Enrollment
146
High
DISTRICT 435 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEWTON CONOVER CITY SCHOOLS·NCES 370336002754
Discovery High School
301 West 18th St, Newton, NC 28658 · (828) 466-5581 · Catawba County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL146 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 84% of North Carolina public high schools
- ATest 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
22.2:1
7 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.4:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
29%
43 students
DISTRICT 83% · 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 9 | 39 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 27 | 18% |
| Grade 11 | 34 | 23% |
| Grade 12 | 46 | 32% |
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
80.8%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
82.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 81 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 83 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
78.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
69.8%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 79% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 70% 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 Discovery High School
Discovery High School's state test result (78.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery High School this school | 146 | 29.5% | 78.5% |
| Isaac M Bear Early College High School Wilmington | 260 | 25.8% | 92.5% |
| Crossroads Arts and Science Early Colleg Statesville | 225 | 28.9% | N/A |
| Craven Early College High New Bern | 221 | 33.9% | 88.1% |
| Cabarrus Early College of Technology Concord | 236 | 32.2% | 88.6% |
| Collaborative College for Technology Statesville | 232 | 23.7% | N/A |
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 Discovery High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Catawba County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 78.5% | #57 of 468 | #2 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 82.8% | #33 of 464 | #2 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.8% | #74 of 448 | #1 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 146 | #510 of 598 | #10 of 10 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.5% | #480 of 527 | #10 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -32.4% | #8 of 277 | #1 of 7 |
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
146
-65 (-31%) vs 2020
+13% since 2010-11, when it was 129
Student : Teacher
22.2:1
was 21.1:1
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 | 146 | 6.6 | 22.2:1 | 29% (43) |
| 2023-24 | 162 | 6.4 | 25.3:1 | 25% (40) |
| 2022-23 | 193 | 8.6 | 22.5:1 | 24% (46) |
| 2020-21 | 211 | 10 | 21.1:1 | 16% (33) |
| 2017-18 | 216 | 11 | 19.6:1 | 19% (41) |
| 2015-16 | 247 | 13 | 19.0:1 | 34% (83) |
| 2010-11 | 129 | 9 | 14.3:1 | 28% (36) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Discovery High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 32% (216 to 146); teachers down 40% (11 to 6.6).
About Discovery High School
Federal records list Discovery High School as a high school in Newton, North Carolina. The school offers grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 146 students. Across high schools in North Carolina, the average enrollment is about 761.
A total of 7 schools make up Newton Conover City Schools, with 2,654 students enrolled.
More than half of enrollment at Discovery High School is White: 58%. The next largest groups are 19% Hispanic, 10% Asian, 10% multiracial, and 3% Black. The school's White share is 16 points below the 75% share among Catawba County residents. The diversity index for Discovery High School is 60%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
Discovery High School reports a ratio of 22.2 students per teacher, from 6.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina is 2.6 students per teacher. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Discovery High School, 29% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Catawba County, the average eligibility rate is 86%.
Discovery High School holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 84% of North Carolina public high schools.
Discovery High School's actual average proficiency rate across its state test results (78.5%) and its predicted rate (69.8%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of North Carolina schools.
The school is in Catawba County, where median household income comes to about $67,864, 26% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 9% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Catawba County counts 44 public schools with about 22,392 students.
The closest school to Discovery High School is Newton-Conover High, located about 0.2 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Discovery High School is 2nd of 8 on proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Discovery High School as Suburb: Mid-size.
Enrollment figures show a decline of 65 students from 2020-21 to 2024-25. By 2024-25, the school had 22.2 students per teacher, compared with 21.1 in 2020-21.
The allk12 page for Discovery High School lets the school community talk about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. You can also rate the school on this page.
Catawba County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
163,573
Census ACS
Median income
$67,864
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
44
22,392 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Newton Conover City Schools
- Newton-Conover HighHigh · 724 students
- Newton-Conover MiddleMiddle · 559 students
- Shuford ElementaryElementary · 402 students
- North Newton ElementaryElementary · 388 students
- South Newton ElementaryElementary · 328 students
- Conover Special EducationCombined · 107 students
Other schools in Newton
- Fred T Foard HighHigh · 930 students
- Newton-Conover HighHigh · 724 students
- Balls Creek ElementaryElementary · 686 students
- Startown ElementaryElementary · 540 students
- Blackburn ElementaryElementary · 484 students
- Jacobs Fork MiddleMiddle · 482 students
Other Discovery High schools
8 other US public schools in 7 states are named Discovery High. Discovery High School is the 5th largest of the 9.
- Discovery High SchoolLawrenceville, GA · 2,703 students
- DISCOVERY HIGH SCHOOLLAKE ALFRED, FL · 898 students
- DISCOVERY HIGH SCHOOLBRONX, NY · 377 students
- Discovery High SchoolCamas, WA · 201 students
- Discovery HighSacramento, CA · 130 students
Nearby schools
- Newton-Conover High0.2 mi · 724
- North Newton Elementary0.7 mi · 388
- Conover Special Education1.5 mi · 107
- South Newton Elementary1.7 mi · 328
- Shuford Elementary3.1 mi · 402
- Newton-Conover Middle3.6 mi · 559
Frequently asked questions
About Discovery High SchoolHow many students attend Discovery High School?
Discovery High School enrolls approximately 146 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Discovery High School serve?
Discovery High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Discovery High School?
Approximately 22.2:1 students per teacher at Discovery High School.
How diverse is Discovery High School?
Discovery High School reports a student body of 58% White, 19% Hispanic, 3% Black, 10% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Is Discovery High School public or private?
Discovery High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Newton Conover City Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.