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What advice would you give to incoming students at Charles H Darden Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
378
Middle
DISTRICT 432 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILSON COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370502002061
Charles H Darden Middle
1665 Lipscomb Road, Wilson, NC 27893 · (252) 206-4973 · Wilson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL378 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 14% of North Carolina public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
375 students
DISTRICT 92% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 136 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 129 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 113 | 30% |
Student demographics
49%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
38.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
28.3%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 38 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 28 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
34.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% 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 Charles H Darden Middle
Charles H Darden Middle's state test result (34.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles H Darden Middle this school | 378 | 99.2% | 34.6% |
| James E Shepard Middle Durham | 423 | 98.6% | 52.6% |
| Wilson STEM Academy Charlotte | 456 | 99.3% | 36.0% |
| Eastern Wayne Middle Goldsboro | 427 | 97.4% | 48.4% |
| Elizabethtown Middle Elizabethtown | 305 | 95.4% | 29.1% |
| York Chester Middle Gastonia | 398 | 99.2% | 40.3% |
Matched among North Carolina middle 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 Charles H Darden Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.6% | #398 of 463 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #424 of 461 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.2% | #355 of 463 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 378 | #393 of 478 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #53 of 456 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 49.5% | #359 of 456 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.2% | #198 of 472 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +25.6% | #27 of 143 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
378
+64 (+20%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 436
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 14.3:1
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 | 378 | 27.7 | 13.7:1 | 99% (375) |
| 2023-24 | 389 | 23.8 | 16.3:1 | 99% (386) |
| 2022-23 | 441 | 26.7 | 16.5:1 | 99% (438) |
| 2020-21 | 314 | 22 | 14.3:1 | 99% (311) |
| 2017-18 | 301 | 25.3 | 11.9:1 | 98% (296) |
| 2015-16 | 336 | 24 | 14.0:1 | 88% (295) |
| 2010-11 | 345 | 26 | 13.3:1 | 94% (325) |
| 2000-01 | 431 | 35 | 12.3:1 | 70% (302) |
| 1990-91 | 436 | 26 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Charles H Darden Middle.
Since 2017-18: students up 26% (301 to 378); teachers up 9% (25.3 to 27.7).
About Charles H Darden Middle
Charles H Darden Middle is a small middle school in Wilson, North Carolina, administered by Wilson County Schools. The school teaches grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 378 students. That is 38% below the average of about 605 students for middle schools in North Carolina.
Charles H Darden Middle is a school in Wilson County Schools. The district has 25 schools and 10,451 students.
The largest group at Charles H Darden Middle is Black students, at 64%. Enrollment also includes 31% Hispanic, 3% White, and 2% multiracial. Among people living in Wilson County, the Black share is about 39%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Charles H Darden Middle scores 49%.
Teacher count: 27.7 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 13.7:1. Compared with the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina, this school's ratio is lower. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 99%. The average for public schools in Wilson County is similar, at 96%.
Charles H Darden Middle holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 14% of North Carolina public middle schools.
Charles H Darden Middle posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 34.6%, compared with a predicted 48.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations.
American Community Survey estimates for Wilson County show that median household income comes to about $56,423, roughly 22% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 14%. The county's public schools total 29, with about 12,482 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, B O Barnes Elementary, is about 0.4 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. On average proficiency, Charles H Darden Middle is 4th of 4 nearby schools with test data.
NCES describes the area around Charles H Darden Middle as Town: Fringe, meaning in a town close to an urbanized area.
From 314 students in 2020-21, enrollment increased to 378 by 2024-25.
On allk12, people connected to Charles H Darden Middle can post about special education services, counseling, and support programs. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Wilson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
79,290
Census ACS
Median income
$56,423
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
22%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
29
12,482 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wilson County Schools
- James Hunt HighHigh · 1,115 students
- Fike HighHigh · 1,028 students
- Forest Hills MiddleMiddle · 654 students
- Beddingfield HighHigh · 653 students
- John W Jones ElementaryElementary · 601 students
- Rock Ridge ElementaryElementary · 476 students
Other schools in Wilson
- Sallie B Howard SchoolCombined · 1,228 students
- James Hunt HighHigh · 1,115 students
- Fike HighHigh · 1,028 students
- Wilson Preparatory AcademyCombined · 725 students
- Forest Hills MiddleMiddle · 654 students
- Beddingfield HighHigh · 653 students
Nearby schools
- B O Barnes Elementary0.4 mi · 274
- Wilson Academy of Applied Technology0.5 mi · 280
- Vick Elementary0.6 mi · 359
- Eastern NC School for the Deaf0.6 mi · 36
- Eastern NC School for the Deaf0.6 mi · 42
- Sallie B Howard School0.9 mi · 1,228
Frequently asked questions
About Charles H Darden MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Charles H Darden Middle?
Charles H Darden Middle enrolls approximately 378 students in grades 06-08.
Is Charles H Darden Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Charles H Darden Middle is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Charles H Darden Middle have?
Charles H Darden Middle employs 28 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.7:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Charles H Darden Middle?
At Charles H Darden Middle, the student body is approximately 3% White, 31% Hispanic, 64% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Is Charles H Darden Middle public or private?
Charles H Darden Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Wilson County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.