Summary:
ZIP code 28677, which serves the Statesville, North Carolina area, contains two public middle schools — Oakwood Middle IB School and Third Creek Middle — both serving grades 6 through 8 under the Iredell-Statesville Schools district, yet these two schools represent opposite ends of the academic spectrum.
Oakwood Middle IB School is one of the top middle schools in North Carolina, ranking #73 out of 778 schools statewide (91st percentile) with a 5-star rating. Third Creek Middle, in stark contrast, ranks #752 out of 778 (3rd percentile) with a 0-star rating. Both schools serve nearly identical student populations — roughly 99% of students at each school qualify for free or reduced lunch — yet Oakwood students score about 54 percentage points higher on state End-of-Grade tests. Averaged across all subjects and grades, Oakwood has approximately 77% of students scoring proficient, while Third Creek is at just under 24%. In every subject and grade tested, Oakwood exceeds both district and state averages, while Third Creek falls far below both.
Chronic absenteeism is a major distinguishing factor: only 6.5% of Oakwood students are chronically absent, compared to 32.2% at Third Creek — nearly five times higher and well above the district rate of 19.9% and state rate of 24.2%. Notably, Third Creek actually spends more per student ($11,158) than Oakwood ($7,885), but that additional spending has not translated into higher achievement. Third Creek's 8th-grade math proficiency is just 13.2%, and its 8th-grade science proficiency is 19.9%, compared to 70.3% and 85.7% at Oakwood. Oakwood's high performance is also stable, having ranked in the 90th–91st percentile for three consecutive years. For parents, the picture is clear: the same ZIP code and district contain one school proving that high-poverty students can achieve at elite levels, and another that needs urgent intervention, particularly around attendance and 8th-grade math and science.
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