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North Charleston High

Q: Is North Charleston High a good school?

North Charleston High ranks in the bottom 3.2% of South Carolina high schools.

Q: How many students attend North Charleston High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 829 students attended North Charleston High.

Q: What is the racial makeup of North Charleston High?

Students at North Charleston High are 63% African American, 29% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% Two or more races.

Q: What schools feed into North Charleston High?

North Charleston High is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Chicora Elementary Elementary : Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori Elementary : Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center Elementary : Matilda F. Dunston Elementary Elementary : North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary Elementary : North Charleston Elementary Middle : Morningside Middle

Public Grades 9-12

240^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 248 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 3% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

North Charleston High serves approximately 829 students in grades 9-12 in North Charleston, SC, within the Charleston 01 school district, where 100% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch.

North Charleston High faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 5% of South Carolina high schools over the past decade. The school currently holds a 3rd percentile ranking statewide (238th out of 245 schools). Proficiency rates on state exams tell a difficult story: only 31.6% of students passed English 1 and 20.1% passed U.S. History in the most recent testing cycle. The contrast with nearby schools is stark—Charleston School of the Arts and Academic Magnet High, both located within 1.3 miles, achieve 95-100% proficiency on the same exams. Even Hanahan High in the neighboring Berkeley 01 district outperforms North Charleston High by 44 percentage points in English 1. Chronic absenteeism is a critical barrier, with 63.4% of students missing significant school days—nearly three times the state average of 22.3%. The dropout rate of 9.1% is more than four times the district rate.

Despite these challenges, there are genuine signs of progress. The graduation rate has climbed from 64.0% in 2020-2021 to 79.1% in 2024-2025, and Algebra 1 proficiency improved dramatically from 15.8% to 55.8% over the same period. The school maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 9.2:1—better than many higher-performing schools—and spends $26,208 per student, well above Hanahan High's $14,018. When compared to alternative schools serving similar populations like Greg Mathis Charter High or Learn4Life High School-Charleston, North Charleston High outperforms them on graduation and dropout metrics. The most promising path forward appears to be a focused effort on reducing chronic absenteeism, which would likely catalyze improvements across all other academic measures.

829

Students ?

9.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$26,208

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1087 East Montague Avenue
North Charleston, SC 29405

(843) 745-7140

District: Charleston 01

Racial breakdown:

African American:

62.7%

Hispanic:

29.2%

White:

5.2%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare North Charleston High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 16th percentile in 2016 → 3rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 9 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (38% vs 69% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!Graduation rate below the South Carolina average (79% vs 87%)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school38%

District avg75%

South Carolina avg69%

240^th of 248

South Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 13 pts since 2016

From bottom 16% (2016) to bottom 3% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

14^th of 15High Schools in the Charleston 01

22^nd of 75Charleston 01 among South Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	3.8	240 of 248	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	4.1	236 of 240	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.6	240 of 243	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	2.5	234 of 237	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.0	226 of 226	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	5.3	220 of 227	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	4.4	221 of 225	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	2.4	213 of 216	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	6.8	211 of 223	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	19.8	194 of 231	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	25.2	177 of 232	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	22.3	169 of 210	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	9.0	188 of 203	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	12.1	185 of 202	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	2.9	195 of 199	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	4.2	192 of 199	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	0.9	184 of 188	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	1.6	182 of 185	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	20.5	183 of 191	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	10.1	185 of 191	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	18.4	176 of 187	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	15.5	188 of 200	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.8	182 of 196	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	186 of 197	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.8	197 of 199	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.6	182 of 190	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.4	161 of 178	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.7	170 of 184	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.0	180 of 183	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	15.0	126 of 136	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.8	138 of 140	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.1	128 of 147	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.0	137 of 141	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.1	133 of 139	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.3	100 of 115	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.1	137 of 143	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	20.7	116 of 137	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	3.8	59 of 59	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	21.5	63 of 70	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.6	70 of 71	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.8	68 of 68	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	61 of 61	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.5	46 of 46	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	2.3	226 of 229	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	3.8	227 of 229	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.7	229 of 231	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	1.6	223 of 223	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	2.8	219 of 220	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.3	211 of 213	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.2	211 of 213	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	1.8	207 of 210	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	1.0	124 of 124	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.2	120 of 122	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.8	122 of 122	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	1.6	117 of 119	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	2.6	107 of 108	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	1.1	93 of 93	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	0.1	80 of 80	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	9.9	228 of 241	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.0	221 of 230	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.5	228 of 235	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	5.8	224 of 226	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.4	212 of 220	3.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	11.5	201 of 213	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	8.9	209 of 217	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	4.4	212 of 214	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	5.4	225 of 233	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.2	220 of 228	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	2.7	234 of 234	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.0	225 of 229	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	3.7	223 of 224	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	6.3	206 of 215	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	6.3	208 of 218	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	3.4	210 of 213	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Disabled (2026)7th percentile+4 vs school

African American (2026)6th percentile+3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)5th percentile~ school

Male (2026)3rd percentile~ school

Female (2026)1st percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2026)<1st percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2026)<1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English 261%-22 vs state

Biology 1/Applied Biology 232%-29 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution20%-42 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Notorious for school fights and terrible conditions for students, North Charleston High is not somewhere a child should attend if she could go anywhere else. Close Quote

Schools Near North Charleston High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)			SC READY Mathematics (2026)			SC READY Science (2026)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2026)	EOCEP Biology 1/Applied Biology 2 (2026)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2026)	EOCEP English 2 (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2024)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP Biology 1/Applied Biology 2 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
North Charleston High	Public	9-12	1087 East Montague Avenue	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 745-7140	829	90	9.2	100.0%	43 (5.2%)	520 (62.7%)	242 (29.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (2.9%)	3.8	240^th of 248 public high schools	3.2%		4.1	236^th of 240 public high schools	1.7%	4									31.6	20.1	61.4	$26,208	$4,989	$2,440	$7,430	$14,033	$4,745	$18,778
Cooper River Center for Advanced Studies	Public	9-12	1088 East Montague Avenue	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 953-3231	0	15	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Allegro Charter School of Music	Public, Charter	6-12	4542 Simms Avenue	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	Yes	No	No	No	(843) 321-7104	250	27	9.2	82.9%	38 (15.2%)	158 (63.2%)	40 (16.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (5.2%)	63.4	88^th of 248 public high schools	64.5%		71.6	46^th of 240 public high schools	80.8%	42	34.1	54.2	47.5	20.5	27.1	27.5	11.4	83.3	56.8	47.8	93.5	$25,011	$2,256	$15	$2,271	$14,880	$7,860	$22,740
Charleston School of the Arts	Public, Magnet	6-12	5109-B West Enterprise Street	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 529-4990	1,102	69	15.9	27.1%	771 (70.0%)	131 (11.9%)	98 (8.9%)	39 (3.5%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	59 (5.4%)	96.5	8^th of 248 public high schools	96.8%		90.7	10^th of 240 public high schools	95.8%	2	92.5	93.1	95.0	88.7	81.3	93.7	89.4		95.6	89.9	99.4	$21,166	$3,310	$1,378	$4,687	$12,649	$3,830	$16,479
Academic Magnet High	Public, Magnet	9-12	5109-A West Enterprise Street	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 746-1300	740	45	16.5	13.1%	552 (74.6%)	24 (3.2%)	39 (5.3%)	78 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (6.4%)	98	2^nd of 248 public high schools	99.2%		97.6	2^nd of 240 public high schools	99.2%										100.0	100.0	100.0	$22,213	$2,724	$1,132	$3,856	$13,700	$4,656	$18,357
Military Magnet Academy	Public, Magnet	6-12	2950 Carner Avenue	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 745-7102	393	45	8.6	100.0%	11 (2.8%)	235 (59.8%)	133 (33.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	10 (2.5%)	61.8	96^th of 248 public high schools	61.3%		51	107^th of 240 public high schools	55.4%	11	43.1	44.4	67.9	30.8	22.3	55.4	29.3		65.2	49.1	93.1	$41,580	$4,727	$7,198	$11,925	$22,549	$7,106	$29,655
Greg Mathis Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	2872 Azalea Drive	North Charleston	29405	Charleston County	Charleston 01	Yes	No	No	Yes	(843) 557-1611	71	5	14.2	100.0%	0 (0.0%)	70 (98.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	0.9	247^th of 248 public high schools	0.4%		1.3	239^th of 240 public high schools	0.4%	8									18.5	6.3		$29,784	$3,250	$1,095	$4,345	$14,185	$11,254	$25,439
Lowcountry Acceleration Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	5935 Rivers Avenue suite 101A	N Charleston	29406	Charleston County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	No	No	(843) 804-6778	619	15	42.6	13.9%	191 (30.9%)	294 (47.5%)	107 (17.3%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.2%)	3.2	241^st of 248 public high schools	2.8%		11.1	221^st of 240 public high schools	7.9%	20									18.9	28.4	62.5	$11,237	$74	$471	$545	$179	$10,514	$10,692
Hanahan High	Public	9-12	6015 Murray Drive	Hanahan	29410	Berkeley County	Berkeley 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 820-3710	1,061	64	16.5	51.2%	537 (50.6%)	109 (10.3%)	261 (24.6%)	38 (3.6%)	16 (1.5%)	2 (0.2%)	98 (9.2%)	71.6	61^st of 248 public high schools	75.4%		50.5	108^th of 240 public high schools	55.0%	47								31.0	75.6	71.0	85.6	$14,018	$617	$780	$1,397	$10,911	$1,709	$12,620
Learn4Life High School-Charleston	Public, Charter	9-12	6209 Rivers Avenue	N Charleston	29406	Charleston County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	No	No	(843) 666-6362	169	7	23.4	97.8%	23 (13.6%)	83 (49.1%)	56 (33.1%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.0%)	7.1	237^th of 248 public high schools	4.4%		4.9	235^th of 240 public high schools	2.1%	2								40.0	30.4	22.8	65.4	$11,995	$651	$567	$1,218	$4,840	$5,937	$10,777

Frequently Asked Questions about North Charleston High

Is North Charleston High a good school?

North Charleston High ranks in the bottom 3.2% of South Carolina high schools.

What schools feed into North Charleston High?

North Charleston High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Chicora Elementary
Elementary : Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori
Elementary : Mary Ford Early Childhood Learning and Family Center
Elementary : Matilda F. Dunston Elementary
Elementary : North Charleston Creative Arts Elementary
Elementary : North Charleston Elementary
Middle : Morningside Middle

What is the racial makeup of North Charleston High?

Students at North Charleston High are 63% African American, 29% Hispanic, 5% White, 3% Two or more races.

What district is North Charleston High in?

Charleston 01

How many students attend North Charleston High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 829 students attended North Charleston High.

Rate North Charleston High!

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 2025

2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 3, 2025

2024–25 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresSep 2, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.