1
What's the vibe like in the hallways at Smithfield Middle right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
573
Middle
DISTRICT 644 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOHNSTON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 370237001027
Smithfield Middle
1455 Buffalo Rd, Smithfield, NC 27577 · (919) 934-4696 · Johnston County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL573 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 13% of North Carolina public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- DBeats 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
13.2:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.5:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
566 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 | 208 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 196 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 169 | 29% |
Student demographics
59%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 68% · 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
41.4%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
27.1%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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
34.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% 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 Smithfield Middle
Smithfield Middle's state test result (34.2% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smithfield Middle this school | 573 | 98.8% | 34.2% |
| Brogden Middle Dudley | 603 | 98.2% | 36.3% |
| Saint Pauls Middle Saint Pauls | 678 | 99.6% | 24.3% |
| Broadview Middle Burlington | 512 | 99.4% | 32.3% |
| Mineral Springs Middle Winston Salem | 702 | 99.6% | 20.0% |
| Graham Middle Graham | 553 | 99.5% | 20.1% |
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 Smithfield Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Johnston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 34.2% | #401 of 463 | #12 of 12 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 27.1% | #427 of 461 | #12 of 12 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #325 of 463 | #11 of 12 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 573 | #250 of 478 | #8 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.2:1 | #40 of 456 | #2 of 12 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.1% | #270 of 456 | #11 of 12 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.8% | #264 of 472 | #8 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.7% | #267 of 300 | #7 of 7 |
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
573
-1 (0%) vs 2020
-9% since 1990-91, when it was 632
Student : Teacher
13.2:1
was 12.0:1
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 | 573 | 43.6 | 13.2:1 | 99% (566) |
| 2023-24 | 530 | 43 | 12.3:1 | 99% (527) |
| 2022-23 | 501 | 43.9 | 11.4:1 | 99% (498) |
| 2020-21 | 574 | 48 | 12.0:1 | 99% (571) |
| 2017-18 | 595 | 50 | 11.9:1 | 78% (466) |
| 2015-16 | 722 | 56 | 12.9:1 | 76% (549) |
| 2010-11 | 798 | 55 | 14.5:1 | 66% (525) |
| 2000-01 | 682 | 50 | 13.6:1 | 42% (287) |
| 1990-91 | 632 | 50 | 12.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smithfield Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (595 to 573); teachers down 13% (50 to 43.6).
About Smithfield Middle
Smithfield Middle is classified as a middle school. It is located in Smithfield, North Carolina. The school teaches grades 6 through 8 and enrolls 573 students.
Johnston County Public Schools has 37,320 students spread across 48 schools.
The share of Hispanic students at Smithfield Middle is 55%, a majority. It is also 31% Black, 9% White, and 4% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Johnston County is roughly 17% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 59, compared with 70 nationally.
Smithfield Middle reports a ratio of 13.2 students per teacher, from 43.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The gap from the 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina is 2.7 students per teacher. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Smithfield Middle, 99% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Among North Carolina public middle schools, Smithfield Middle outscored 13%, which works out to a D on the allk12 Grade.
Schools in North Carolina with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 48.7%. Smithfield Middle scores 34.2%.
Census data for Johnston County show median household income comes to about $83,384, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 29%, and about 8% of people live in poverty. There are 52 public schools in the county, enrolling about 41,004, Smithfield Middle among them.
Smithfield Middle is less than a tenth of a mile from JCPS Virtual Academy, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. In a group of 4 nearby schools with scores, Smithfield Middle ranks 4th on average proficiency.
The NCES locale for Smithfield Middle is Rural: Fringe, which covers schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Smithfield Middle had 574 students in 2020-21 and 573 in 2024-25, nearly the same. There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (13.2:1) than in 2020-21 (12.0:1).
Parents, students, and staff can share information on special education services, counseling, and support programs here. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Johnston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
234,263
Census ACS
Median income
$83,384
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
29%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
52
41,004 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Johnston County Public Schools
- Corinth Holders HighHigh · 2,187 students
- Clayton HighHigh · 1,929 students
- Cleveland HighHigh · 1,889 students
- West Johnston HighHigh · 1,563 students
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- South Johnston HighHigh · 1,355 students
Other schools in Smithfield
- Smithfield-Selma HighHigh · 1,548 students
- Neuse Charter SchoolCombined · 925 students
- West Smithfield ElementaryElementary · 494 students
- South Smithfield ElementaryElementary · 450 students
- The Innovation Academy at South CampusMiddle · 263 students
- Johnston Co Early College AcademyHigh · 251 students
Other Smithfield Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Smithfield Middle. Smithfield Middle is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Smithfield Middle SchoolNORTH RICHLAND HILL, TX · 798 students
- Smithfield MiddleSmithfield, VA · 565 students
Nearby schools
- JCPS Virtual Academy0.0 mi · 203
- Smithfield-Selma High0.6 mi · 1,548
- Neuse Charter School0.8 mi · 925
- Choice Plus Academy1.9 mi · 97
- The Innovation Academy at South Campus1.9 mi · 263
- Johnston County Schools Career Technical1.9 mi · 241
Frequently asked questions
About Smithfield MiddleHow large is Smithfield Middle?
Smithfield Middle enrolls approximately 573 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Smithfield Middle serve?
Smithfield Middle serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Smithfield Middle?
Approximately 13.2:1 students per teacher at Smithfield Middle.
What is the student diversity at Smithfield Middle?
Student demographics at Smithfield Middle are roughly 9% White, 55% Hispanic, 31% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Smithfield Middle?
Smithfield Middle is overseen by Johnston County Public Schools in Johnston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.