1
Best kept secret at Jimmy C Draughn High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
661
High
DISTRICT 632 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BURKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370048002836
Draughn High School
709 Lovelady Road NE, Valdese, NC 28690 · (828) 879-4200 · Burke County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL661 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of North Carolina public high schools
- B+Test 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
27.3:1
24 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
649 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 9 | 181 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 164 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 160 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 156 | 24% |
Student demographics
42%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 56% · 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
60.7%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
64.9%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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
58.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 59% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 49% 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 Draughn High School
Draughn High School's state test result (58.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draughn High School this school | 661 | 98.2% | 58.6% |
| East Burke High Connelly Springs | 874 | 99.4% | 55.8% |
| Nesbitt Discovery Academy Asheville | 372 | 98.7% | N/A |
| North Stanly High New London | 568 | 98.2% | 36.7% |
| South Stanly High Norwood | 442 | 99.3% | 37.5% |
| West Stanly High Oakboro | 800 | 99.6% | 64.1% |
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 Draughn High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Burke County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 58.6% | #134 of 468 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 64.9% | #75 of 464 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 60.7% | #187 of 448 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 661 | #294 of 598 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 27.3:1 | #440 of 473 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 42.1% | #407 of 474 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.2% | #286 of 527 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.1% | #135 of 164 | N/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 2024-25Enrollment
661
+30 (+5%) vs 2020
-16% since 2010-11, when it was 789
Student : Teacher
27.3:1
was 18.0:1
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 | 661 | 24.2 | 27.3:1 | 98% (649) |
| 2023-24 | 656 | 34.9 | 18.8:1 | 99% (652) |
| 2022-23 | 682 | 36.3 | 18.8:1 | 51% (349) |
| 2020-21 | 631 | 35 | 18.0:1 | 37% (234) |
| 2017-18 | 641 | 33.7 | 19.0:1 | 43% (276) |
| 2015-16 | 713 | 42 | 17.0:1 | 47% (336) |
| 2010-11 | 789 | 45 | 17.5:1 | 47% (371) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Draughn High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (641 to 661); teachers down 28% (33.7 to 24.2).
About Draughn High School
Draughn High School is a mid-sized high school in Burke County Schools, located in Valdese, North Carolina. The school runs grades 9 through 12 and enrolls 661 students.
The district, Burke County Schools, operates 26 schools serving 11,667 students.
White students are 75% of those enrolled at Draughn High School. Next come 10% Hispanic, 7% Asian, and 5% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 42%.
Teacher count: 24.2 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 27.3:1. Across high schools in North Carolina, the average ratio is 19.6:1. Roughly 98% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 96% average for public schools in Burke County.
Draughn High School holds an A- allk12 Grade, placing it above 76% of North Carolina public high schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 48.9% for Draughn High School. The school posts 58.6%, 9.8 points above the prediction.
Looking at the county, Burke County, the median household earns about $58,592 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 21%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. Burke County has 30 public schools with about 12,360 students, including Draughn High School.
Valdese Elementary, about 1.9 miles away, is the closest public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes 7 other public schools. On state test proficiency, Draughn High School ranks 5th in a group of 8 nearby schools.
Draughn High School has an NCES locale of Rural: Fringe.
The school grew from 631 students in 2020-21 to 661 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.0:1 to 27.3:1.
This page is set up for the Draughn High School community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Burke County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
87,795
Census ACS
Median income
$58,592
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
30
12,360 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Burke County Schools
- Freedom HighHigh · 1,299 students
- East Burke HighHigh · 874 students
- Mountain View ElementaryElementary · 762 students
- Patton High SchoolHigh · 756 students
- East Burke MiddleMiddle · 630 students
- Valdese ElementaryElementary · 530 students
Other schools in Valdese
- Valdese ElementaryElementary · 530 students
- Heritage MiddleMiddle · 475 students
- Burke Virtual AcademyCombined
Nearby schools
- Valdese Elementary1.9 mi · 530
- Heritage Middle2.1 mi · 475
- Baton Elementary2.9 mi · 357
- Hallyburton Academy3.5 mi · 73
- Drexel Elementary3.8 mi · 477
- East Burke High4.7 mi · 874
Frequently asked questions
About Draughn High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Draughn High School?
Draughn High School enrolls approximately 661 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Draughn High School serve?
Draughn High School serves grades 09-12.
How many students per teacher at Draughn High School?
Approximately 27.3:1 students per teacher at Draughn High School.
How diverse is Draughn High School?
Draughn High School reports a student body of 75% White, 10% Hispanic, 2% Black, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Is Draughn High School public or private?
Draughn High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Burke County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.