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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Erwin Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
545
Middle
DISTRICT 556 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUNCOMBE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370045000144
Erwin Middle
20 Erwin Middle School Road, Asheville, NC 28806 · (828) 232-4264 · Buncombe County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL545 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 19% of North Carolina public middle schools
- C-Test 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
13.8:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.0:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
542 students
DISTRICT 96% · 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 7 | 260 | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 285 | 52% |
Student demographics
61%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
34.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
31.4%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 34 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 31 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
36.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 37% 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 Erwin Middle
Erwin Middle's state test result (36.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erwin Middle this school | 545 | 99.4% | 36.6% |
| Eblen Intermediate Asheville | 566 | 99.3% | 41.4% |
| Southeastern Randolph Middle School Ramseur | 463 | 99.1% | 35.8% |
| Midway Middle Dunn | 584 | 97.1% | 54.5% |
| North Johnston Middle Micro | 598 | 97.2% | 55.7% |
| Four Oaks Middle Four Oaks | 477 | 98.1% | 59.4% |
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 Erwin Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Buncombe County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.6% | #375 of 463 | #12 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 31.4% | #395 of 461 | #12 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.2% | #396 of 463 | #12 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 545 | #270 of 478 | #7 of 13 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.8:1 | #61 of 456 | #4 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.8% | #249 of 456 | #5 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #120 of 472 | #4 of 13 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.7% | #75 of 300 | #3 of 11 |
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
545
-126 (-19%) vs 2020
-43% since 1990-91, when it was 949
Student : Teacher
13.8:1
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 | 545 | 39.6 | 13.8:1 | 99% (542) |
| 2023-24 | 536 | 42.5 | 12.6:1 | 99% (533) |
| 2022-23 | 568 | 45.1 | 12.6:1 | 74% (418) |
| 2020-21 | 671 | 47 | 14.3:1 | 49% (332) |
| 2017-18 | 670 | 49.6 | 13.5:1 | 70% (471) |
| 2015-16 | 777 | 55 | 14.1:1 | 74% (574) |
| 2010-11 | 1,115 | 67 | 16.6:1 | 70% (775) |
| 2000-01 | 1,045 | 67 | 15.6:1 | 44% (456) |
| 1990-91 | 949 | 63 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Erwin Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 19% (670 to 545); teachers down 20% (49.6 to 39.6).
About Erwin Middle
Erwin Middle is a middle school in Asheville, North Carolina, reachable at (828) 232-4264. School enrollment was 545 students in 2024-25, in grades 7 through 8.
Erwin Middle is among 45 schools run by Buncombe County Schools, which serves 22,452 students.
Roughly 51% of students at Erwin Middle are White. Enrollment also includes 36% Hispanic, 7% Black, and 4% multiracial. Among people living in Buncombe County, the White share is about 82%. Erwin Middle's diversity index is 61%, against a US figure of 70%.
The count of teachers at Erwin Middle is 39.6 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 13.8:1. That is 2.1 students per teacher below the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina. Around 99% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals. That rate is above the 88% average among public schools in Buncombe County.
The allk12 Grade for Erwin Middle is C-. Compared with North Carolina public middle schools, the school scored higher than 19% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Erwin Middle's average proficiency rate on state tests of 36.6% is 11.9 points below the 48.5% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Buncombe County census figures show that the median household income is $74,436, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 46% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Buncombe County is home to 61 public schools and about 29,908 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Erwin High, is about 0.2 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Erwin Middle places 5th out of 8 schools in its immediate area.
Locale: Suburb: Large. In NCES terms, the school is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment is down 19% from 2020-21, when Erwin Middle had 671 students, to 2024-25, when it had 545.
Posts about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
Other Erwin Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Erwin Middle. Erwin Middle is the 3rd largest of the 3.
- Erwin MiddleSalisbury, NC · 763 students
- Erwin Middle SchoolCenter Point, AL · 585 students
Nearby schools
- Erwin High0.2 mi · 1,013
- West Buncombe Elementary0.5 mi · 580
- Eblen Intermediate0.6 mi · 566
- Johnston Elementary2.2 mi · 217
- Emma Elementary2.5 mi · 277
- Woodfin Elementary2.7 mi · 111
Frequently asked questions
About Erwin MiddleHow large is Erwin Middle?
Erwin Middle enrolls approximately 545 students in grades 07-08.
Is Erwin Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Erwin Middle is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Erwin Middle have?
Erwin Middle employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.8:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Erwin Middle?
At Erwin Middle, the student body is approximately 51% White, 36% Hispanic, 7% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Erwin Middle in?
Erwin Middle is part of Buncombe County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.