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Schools›North Carolina›Lake Waccamaw
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COLUMBUS COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370096000145

East Columbus Junior-Senior High

32 Gator Lane, Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450 · (910) 646-4094 · Columbus County
GRADES 07–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL576 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 22% of North Carolina public high schools
  • C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • CBeats 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

Enrollment
576
High
DISTRICT 484 · STATE 761
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
34 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.3:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
573 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 710118%
Grade 89216%
Grade 910819%
Grade 1010618%
Grade 118815%
Grade 128114%
Student demographics
77%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
15226%
DISTRICT 50% · STATE 42% · US 43%
Hispanic
10618%
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 22% · US 30%
Black
18432%
DISTRICT 27% · STATE 25% · US 15%
Asian
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 4% · US 6%
Two+
6211%
DISTRICT 6% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
7112%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 1% · US 1%
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
Male
30453%
Female
27247%

School pathway

Feeds from
Acme Delco ElementaryPK–06Hallsboro-Artesia ElementaryPK–06
Based on grade levels within Columbus County Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

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Test scores

NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)
English Language Arts
37.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
23.9%
NC avg 52.2%

What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 24 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-15.6pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 33% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 East Columbus Junior-Senior High

East Columbus Junior-Senior High's state test result (32.9% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
East Columbus Junior-Senior High this school57699.5%32.9%
East Bladen High
Elizabethtown
52598.5%23.1%
Louisburg Magnet High
Louisburg
63099.0%49.4%
Pasquotank County High
Elizabeth City
65399.5%29.4%
Washington High
Washington
79499.6%35.3%
Whiteville High
Whiteville
63999.5%39.7%
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 East Columbus Junior-Senior High ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn North CarolinaIn Columbus County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
32.9%#376 of 468N/A
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
23.9%#341 of 464N/A
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
37.3%#395 of 448N/A
Enrollment
ranked largest first
576#323 of 598#3 of 7
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
17.0:1#154 of 473N/A
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
76.8%#2 of 474N/A
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
99.5%#131 of 527N/A
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+36.2%#16 of 164N/A
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 2024-25
Enrollment
576
-54 (-9%) vs 2020
-18% since 2000-01, when it was 701
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 16.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2557633.917.0:199% (573)
2023-245603814.7:199% (557)
2022-2359438.115.6:199% (591)
2020-216303916.1:1100% (627)
2017-184233113.7:199% (420)
2015-164493214.0:199% (446)
2010-115574013.9:160% (332)
2000-017014914.3:151% (360)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for East Columbus Junior-Senior High.

Since 2017-18: students up 36% (423 to 576); teachers up 9% (31 to 33.9).

About East Columbus Junior-Senior High

East Columbus Junior-Senior High is a small high school in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina, one of the schools in Columbus County Schools. It teaches 576 students in grades 7 through 12. That is 24% below the average of about 761 students for high schools in North Carolina.

Columbus County Schools operates 12 schools. Combined enrollment is 5,440 students.

Black students account for 32% of enrollment at East Columbus Junior-Senior High, more than any other group. Enrollment also includes 26% White, 18% Hispanic, 12% Native American, and 11% multiracial. Columbus County residents are about 28% Black, a similar share. The diversity index for East Columbus Junior-Senior High is 77%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

East Columbus Junior-Senior High lists 33.9 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 17.0 students per teacher. The gap from the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina is 2.6 students per teacher. About 99% of students at East Columbus Junior-Senior High are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. The figure for public schools in Columbus County is close, at 98%.

Among North Carolina public high schools, East Columbus Junior-Senior High outscored 22%, which works out to a C- on the allk12 Grade.

BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate across its state test results with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For East Columbus Junior-Senior High, the prediction is 48.5% and the result is 32.9%.

For Columbus County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $49,442, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 15%, and about 15% of people live in poverty. There are 21 public schools in the county, enrolling about 8,386, East Columbus Junior-Senior High among them.

Of the public schools around it, East Columbus Junior-Senior High is closest to Thomas Academy, about 1.7 miles away. There are 2 other public schools within five miles. East Columbus Junior-Senior High's average proficiency of 32.9% compares with 42.7% for its nearest scored neighbors.

The NCES locale for East Columbus Junior-Senior High is Rural: Distant, which covers schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.

Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment decreased 9%.

Anyone can start a thread about open houses, carpools, and field trips at East Columbus Junior-Senior High. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

Columbus County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
50,140
Census ACS
Median income
$49,442
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
15%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
21
8,386 students

Quick facts

School name
East Columbus Junior-Senior High
District
Columbus County Schools
Address
32 Gator Lane, Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450
Phone
(910) 646-4094
County
Columbus County
Level
High
Grade range
07–12
Total enrollment
576
Teachers (FTE)
34
Student–teacher ratio
17.0:1
Free and reduced lunch
573 (99%)
Locale
42-Rural: Distant
NCES ID
370096000145
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Columbus County Schools
Other schools in Lake Waccamaw
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About East Columbus Junior-Senior High
How many students attend East Columbus Junior-Senior High?
East Columbus Junior-Senior High enrolls approximately 576 students in grades 07-12.
Is East Columbus Junior-Senior High an elementary, middle, or high school?
East Columbus Junior-Senior High is a high school covering grades 07-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at East Columbus Junior-Senior High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at East Columbus Junior-Senior High is approximately 17.0:1 (34 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at East Columbus Junior-Senior High?
Student demographics at East Columbus Junior-Senior High are roughly 26% White, 18% Hispanic, 32% Black, 0% Asian, 11% Two or more.
Who oversees East Columbus Junior-Senior High?
East Columbus Junior-Senior High is overseen by Columbus County Schools in Columbus County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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