1
Enrollment
763
Middle
DISTRICT 664 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHAPEL HILL-CARRBORO CITY SCHOOLS·NCES 370072002600
Smith Middle
9201 Seawell School Rd, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 · (919) 918-2145 · Orange County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE13-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL763 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 85% 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
13.7:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
171 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 | 235 | 31% |
| Grade 7 | 233 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 295 | 39% |
Student demographics
73%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
73.8%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
72.5%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 73 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
74.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
72.0%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 72% 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 Smith Middle
Smith Middle's state test result (74.2% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smith Middle this school | 763 | 22.4% | 74.2% |
| Phillips Middle Chapel Hill | 600 | 27.0% | 72.0% |
| Martin Middle Raleigh | 1,011 | 29.6% | 72.1% |
| Salem Middle Apex | 1,057 | 19.2% | 78.0% |
| Northwest Cabarrus Middle Concord | 825 | 33.0% | 69.6% |
| Hickory Ridge Middle Harrisburg | 1,057 | 17.1% | 82.6% |
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 Smith Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Orange County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.2% | #30 of 463 | #1 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 72.5% | #36 of 461 | #1 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.8% | #20 of 463 | #1 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 763 | #121 of 478 | #1 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.7:1 | #54 of 456 | #6 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 72.9% | #18 of 456 | #1 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 22.4% | #452 of 472 | #7 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.5% | #232 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
763
+27 (+4%) vs 2020
+10% since 2010-11, when it was 696
Student : Teacher
13.7:1
was 12.5:1
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 | 763 | 55.8 | 13.7:1 | 22% (171) |
| 2023-24 | 749 | 58.7 | 12.8:1 | 27% (201) |
| 2022-23 | 768 | 59.6 | 12.9:1 | 24% (184) |
| 2020-21 | 736 | 59 | 12.5:1 | 18% (131) |
| 2017-18 | 816 | 57.8 | 14.1:1 | 21% (174) |
| 2015-16 | 796 | 61 | 13.1:1 | 23% (180) |
| 2010-11 | 696 | 59 | 11.8:1 | 21% (148) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smith Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 6% (816 to 763); teachers down 3% (57.8 to 55.8).
About Smith Middle
In Chapel Hill, North Carolina, part of Orange County, Smith Middle is a middle-grades school. It serves 763 students in grades 6 through 8. The average among middle schools in North Carolina is roughly 605 students; this school is 26% bigger than that.
Smith Middle is among 20 schools run by Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, which serves 11,392 students.
Smith Middle's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 42%. The school is also 22% Asian, 14% Black, 13% Hispanic, and 9% multiracial. The White share of the county population is higher, at 69%. Smith Middle has a diversity index of 73%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The school reported 55.8 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25 and a ratio of 13.7:1. The 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina is higher than this school's figure. Eligible students account for 22% of enrollment in the free or reduced-price lunch program. The average for public schools in Orange County is 40%.
allk12 grades Smith Middle an A. The grade compares the school only with North Carolina public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
Smith Middle sits between the top and bottom 10% of North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate on state tests of 74.2% and a predicted 72.0%.
In the county around the school, Orange County, median household income is about $90,089, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 62% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. A total of 38 public schools operate in Orange County, serving about 19,582 students.
The school nearest to Smith Middle is Seawell Elementary, at a distance of about 0.2 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Smith Middle places 3rd of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.
Federal data place Smith Middle in the City: Small locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
Smith Middle had 736 students in 2020-21 and 763 in 2024-25, a 4% gain. Its ratio of students to teachers was 12.5:1 in 2020-21, and 13.7:1 in 2024-25.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Smith Middle covering things like enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. 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
- McDougle MiddleMiddle · 659 students
- Culbreth MiddleMiddle · 632 students
- Phillips MiddleMiddle · 600 students
Other schools in Chapel Hill
- Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,608 students
- East Chapel Hill HighHigh · 1,419 students
- Margaret B. Pollard MiddleMiddle · 736 students
- McDougle MiddleMiddle · 659 students
- Culbreth MiddleMiddle · 632 students
- Phillips MiddleMiddle · 600 students
Other Smith Middle schools
7 other US public schools in 6 states are named Smith Middle. Smith Middle is the 3rd largest of the 8.
- Smith Middle SchoolCYPRESS, TX · 1,091 students
- Smith Middle SchoolGlastonbury, CT · 875 students
- Smith Middle SchoolTROY, MI · 599 students
- Smith Middle SchoolBEAUMONT, TX · 532 students
- Smith Middle SchoolDEARBORN, MI · 525 students
Nearby schools
- Seawell Elementary0.2 mi · 416
- Chapel Hill High0.3 mi · 1,608
- McDougle Elementary1.5 mi · 497
- McDougle Middle1.5 mi · 659
- Phillips Middle1.8 mi · 600
- Northside Elementary1.9 mi · 412
Frequently asked questions
About Smith MiddleHow many students attend Smith Middle?
Smith Middle enrolls approximately 763 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Smith Middle serve?
Smith Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Smith Middle?
Approximately 13.7:1 students per teacher at Smith Middle.
What is the student diversity at Smith Middle?
Student demographics at Smith Middle are roughly 42% White, 13% Hispanic, 14% Black, 22% Asian, 9% Two or more.
What district is Smith Middle in?
Smith Middle is part of Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.