Enrollment
271
High
DISTRICT 707 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUNCOMBE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370045002661
Early College
340 Victoria Road, Asheville, NC 28801 · (828) 232-4123 · Buncombe County
GRADES 09–13HIGH13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL271 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 92% 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
24.8:1
11 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
268 students
DISTRICT 96% · 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 | 63 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 59 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 56 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 51 | 19% |
Student demographics
57%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · 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
94.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
66.7%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 94 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
80.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+31.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% 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 32 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 Early College
Early College's state test result (80.5% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early College this school | 271 | 98.9% | 80.5% |
| Surry Early College Dobson | 296 | 99.0% | 84.2% |
| Johnston County Schools Career Technical Smithfield | 241 | 98.8% | N/A |
| Beaufort Co Early College High Washington | 280 | 98.9% | 87.8% |
| Montgomery County Early College Troy | 282 | 98.6% | 84.5% |
| Rowan Co Early College Salisbury | 235 | 98.7% | 78.4% |
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 Early College ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Buncombe County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.5% | #49 of 468 | #1 of 9 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 66.7% | #69 of 464 | #1 of 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 94.3% | #5 of 448 | #1 of 9 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 271 | #423 of 598 | #11 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.8:1 | #425 of 473 | #11 of 11 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.4% | #289 of 474 | #3 of 11 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #208 of 527 | #6 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.5% | #248 of 277 | #9 of 9 |
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
271
-14 (-5%) vs 2020
+30% since 2010-11, when it was 208
Student : Teacher
24.8:1
was 23.8:1
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 | 271 | 10.9 | 24.8:1 | 99% (268) |
| 2023-24 | 276 | 11.4 | 24.2:1 | 99% (273) |
| 2022-23 | 274 | 11.7 | 23.5:1 | 59% (161) |
| 2020-21 | 285 | 12 | 23.8:1 | 28% (79) |
| 2017-18 | 278 | 13.1 | 21.2:1 | 38% (105) |
| 2015-16 | 269 | 14 | 19.2:1 | 42% (114) |
| 2010-11 | 208 | 15 | 13.9:1 | 47% (98) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Early College.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (278 to 271); teachers down 17% (13.1 to 10.9).
About Early College
Early College is a very small high school for students in Asheville, North Carolina. Enrollment stands at 271 students, covering grades 9 through 13. That is 64% below the average of about 761 students for high schools in North Carolina.
Within Buncombe County Schools, Early College is one of 45 schools. The district enrolls 22,452 students.
The share of White students at Early College is 51%, a majority. It is also 41% Hispanic, 4% Black, and 3% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Buncombe County is roughly 82% White. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 57, compared with 70 nationally.
On staff are 10.9 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 24.8:1. The average for high schools in North Carolina is 19.6:1, so this school has more students per teacher. About 99% of students at Early College are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Buncombe County report 88%.
Among North Carolina public high schools, Early College outscored 92%, which works out to an A on the allk12 Grade.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Early College would score about 48.6%. It scores 80.5%, a top-10% result among North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations.
In the surrounding county, Buncombe County, the median household earns about $74,436 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 46%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. Buncombe County has 61 public schools with about 29,908 students, including Early College.
Center for Career Innovation is the nearest public school to Early College, less than a tenth of a mile away. Early College is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Among 7 nearby schools that report test results, Early College ranks 1st on proficiency.
Early College is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000, a location NCES labels City: Small.
A 5% decline took enrollment from 285 in 2020-21 to 271 in 2024-25. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (24.8:1) than in 2020-21 (23.8:1).
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
Buncombe County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
274,360
Census ACS
Median income
$74,436
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
46%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
29,908 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Buncombe County Schools
- Roberson HighHigh · 1,479 students
- Reynolds HighHigh · 1,169 students
- Enka HighHigh · 1,051 students
- Erwin HighHigh · 1,013 students
- North Buncombe HighHigh · 896 students
- Estes ElementaryElementary · 754 students
Other schools in Asheville
- Roberson HighHigh · 1,479 students
- IC ImagineCombined · 1,239 students
- Asheville HighHigh · 1,221 students
- Reynolds HighHigh · 1,169 students
- Erwin HighHigh · 1,013 students
- Estes ElementaryElementary · 754 students
Nearby schools
- Center for Career Innovation0.0 mi · 41
- Asheville High0.2 mi · 1,221
- SILSA0.2 mi · 332
- Hall Fletcher Elementary1.1 mi · 318
- Asheville Middle1.1 mi · 670
- Mountain City Public Montessori1.6 mi · 137
Frequently asked questions
About Early CollegeHow many students attend Early College?
Early College enrolls approximately 271 students in grades 09-13.
Is Early College an elementary, middle, or high school?
Early College is a high school covering grades 09-13.
How many teachers does Early College have?
Early College employs 11 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 24.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Early College?
Student demographics at Early College are roughly 51% White, 41% Hispanic, 4% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Early College public or private?
Early College is a public K-12 school, overseen by Buncombe County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.