Schools · Wilmington
Wilmington, NC schools
Wilmington’s public schools score well above North Carolina’s averages: 53% of students are proficient in reading against 47.2% statewide, and 88% of high schoolers graduate on time against 87.7%. Kids attend one of 14 schools through grade 8, then one of 4 middle schools and John T Hoggard High or New Hanover High or Isaac M Bear Early College High School.
Grades, test scores, graduation, spending and every school, from U.S. Department of Education data.
TownTapestry School GradeNew
B
Wilmington’s School Grade: B
The public schools Wilmington’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 59% of North Carolina’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
B+Test scoresB-Graduation
North Carolina school districts we grade (318)Better than 59%
Lower resultsHigher results
North Carolina towns with similar household incomes (329)Better than 72%
High confidence. Built on 12,667 tested students and a graduating class of 2,065; 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 Wilmington kids go to school
Grades 9–12
AJohn T Hoggard High or B+New Hanover High or B-Isaac M Bear Early College High School
Depends on your address New Hanover County SchoolsBased on district boundaries from the U.S. Department of Education. Check with the district before you enroll.
Test scores · 2020–21
Well above the state in reading
Reading (grades PK–12, New Hanover County)53%
State average 47.2%
Math (grades PK–12, New Hanover County)48%
State average 41.9%
Graduation · class of 2020
88% graduate on time
Graduation rate
88%
NC: 87.7%
Graduating class
2,065
students
The share of students who started ninth grade together and earned a regular diploma within four years. #133 of 284 NC towns →
Districts
The district serving Wilmington
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
Colleges
Wilmington is home to 3 colleges
University of North Carolina WilmingtonUniversity or college · Public · Wilmington13,624on campusCape Fear Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Wilmington9,738on campus
All 3 colleges in Wilmington →Miller-Motte College-WilmingtonUniversity or college · For-profit · Wilmington118on campus
Every school
All 42 schools in Wilmington
Showing 1–30 of 42 schools
Masonboro ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 564 students
APublicThe International School at GregoryElementary · Grades K–8 · 514 students
C+PublicCollege Park ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 470 students
C-PublicDr John Codington ElemElementary · Grades K–5 · 470 students
APublicPine Valley ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 465 students
B-PublicJohn J Blair ElementaryElementary · Grades PK–5 · 451 students
CPublicSunset Park ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 450 students
C-PublicCape Fear Center for InquiryElementary · Grades K–8 · 395 students
A-CharterHolly Tree ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 383 students
APublicBradley Creek ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 344 students
B+PublicA H Snipes Academy of Arts/DesElementary · Grades K–5 · 342 students
DPublicForest Hills Global ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 340 students
DPublicWinter Park Model ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 311 students
C+PublicWilmington School of the ArtsElementary · Grades K–7 · 297 students
CharterEdwin A Alderman ElementaryElementary · Grades K–5 · 255 students
CPublicR Freeman Sch of EngineeringElementary · Grades K–5 · 241 students
D-PublicD.C. Virgo Preparatory AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 162 students
D-PublicClassical Charter Schools of WilmingtonElementary · Grades K–5 · 140 students
C+CharterWilmington Preparatory AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 91 students
DCharterLake Forest AcademyElementary · Grades K–8 · 45 students
D-PublicSt. Mark Catholic SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 514 students
PrivateFriends School of WilmingtonElementary · Grades PK–8 · 187 students
PrivatePeace Rose MontessoriElementary · Grades PK–8 · 121 students
PrivatePeace Rose Montessori SchoolElementary · Grades PK–8 · 117 students
PrivateNew Horizons Elementary SchoolElementary · Grades K–5 · 99 students
PrivateHill School of WilmingtonElementary · Grades 1–8 · 65 students
PrivatePine Valley MC Wee Care Preschool & KindergartenElementary · Grades PK–K · 44 students
PrivateRoland-Grise MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 878 students
B+PublicM C S Noble MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 690 students
A-PublicWilliston MiddleMiddle · Grades 6–8 · 666 students
C-PublicSchool data from the U.S. Department of Education (NCES). Ratings are from neighbors on TownTapestry.