Schools · Durham

Durham, NC schools

Durham’s public schools score well below North Carolina’s averages: 39% of students are proficient in reading against 47.2% statewide, and 84% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.7%. Kids attend one of 27 elementary schools through grade 5, then George L Carrington Middle or Lucas Middle and Durham School of Technology.

Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.

CSchool Grade #191Best schools in NC (of 252)#245Highest graduation rate in NC (of 284)

TownTapestry School GradeNew

C

Durham’s School Grade: C

The public schools Durham’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 69% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.

CTest scoresC-Graduation

North Carolina school districts we grade (318)Better than 31%

Lower resultsHigher results

North Carolina towns with similar household incomes (264)Better than 11%

High confidence. Built on 11,774 tested students and a graduating class of 2,977; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change the grade.

How the School Grade works

Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on North Carolina’s state tests, each against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown below but don’t count toward the grade. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids: every district that serves it, weighted by the number of students tested in each. Tests count 60% and graduation 40%.
Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are lined up against the rest of North Carolina only. A+ top 5%A next 10%A- next 10%B B+ to B−, next 30%C C+ to C−, next 30%D D and D−, bottom 15%
Individual schools are graded the same way on their own test results, against every public school in North Carolina with 25+ students. Private schools aren’t graded: they don’t take the state tests.
What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income closely, so a high grade partly reflects who lives in a town. That’s why we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.

School path

Where Durham kids go to school

Grades PK–5

27 elementary schoolsDepends on your address · see the list Durham Public Schools

Grades 6–8

CGeorge L Carrington Middle or DLucas Middle Depends on your address Durham Public Schools

Grades 9–12

BDurham School of Technology 219 students · Durham Durham Public Schools

Based on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.

Test scores · 2020–21

Well below the state in reading

Reading (grades PK–12, Durham Public Schools)39%

State average 47.2%

Math (grades PK–12, Durham Public Schools)29%

State average 41.9%

Graduation · class of 2020

84% graduate on time

Graduation rate

84%

NC: 87.7%

Graduating class

2,977

students

The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #245 of 284 NC towns →

Districts

The district serving Durham

Durham Public SchoolsGrades PK–12 · 57 schools · 31,797 students

$15,851 per studentNC $13,045C

Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.

Every school

All 95 schools in Durham

Level

All 95 Elementary 37 Middle 8 High 13 Other 37

Type

All 95 Public 50 Charter 15 Private 30

Showing 1–30 of 95 schools

Pearsontown ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 765 students

Research Triangle CharterElementary · Grades K–8 · 710 students

Forest View ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 662 students

Southwest ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 639 students

Maureen Joy Charter SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 631 students

Lyons Farm ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 608 students

Sandy Ridge ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 589 students

Holt ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 587 students

Hillandale ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 586 students

Central Park School For ChildrenElementary · Grades K–8 · 585 students

Spring Valley ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 543 students

Hope Valley ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 539 students

Murray-Massenburg ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 517 students

Parkwood ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 491 students

Easley ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 490 students

E K Powe ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 454 students

Merrick-Moore ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 445 students

Bethesda ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 442 students

Eno Valley ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 440 students

Lakewood ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 439 students

Kestrel Heights SchoolElementary · Grades K–8 · 421 students

The Institute Development Young LeadersElementary · Grades K–8 · 419 students

Reaching All Minds AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 391 students

KIPP Durham College PreparatoryElementary · Grades K–8 · 380 students

Club Boulevard ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 364 students

George Watts ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 358 students

Y E Smith ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 358 students

Eastway ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 331 students

Little River ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 326 students

W G Pearson ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 319 students

School data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.