Valdese’s public schools beat 57% of North Carolina districts
The public schools Valdese’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 57% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
How Valdese compares
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on North Carolina’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2020.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of North Carolina only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so 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.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Valdese.
The district
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Close to the state in reading
Valdese vs. its neighbors
Valdese’s schools rank 1st of 3 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among North Carolina districts.
Every school in Valdese
4 schools. Grades are based on state tests and graduation. Any other ratings are made by neighbors.
Parents talk
What Valdese families are saying about school.
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Colleges near Valdese
There’s no college in Valdese, but 6 are within 30 miles. The closest is Western Piedmont Community College in Morganton, 6.8 miles away.
Straight-line distance from the center of Valdese. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus · College Scorecard · IPEDS.
School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within North Carolina. Stars are from neighbors.