comparison, the most meaningful way to evaluate Ayden-Grifton is to look at its performance against North Carolina state averages, district averages, and its own results over time.
Ayden-Grifton has shown real improvement in recent years. Its North Carolina ranking climbed from 503rd out of 640 schools (21st percentile, 1 star) in 2023-2024 to 429th out of 662 schools (35th percentile, 2 stars) in 2025-2026. The school's graduation rate of 89.4% also tops the district reference rate of 86.4% and the state reference rate of 88.8%. End-of-course test scores improved in every subject from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with dramatic gains in Biology (from 26% to 54% proficient) and Math I (from 16.6% to 41.7% proficient). Math I proficiency now sits essentially at the state average, and the school's highest proficiency area in 2025-2026 was Math III at 62.1%.
Despite these gains, significant challenges remain. English II proficiency was just 51.1% in 2025-2026, a 13.5-point gap below the state average of 64.6%, making it the school's biggest academic weakness. Chronic absenteeism is also a concern, with 24.7% of students chronically absent, above the district rate of 21.7% and slightly above the state rate of 24.2%. With 99.6% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Ayden-Grifton serves an almost entirely economically disadvantaged population, making its upward trend all the more meaningful. The school remains below the district average in most subjects—Pitt County Schools ranks in the middle of North Carolina districts—but the combination of an improving state ranking, rising star rating, and a strong graduation rate offers cautious optimism for parents considering this school.
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