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What do students at Ben L. Smith High School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,348
High
DISTRICT 751 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·GUILFORD COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370192000798
Ben L. Smith High School
2407 South Holden Road, Greensboro, NC 27407 · (336) 294-7300 · Guilford County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,348 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of North Carolina public high schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
16.2:1
83 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.5:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
1,345 students
DISTRICT 92% · 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 | 380 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 339 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 324 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 305 | 23% |
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
34.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
16.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
26.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-22.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 48% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Ben L. Smith High School
Ben L. Smith High School's state test result (26.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben L. Smith High School this school | 1,348 | 99.8% | 26.2% |
| West Mecklenburg High School Charlotte | 1,290 | 99.8% | 22.4% |
| Rocky River High School Mint Hill | 1,562 | 99.8% | 26.0% |
| North Mecklenburg High School Huntersville | 1,854 | 99.8% | 42.4% |
| Southeast Raleigh High Raleigh | 1,438 | 99.8% | 24.3% |
| High Point Central High High Point | 1,005 | 99.3% | 33.1% |
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 Ben L. Smith High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Guilford County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.2% | #425 of 468 | #23 of 24 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.2% | #420 of 464 | #21 of 22 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.2% | #413 of 448 | #23 of 24 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,348 | #112 of 598 | #6 of 31 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.2:1 | #116 of 473 | #10 of 20 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.9% | #223 of 474 | #12 of 20 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.8% | #31 of 527 | #4 of 27 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.8% | #104 of 164 | #5 of 6 |
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
1,348
+50 (+4%) vs 2020
+15% since 2000-01, when it was 1,172
Student : Teacher
16.2:1
was 15.4:1
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 | 1,348 | 83.4 | 16.2:1 | 100% (1,345) |
| 2023-24 | 1,397 | 85.5 | 16.3:1 | 100% (1,394) |
| 2022-23 | 1,371 | 87 | 15.8:1 | 100% (1,368) |
| 2020-21 | 1,298 | 84 | 15.4:1 | 100% (1,295) |
| 2017-18 | 1,274 | 86.5 | 14.7:1 | 95% (1,216) |
| 2015-16 | 1,271 | 87 | 14.6:1 | 100% (1,268) |
| 2010-11 | 1,171 | 90 | 13.0:1 | 80% (932) |
| 2000-01 | 1,172 | 88 | 13.3:1 | 46% (536) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ben L. Smith High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (1,274 to 1,348); teachers down 4% (86.5 to 83.4).
About Ben L. Smith High School
Located in Greensboro, North Carolina, Ben L. Smith High School is a large high school. Enrollment is 1,348 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 9 through 12. Against the 761-student average for high schools in North Carolina, enrollment here is 77% higher.
Across its 123 schools, Guilford County Schools enrolls 68,535 students. Ben L. Smith High School is one of those schools.
Federal enrollment data show Black students as the largest group at Ben L. Smith High School, at 49%. Other groups include 37% Hispanic, 6% Asian, 4% White, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Guilford County residents are about 34% Black. Pick two students at random and there is a 62% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Its teaching staff equals 83.4 full-time positions, a ratio of 16.2:1. That is lower than the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 100%. Among public schools in Guilford County, the average eligibility rate is 89%.
The allk12 Grade for Ben L. Smith High School is D. Compared with North Carolina public high schools, the school scored higher than 9% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Ben L. Smith High School trails its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests by 22.1 points (26.2% versus 48.4%), a bottom-10% result in North Carolina on BeatsExpectations.
In Guilford County (population about 547,940), the median household income is $68,642, roughly 39% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. There are 143 public schools in Guilford County, enrolling about 79,539 students in all.
Of nearby public schools, Academy at Smith is the closest, at about 0.2 miles. Ben L. Smith High School has at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ben L. Smith High School comes in 6th of 6 nearby schools on average proficiency.
The school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (City: Large).
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 50 more students in 2024-25.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Ben L. Smith High School. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Guilford County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
547,940
Census ACS
Median income
$68,642
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
39%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
143
79,539 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Guilford County Schools
- Northwest Guilford HighHigh · 2,055 students
- Grimsley HighHigh · 1,967 students
- Page HighHigh · 1,648 students
- Southwest Guilford HighHigh · 1,547 students
- James B Dudley HighHigh · 1,403 students
- Lucy Ragsdale HighHigh · 1,292 students
Other schools in Greensboro
- Northwest Guilford HighHigh · 2,055 students
- Grimsley HighHigh · 1,967 students
- Page HighHigh · 1,648 students
- James B Dudley HighHigh · 1,403 students
- Triad Math and Science AcademyCombined · 1,374 students
- Cornerstone Charter Academy-CFACombined · 1,343 students
Nearby schools
- Academy at Smith0.2 mi · 246
- Archer Elementary1.0 mi · 389
- Sedgefield Elementary1.1 mi · 489
- Edwin A Alderman Elementary1.2 mi · 392
- Guilford eLearning University Prep1.3 mi · 284
- Hunter Elementary1.3 mi · 505
Frequently asked questions
About Ben L. Smith High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ben L. Smith High School?
Ben L. Smith High School enrolls approximately 1,348 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Ben L. Smith High School serve?
Ben L. Smith High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Ben L. Smith High School have?
Ben L. Smith High School employs 83 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.2:1.
How diverse is Ben L. Smith High School?
Ben L. Smith High School reports a student body of 4% White, 37% Hispanic, 49% Black, 6% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Ben L. Smith High School?
Ben L. Smith High School is overseen by Guilford County Schools in Guilford County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.