Enrollment
364
High
DISTRICT 451 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DARE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370111000454
Cape Hatteras Secondary School
48576 Highway 12, Buxton, NC 27920 · (252) 995-5730 · Dare County
GRADES 06–12HIGH43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL364 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 75% of North Carolina public high schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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
16.1:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.0:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
361 students
DISTRICT 54% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 6 | 55 | 15% |
| Grade 7 | 57 | 16% |
| Grade 8 | 50 | 14% |
| Grade 9 | 55 | 15% |
| Grade 10 | 49 | 13% |
| Grade 11 | 60 | 16% |
| Grade 12 | 38 | 10% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 45% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
61.1%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
45.5%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 46 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
57.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% 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 Cape Hatteras Secondary School
Cape Hatteras Secondary School's state test result (57.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cape Hatteras Secondary School this school | 364 | 99.2% | 57.3% |
| Alleghany High Sparta | 395 | 99.2% | 51.7% |
| Chatham Central High Bear Creek | 320 | 99.1% | 59.5% |
| Avery County High Newland | 542 | 99.3% | 31.5% |
| McDowell Early College Marion | 241 | 98.8% | 80.8% |
| Brunswick County Early College Bolivia | 332 | 99.1% | 90.5% |
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 Cape Hatteras Secondary School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 57.3% | #140 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 45.5% | #159 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.1% | #185 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 364 | #386 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.1:1 | #112 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 39.9% | #414 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.2% | #178 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +4.0% | #122 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
364
+19 (+6%) vs 2020
-29% since 1990-91, when it was 513
Student : Teacher
16.1:1
was 10.4:1
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 | 364 | 22.6 | 16.1:1 | 99% (361) |
| 2023-24 | 363 | 37.2 | 9.8:1 | 50% (183) |
| 2022-23 | 365 | 36.2 | 10.1:1 | 46% (169) |
| 2020-21 | 345 | 33 | 10.4:1 | 34% (119) |
| 2017-18 | 350 | 32.9 | 10.6:1 | 33% (114) |
| 2015-16 | 312 | 29 | 10.8:1 | 49% (152) |
| 2010-11 | 301 | 31 | 9.7:1 | 35% (104) |
| 2000-01 | 359 | 27 | 13.3:1 | 14% (51) |
| 1990-91 | 513 | 32 | 16.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cape Hatteras Secondary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 4% (350 to 364); teachers down 32% (32.9 to 22.6).
About Cape Hatteras Secondary School
Cape Hatteras Secondary School is listed by the National Center for Education Statistics as a high school in Buxton, North Carolina. The school had 364 students in grades 6 through 12 in 2024-25. Average enrollment for high schools in North Carolina is about 761, so this school runs 52% smaller than that.
Dare County Schools oversees Cape Hatteras Secondary School and 10 other schools, with 4,968 students in total.
Cape Hatteras Secondary School is 74% White by enrollment. Smaller groups are 21% Hispanic and 4% multiracial. County-wide, 86% of Dare County residents are White. Cape Hatteras Secondary School's diversity index is 40%, against a US figure of 70%.
Federal records show a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.1:1 at Cape Hatteras Secondary School, with 22.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. This ratio sits 3.4 below the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 99%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Dare County is 46%.
Measured against North Carolina public high schools, Cape Hatteras Secondary School receives an A-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 48.6% for Cape Hatteras Secondary School. The school posts 57.3%, 8.7 points above the prediction.
Across Dare County, the median household income is $88,994, roughly 43% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 4% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Dare County is home to 12 public schools and about 4,968 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Cape Hatteras Elementary School, is about 0.5 miles away.
In the federal locale system, Cape Hatteras Secondary School is coded Rural: Remote, for schools in rural territory far from an urban area.
Enrollment has grown by 19 students since 2020-21, to 364. The number of students per teacher rose from 10.4 to 16.1 over 4 years.
The discussion area below is open to posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Dare County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
37,875
Census ACS
Median income
$88,994
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
12
4,968 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Dare County Schools
- First Flight High SchoolHigh · 874 students
- Manteo Elementary SchoolElementary · 636 students
- First Flight Middle SchoolMiddle · 604 students
- Manteo High SchoolHigh · 528 students
- Kitty Hawk Elementary SchoolElementary · 487 students
- Nags Head Elementary SchoolElementary · 484 students
Nearby schools
- Cape Hatteras Elementary School0.5 mi · 284
- Ocracoke School26.3 mi · 139
Frequently asked questions
About Cape Hatteras Secondary SchoolHow large is Cape Hatteras Secondary School?
Cape Hatteras Secondary School enrolls approximately 364 students in grades 06-12.
What age range does Cape Hatteras Secondary School serve?
Cape Hatteras Secondary School serves students from grade 06 through grade 12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cape Hatteras Secondary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Cape Hatteras Secondary School is approximately 16.1:1 (23 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Cape Hatteras Secondary School?
Cape Hatteras Secondary School reports a student body of 74% White, 21% Hispanic, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Cape Hatteras Secondary School?
Cape Hatteras Secondary School is overseen by Dare County Schools in Dare County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.