How Black students are performing in North Carolina schools

In Wake County alone, the gap between the best and worst schools for Black children is 89 points across 190 schools. This tool helps you find the right one.

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53.2%

All students

41.8%

Black

47.2%

Hispanic

64%

White

71.8%

Asian

Share of students meeting grade level proficient+ at the typical North Carolina school. Groups are shown wherever North Carolina reports them; a group is omitted from a school when too few students were tested to report safely.

These figures come from NC DPI 2024–25, measuring grade level proficient+ in All Subjects · Grades 3–12. Across 102 districts, 2,307 North Carolina schools report enough results to be included.

At the typical North Carolina school the picture is black students at 41.8%, hispanic students at 47.2%, white students at 64% and asian students at 71.8%. That is a 30-point spread between the highest and lowest group, inside the same schools, the same districts and the same state — which is what this tool exists to make visible.

What the North Carolina data shows

Landscape

3.0 %

of North Carolina schools earn an A for Black students

An A means 80% or more of Black students at that school score Grade Level Proficient or above. Only 64 of the 2,100 schools with at least 25 Black student results reach that bar.

Disparity

88.5 pts

gap between the best and worst schools for Black students in Wake County

Among the 190 Wake schools with at least 25 Black student results, Wake Early College of Information & Biotechnologies has 93.5% of its Black students proficient. Connections Academy, in the same district, has 5.0%. The specific school matters far more than the district name.

Opportunity

schools where 80%+ of Black students are proficient — with enough students to make it meaningful

Each of these 42 schools has at least 50 Black student results. Sallie B Howard School reaches 82.9% with 863 Black students — proof it holds at real scale, not just in small samples.

Where Black students are doing best in North Carolina

These are the schools where Black students most often meet grade level proficient+, among those with at least 25 Black student results reported. Every group's result is shown alongside, because a school that serves one group well and another poorly is telling you something too.

School	All	Black	Hispanic	White	Asian
Cross Creek Early CollegeCumberland County Schools	95%	95%	95%	95%	95%
Gaston Early College of Medical SciencesGaston County Schools	95%	95%	95%	95%	—
Highland Sch of TechnologyGaston County Schools Magnet	95%	95%	95%	95%	95%
Granville Early College HighGranville County Schools	95%	95%	94.7%	95%	—
Brown Summit MiddleGuilford County Schools Magnet	95%	95%	95%	95%	95%
STEM Early College @ NC A&T SUGuilford County Schools	95%	95%	—	95%	95%
Harnett County Early CollegeHarnett County Schools	94.4%	95%	90.2%	95%	—
Johnston County Schools Career TechnicalJohnston County Public Schools	95%	95%	95%	95%	—
Johnston Co Early College AcademyJohnston County Public Schools	95%	95%	95%	95%	—
PCS Early College High SchoolPitt County Schools	95%	95%	95%	95%	95%

Flags show magnet, charter, alternative and virtual schools. Some campuses — early college and specialized academies among them — also admit by application, and this page cannot yet identify all of them. Check with the district before assuming a school is open to your address.

Where Black students are struggling most

The same measure at the other end of the range. In many of these schools every group is falling short, which points at the school rather than at the students in it.

School	All	Black	Hispanic	White	Asian
SCORE AcademyWake County Schools Alt	9.8%	5%	9.6%	21.4%	—
Connections AcademyWake County Schools Alt	11.3%	5%	13.3%	17.4%	—
South ProvidenceUnion County Public Schools Alt	5%	5%	5%	5%	—
Shaw AcademyScotland County Schools Alt	5%	5%	—	5%	—
Rutherford Opportunity CenterRutherford County Schools Alt	6.3%	5%	5%	8.5%	—
Henderson HighRowan-Salisbury Schools Alt	5.7%	5%	5%	8.9%	—
Ashley Chapel Educational CenterRichmond County Schools Alt	5%	5%	—	9.1%	—
J. C. Roe CenterNew Hanover County Schools Alt	5.6%	5%	5.9%	38.5%	—
Lake Forest AcademyNew Hanover County Schools Alt	5%	5%	—	7.7%	—
Commonwealth HighCharter / Independent CharterAlt	13.3%	5%	21.4%	—	—

One district, two outcomes

In Cumberland County Schools, Cross Creek Early College reports 95% of Black students meeting the standard. Howard Learning Academy, in the same district, reports 5%. That is a 90-point spread across 78 schools under one administration, serving one community, funded by one tax base — the clearest illustration of why address matters more than it should.

North Carolina districts

Districts with at least ten schools reporting Black student results, by school count. The percentage shown is the average across that district's schools for Black students.

Wake County Schools — 190 schools, 44% average

Charter / Independent — 185 schools, 45.3% average

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools — 177 schools, 48.8% average

Guilford County Schools — 114 schools, 42.5% average

Cumberland County Schools — 78 schools, 44.6% average

Winston Salem / Forsyth County Schools — 73 schools, 39.2% average

Durham Public Schools — 53 schools, 42.2% average

Gaston County Schools — 50 schools, 40.4% average

Johnston County Public Schools — 46 schools, 46% average

Union County Public Schools — 45 schools, 56.4% average

Cabarrus County Schools — 39 schools, 53.1% average

Pitt County Schools — 36 schools, 44.7% average

Alamance-Burlington Schools — 35 schools, 33.3% average

Onslow County Schools — 35 schools, 40.3% average

New Hanover County Schools — 32 schools, 32.9% average

Public Schools of Robeson County — 32 schools, 32% average

Wayne County Public Schools — 31 schools, 42.6% average

Iredell-Statesville Schools — 28 schools, 33% average

Cleveland County Schools — 26 schools, 43.8% average

Harnett County Schools — 25 schools, 34.4% average

Rowan-Salisbury Schools — 25 schools, 23.1% average

Wilson County Schools — 23 schools, 51.6% average

Buncombe County Schools — 22 schools, 28.8% average

Craven County Board of Education — 22 schools, 40.3% average

Catawba County Schools — 21 schools, 34.9% average

Nash County Public Schools — 21 schools, 43.2% average

Rockingham County Schools — 21 schools, 37% average

Brunswick County Schools — 18 schools, 40.8% average

Davidson County Schools — 18 schools, 40.8% average

Edgecombe County Public Schools — 18 schools, 32.4% average

Moore County Schools — 18 schools, 41.9% average

Lenoir County Public Schools — 17 schools, 38.3% average

Franklin County Schools — 16 schools, 45.5% average

Granville County Schools — 16 schools, 39.4% average

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools — 16 schools, 39.5% average

Sampson County Schools — 15 schools, 39.5% average

Stanly County Schools — 15 schools, 36.9% average

Vance County Schools — 15 schools, 37.3% average

Chatham County Schools — 14 schools, 42% average

Hoke County Schools — 14 schools, 39.5% average

How these averages are calculated. The figures above average across North Carolina schools, giving each school equal weight. They describe the typical school, not the state's tested population, and will differ from the headline figure NC DPI 2024–25 publishes — that one weights every student equally, so larger schools count for more. Use the state's own published figure when citing a statewide number.

How to read the school data. North Carolina suppresses results above 95% or below 5% to protect student privacy. Those schools are shown at the 95% or 5% boundary and are excluded from headline statistics. This ranking reflects the 2024–25 school year, combining End-of-Grade (grades 3–8) and End-of-Course (high school) results. NC DPI publishes updated data annually each fall. Because every state sets its own proficiency standard, North Carolina's figures should not be compared directly against another state's.