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Alumni: what's one memory from Avery County High that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
542
High
DISTRICT 223 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·AVERY COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370030000081
Avery County High
401 Avery County High School R, Newland, NC 28657 · (828) 733-0151 · Avery County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL542 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 19% of North Carolina public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded North Carolina public high schools
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
27 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
538 students
DISTRICT 97% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 130 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 126 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 147 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 139 | 26% |
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Avery County Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
49.6%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
7.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 8 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all North Carolina schools, those numbers are about 51 and 52.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
31.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-17.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among North Carolina's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Avery County High
Avery County High's state test result (31.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Avery County High this school | 542 | 99.3% | 31.5% |
| West Wilkes High School Millers Creek | 582 | 99.3% | 50.1% |
| North Wilkes High School Hays | 578 | 97.9% | 57.6% |
| Mountain Heritage High Burnsville | 642 | 98.9% | 46.7% |
| Mitchell High Bakersville | 482 | 98.8% | 35.4% |
| East Surry High Pilot Mountain | 576 | 99.5% | 58.1% |
Matched among North Carolina high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Avery County High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.5% | #388 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 7.8% | #461 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #293 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 542 | #332 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #312 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.1% | #430 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.3% | #167 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +45.3% | #11 of 164 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
542
-34 (-6%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 716
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
was 15.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 542 | 26.7 | 20.3:1 | 99% (538) |
| 2023-24 | 594 | 37.9 | 15.7:1 | 99% (591) |
| 2022-23 | 613 | 39.8 | 15.4:1 | 58% (358) |
| 2020-21 | 576 | 38 | 15.2:1 | 41% (238) |
| 2017-18 | 373 | 27.5 | 13.6:1 | 55% (206) |
| 2015-16 | 406 | 25 | 16.2:1 | 58% (236) |
| 2010-11 | 647 | 44 | 14.7:1 | 48% (311) |
| 2000-01 | 636 | 58 | 11.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 716 | 63 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Avery County High.
Since 2017-18: students up 45% (373 to 542); teachers down 3% (27.5 to 26.7).
About Avery County High
Among the schools in Newland, North Carolina, is Avery County High, a low-enrollment high school. It educates 542 students in grades 9 through 12. The typical figure for high schools in North Carolina is about 761 students.
Avery County Schools oversees Avery County High and 7 other schools, with 1,782 students in total.
White students account for 78% of enrollment at Avery County High. Other students are 17% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. That is lower than the 87% White share among all Avery County residents. By the diversity index, Avery County High comes in at 36%.
Avery County High operates with 26.7 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 20.3:1. That ratio is over the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. Avery County High reports 99% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is close to the 97% average for public schools in Avery County.
The allk12 Grade for Avery County High is C-. Compared with North Carolina public high schools, the school scored higher than 19% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.5% for Avery County High. The school posts 31.5%, 17.0 points below the prediction.
Avery County High is located in Avery County, where median household income is about $61,428, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 25%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Avery County High is one of 10 public schools in Avery County, which together enroll about 2,025 students.
Avery Middle is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles away. Counting only straight-line distance, 4 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 31.5% is below the 55.3% average for nearby schools.
Avery County High is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count dropped from 576 to 542. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio rose to 20.3:1, from 15.2:1.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Avery County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
17,680
Census ACS
Median income
$61,428
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
10
2,025 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Avery County Schools
- Newland ElementaryElementary · 214 students
- Cranberry MiddleMiddle · 202 students
- Freedom Trail ElementaryElementary · 202 students
- Crossnore ElementaryElementary · 184 students
- Avery MiddleMiddle · 181 students
- Banner Elk ElementaryElementary · 159 students
Other schools in Newland
- Newland ElementaryElementary · 214 students
- Avery MiddleMiddle · 181 students
- Marjorie Williams AcademyCombined · 130 students
- Riverside ElementaryElementary · 98 students
Nearby schools
- Avery Middle0.2 mi · 181
- Newland Elementary1.0 mi · 214
- Crossnore Elementary2.9 mi · 184
- Marjorie Williams Academy3.0 mi · 130
- Freedom Trail Elementary5.9 mi · 202
- Cranberry Middle6.0 mi · 202
Frequently asked questions
About Avery County HighHow many students attend Avery County High?
Avery County High enrolls approximately 542 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Avery County High serve?
Avery County High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Avery County High have?
Avery County High employs 27 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.3:1.
How diverse is Avery County High?
Avery County High reports a student body of 78% White, 17% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Avery County High public or private?
Avery County High is a public K-12 school, overseen by Avery County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.