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What's the most underrated thing about Northwest School of the Arts that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
993
High
DISTRICT 1,315 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS·NCES 370297001250
Northwest School of the Arts
1415 Beatties Ford Rd, Charlotte, NC 28216 · (980) 343-5500 · Mecklenburg County
GRADES 06–12HIGH11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL993 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of North Carolina public high schools
- A-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
16.0:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
38%
378 students
DISTRICT 73% · 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 | 122 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 145 | 15% |
| Grade 8 | 153 | 15% |
| Grade 9 | 140 | 14% |
| Grade 10 | 143 | 14% |
| Grade 11 | 152 | 15% |
| Grade 12 | 138 | 14% |
Student demographics
68%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
78.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
71.0%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 78 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 71 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
73.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.2%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+6.6pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 Northwest School of the Arts
Northwest School of the Arts's state test result (73.8% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest School of the Arts this school | 993 | 38.1% | 73.8% |
| Gray's Creek High Hope Mills | 1,458 | 46.2% | 54.3% |
| Jacksonville High Jacksonville | 1,441 | 47.4% | 53.3% |
| Jack Britt High Fayetteville | 1,940 | 41.6% | 62.2% |
| Jay M Robinson High Concord | 1,210 | 51.8% | 44.8% |
| Northside High Jacksonville | 1,067 | 54.8% | 42.9% |
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 Northwest School of the Arts ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Mecklenburg County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 73.8% | #78 of 468 | #6 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 71.0% | #55 of 464 | #2 of 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 78.2% | #79 of 448 | #7 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 993 | #190 of 598 | #22 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.0:1 | #105 of 473 | #3 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.7% | #111 of 474 | #9 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 38.1% | #437 of 527 | #26 of 35 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.3% | #153 of 277 | #11 of 16 |
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
993
-90 (-8%) vs 2020
+113% since 1990-91, when it was 466
Student : Teacher
16.0:1
was 16.9:1
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 | 993 | 62.2 | 16.0:1 | 38% (378) |
| 2023-24 | 1,008 | 60.7 | 16.6:1 | 41% (412) |
| 2022-23 | 1,058 | 58 | 18.3:1 | 30% (321) |
| 2020-21 | 1,083 | 64 | 16.9:1 | 23% (247) |
| 2017-18 | 1,083 | 64.5 | 16.8:1 | 36% (392) |
| 2015-16 | 1,017 | 60 | 16.9:1 | 38% (387) |
| 2010-11 | 965 | 54 | 17.9:1 | 40% (384) |
| 2000-01 | 1,200 | 73 | 16.4:1 | 26% (309) |
| 1990-91 | 466 | 38 | 12.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest School of the Arts.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,083 to 993); teachers down 4% (64.5 to 62.2).
About Northwest School of the Arts
Northwest School of the Arts is a medium-sized high school for students in Charlotte, North Carolina. The school's enrollment of 993 students covers grades 6 through 12. Enrollment is 30% higher than the average for high schools in North Carolina, which is about 761.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has 186 schools; together they serve 145,014 students.
By race and ethnicity, the largest group at Northwest School of the Arts is Black (44%). Enrollment also includes 33% White, 15% Hispanic, and 7% multiracial. The school's Black share is 13 points above the 30% share among Mecklenburg County residents. The chance that two students picked at random at Northwest School of the Arts belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 68%.
Northwest School of the Arts employs 62.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 16.0:1. That ratio is under the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 38% in 2024-25. For comparison, public schools in Mecklenburg County average 71%.
Measured against North Carolina public high schools, Northwest School of the Arts receives an A-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Northwest School of the Arts's average proficiency rate on state tests of 73.8% is 6.6 points above the 67.2% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Census estimates describe Mecklenburg County this way: median household income is about $87,005, 49% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 7% of people live in poverty. The public schools of Mecklenburg County number 226 and enroll about 170,407.
The shortest distance from Northwest School of the Arts to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to University Park Creative Arts. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Northwest School of the Arts ranks 4th on average proficiency.
The school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, according to its NCES locale (City: Large).
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 1,083 to 993.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Northwest School of the Arts. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Mecklenburg County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,154,681
Census ACS
Median income
$87,005
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
49%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
226
170,407 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
- Myers Park High SchoolHigh · 3,225 students
- Ardrey Kell High SchoolHigh · 3,036 students
- South Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,534 students
- William Amos Hough HighHigh · 2,518 students
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,422 students
- Palisades High SchoolHigh · 2,332 students
Other schools in Charlotte
- Myers Park High SchoolHigh · 3,225 students
- Ardrey Kell High SchoolHigh · 3,036 students
- South Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,534 students
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,422 students
- Palisades High SchoolHigh · 2,332 students
- Julius L. Chambers High SchoolHigh · 2,225 students
Other Northwest School of the Arts schools
One other US public school is named Northwest School of the Arts. Northwest School of the Arts is the largest of the 2.
- Northwest School of the ArtsCleveland, OH · 279 students
Nearby schools
- University Park Creative Arts0.3 mi · 212
- Oaklawn Language Academy0.5 mi · 531
- West Charlotte High School0.6 mi · 2,008
- Lincoln Heights Montessori0.8 mi · 244
- Williams Secondary Montessori1.1 mi · 401
- Walter G. Byers School1.3 mi · 303
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest School of the ArtsHow many students attend Northwest School of the Arts?
Northwest School of the Arts enrolls approximately 993 students in grades 06-12.
What age range does Northwest School of the Arts serve?
Northwest School of the Arts serves students from grade 06 through grade 12.
How many teachers does Northwest School of the Arts have?
Northwest School of the Arts employs 62 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 16.0:1.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Northwest School of the Arts?
At Northwest School of the Arts, the student body is approximately 33% White, 15% Hispanic, 44% Black, 1% Asian, 7% Two or more.
Who oversees Northwest School of the Arts?
Northwest School of the Arts is overseen by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools in Mecklenburg County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.