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What do students at Durham School of the Arts actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,764
High
DISTRICT 890 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DURHAM PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370126001547
Durham School of the Arts
401 North Duke Street, Durham, NC 27701 · (919) 560-3926 · Durham County
GRADES 06–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,764 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 89% 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.
- ABeats 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
17.6:1
100 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
1,750 students
DISTRICT 98% · 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 6 | 217 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 235 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 242 | 14% |
| Grade 9 | 347 | 20% |
| Grade 10 | 304 | 17% |
| Grade 11 | 233 | 13% |
| Grade 12 | 186 | 11% |
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
80.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
66.8%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 67 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
74.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+26.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 75% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 26 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 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 Durham School of the Arts
Durham School of the Arts's state test result (74.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Durham School of the Arts this school | 1,764 | 99.2% | 74.8% |
| C E Jordan High Durham | 2,189 | 99.9% | 46.6% |
| Clayton High Clayton | 1,929 | 99.6% | 46.6% |
| East Forsyth High Kernersville | 1,647 | 99.8% | 36.0% |
| Triton High Erwin | 1,274 | 99.5% | 32.9% |
| New Hanover High Wilmington | 1,437 | 98.5% | 30.9% |
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 Durham School of the Arts ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Durham County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.8% | #73 of 468 | #3 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.8% | #68 of 464 | #3 of 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.0% | #75 of 448 | #2 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,764 | #63 of 598 | #3 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #185 of 473 | #7 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.8% | #30 of 474 | #3 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.2% | #172 of 527 | #7 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +0.7% | #158 of 164 | #6 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
1,764
-105 (-6%) vs 2020
+33% since 2000-01, when it was 1,330
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
was 16.8:1
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 | 1,764 | 100 | 17.6:1 | 99% (1,750) |
| 2023-24 | 1,767 | 111 | 15.9:1 | 38% (666) |
| 2022-23 | 1,705 | 114 | 15.0:1 | 34% (580) |
| 2020-21 | 1,869 | 111 | 16.8:1 | 20% (368) |
| 2017-18 | 1,751 | 107.7 | 16.3:1 | 33% (585) |
| 2015-16 | 1,639 | 106 | 15.5:1 | 37% (601) |
| 2010-11 | 1,412 | 94 | 15.0:1 | 39% (544) |
| 2000-01 | 1,330 | 74 | 18.0:1 | 25% (330) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Durham School of the Arts.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (1,751 to 1,764); teachers down 7% (107.7 to 100).
About Durham School of the Arts
Durham School of the Arts is a large high school for students in Durham, North Carolina. The school runs grades 6 through 12 and enrolls 1,764 students. High schools in North Carolina have about 761 students on average; enrollment here is 132% higher.
Across its 55 schools, Durham Public Schools enrolls 31,797 students. Durham School of the Arts is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Durham School of the Arts, about 35 are White, the largest group. After that, the student body is 31% Hispanic, 25% Black, 7% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Census figures show Durham County is about 43% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 72, compared with 70 nationally.
Teacher count: 100 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 17.6:1. Across high schools in North Carolina, the average ratio is 19.6:1. Roughly 99% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Durham School of the Arts holds an A allk12 Grade, placing it above 89% of North Carolina public high schools.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results, 74.8%, is 26.2 points above the 48.5% the model predicts from its free or reduced-price lunch share. That result is in the top 10% of North Carolina schools.
Durham County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $82,316 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 55% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. Public schools in Durham County number 74, with about 46,109 students.
Of the public schools around it, Durham School of the Arts is closest to Central Park School For Children, about 0.3 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Durham School of the Arts's average proficiency of 74.8% compares with 56.2% for its nearest scored neighbors.
Federal records code the school's setting as City: Large.
In 2020-21, Durham School of the Arts enrolled 1,869 students. By 2024-25, that number had fallen to 1,764.
This community page is for conversations about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. You can also rate the school on this page.
Durham County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
332,353
Census ACS
Median income
$82,316
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
55%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
74
46,109 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Durham Public Schools
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
- Southern School of Energy and SustainabiHigh · 1,384 students
- Northern HighHigh · 1,281 students
- Sherwood Githens MiddleMiddle · 878 students
Other schools in Durham
- NC Virtual AcademyCombined · 3,482 students
- North Carolina Cyber AcademyCombined · 2,461 students
- C E Jordan HighHigh · 2,189 students
- Riverside HighHigh · 1,900 students
- Hillside HighHigh · 1,433 students
- Southern School of Energy and SustainabiHigh · 1,384 students
Nearby schools
- Central Park School For Children0.3 mi · 585
- George Watts Elementary0.4 mi · 358
- Durham Charter School0.6 mi · 1,010
- Global Scholars Academy0.8 mi · 201
- Morehead Montessori1.1 mi · 278
- E K Powe Elementary1.1 mi · 454
Frequently asked questions
About Durham School of the ArtsWhat is the total enrollment at Durham School of the Arts?
Durham School of the Arts enrolls approximately 1,764 students in grades 06-12.
What age range does Durham School of the Arts serve?
Durham School of the Arts serves students from grade 06 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Durham School of the Arts have?
Durham School of the Arts employs 100 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Durham School of the Arts?
Student demographics at Durham School of the Arts are roughly 35% White, 31% Hispanic, 25% Black, 3% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Durham School of the Arts in?
Durham School of the Arts is part of Durham Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.