1
Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Phillips Middle?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
600
Middle
DISTRICT 664 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOLS·NCES 370072000302
Phillips Middle
606 N Estes Dr, Chapel Hill, NC 27514 · (919) 929-2188 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL600 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 82% of North Carolina public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
11.4:1
52 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
27%
162 students
DISTRICT 35% · 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 6 | 220 | 37% |
| Grade 7 | 189 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 191 | 32% |
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
69.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
72.1%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 72 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
72.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
70.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 72% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 71% 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 Phillips Middle
Phillips Middle's state test result (72.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips Middle this school | 600 | 27.0% | 72.0% |
| Smith Middle Chapel Hill | 763 | 22.4% | 74.2% |
| Northwest Cabarrus Middle Concord | 825 | 33.0% | 69.6% |
| Martin Middle Raleigh | 1,011 | 29.6% | 72.1% |
| Salem Middle Apex | 1,057 | 19.2% | 78.0% |
| Reedy Creek Middle Cary | 805 | 37.1% | 61.9% |
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 Phillips Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.0% | #43 of 463 | #2 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.1% | #41 of 461 | #2 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.0% | #46 of 463 | #3 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 600 | #230 of 478 | #5 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #9 of 456 | #1 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.9% | #41 of 456 | #2 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 27.0% | #445 of 472 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.4% | #155 of 300 | N/A |
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
600
-91 (-13%) vs 2020
-15% since 1990-91, when it was 703
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 600 | 52.4 | 11.4:1 | 27% (162) |
| 2023-24 | 572 | 53.7 | 10.6:1 | 32% (183) |
| 2022-23 | 609 | 56.7 | 10.8:1 | 30% (182) |
| 2020-21 | 691 | 52 | 13.3:1 | 22% (154) |
| 2017-18 | 677 | 51.6 | 13.1:1 | 26% (176) |
| 2015-16 | 638 | 52 | 12.3:1 | 24% (151) |
| 2010-11 | 668 | 54 | 12.4:1 | 23% (155) |
| 2000-01 | 804 | 61 | 13.2:1 | 15% (121) |
| 1990-91 | 703 | 51 | 13.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Phillips Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (677 to 600); teachers up 2% (51.6 to 52.4).
About Phillips Middle
Phillips Middle is a medium-sized middle school serving families in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The grade span is 6 through 8, and enrollment is 600 students.
Phillips Middle is run by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, whose 20 schools enroll 11,392 students.
Phillips Middle has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 45%. The remaining students are 22% Asian, 14% Black, 10% Hispanic, and 9% multiracial. Among people living in Orange County, the White share is about 69%. Pick two students at random and there is a 71% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 11.4:1, with 52.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is lower than the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Phillips Middle is 27%. For comparison, public schools in Orange County average 40%.
Phillips Middle is graded A- by allk12, scoring above 82% of North Carolina public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Phillips Middle is 70.6%, and its average proficiency rate on state tests is 72.0%.
Orange County has these Census figures: the median household income is $90,089, roughly 62% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 5% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Orange County is home to 38 public schools and about 19,582 public school students.
The shortest distance from Phillips Middle to another public school is about 0.2 miles, to Estes Hills Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The school's 72.0% average proficiency ranks 5th among 9 nearby schools.
The National Center for Education Statistics classifies the school's location as City: Small, meaning it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
The school enrolled 600 students in 2024-25, 91 fewer than the 691 it had in 2020-21. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 13.3:1 to 11.4:1.
Discussion on this page can cover school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Orange County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
149,678
Census ACS
Median income
$90,089
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
62%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
38
19,582 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools
- Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,608 students
- East Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,419 students
- Carrboro HighHigh · 885 students
- Smith MiddleMiddle · 763 students
- McDougle MiddleMiddle · 659 students
- Culbreth MiddleMiddle · 632 students
Other schools in Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,608 students
- East Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,419 students
- Smith MiddleMiddle · 763 students
- Margaret B. Pollard MiddleMiddle · 736 students
- McDougle MiddleMiddle · 659 students
- Culbreth MiddleMiddle · 632 students
Other Phillips Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Phillips Middle. Phillips Middle is the largest of the 3.
- Phillips MiddleBattleboro, NC · 118 students
- Phillips MiddlePhillips, WI · 144 students
Nearby schools
- Estes Hills Elementary0.2 mi · 336
- Northside Elementary1.6 mi · 412
- Ephesus Elementary1.7 mi · 410
- Smith Middle1.8 mi · 763
- Seawell Elementary1.8 mi · 416
- East Chapel Hill High2.0 mi · 1,419
Frequently asked questions
About Phillips MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Phillips Middle?
Phillips Middle enrolls approximately 600 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Phillips Middle serve?
Phillips Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Phillips Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Phillips Middle is approximately 11.4:1 (52 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Phillips Middle?
At Phillips Middle, the student body is approximately 45% White, 10% Hispanic, 14% Black, 22% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Is Phillips Middle public or private?
Phillips Middle is a public K-12 school, overseen by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.