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What's the best and worst thing about the food at South Mecklenburg High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,534
High
DISTRICT 1,315 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG SCHOOLS·NCES 370297001274
South Mecklenburg High School
8900 Park Rd, Charlotte, NC 28210 · (980) 343-3600 · Mecklenburg County
GRADES 09–12HIGH11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL2,534 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 32% of North Carolina public high schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-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
17.8:1
142 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
47%
1,187 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 9 | 712 | 28% |
| Grade 10 | 623 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 538 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 661 | 26% |
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
School pathway
Based on published attendance-zone data from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)English Language Arts
61.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
20.7%
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 21 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
44.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
64.5%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-19.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 45% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 65% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 South Mecklenburg High School
South Mecklenburg High School's state test result (44.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Mecklenburg High School this school | 2,534 | 46.8% | 44.9% |
| Garner High Garner | 1,670 | 54.7% | 39.2% |
| Harnett Central High Angier | 1,522 | 56.1% | 36.0% |
| West Cabarrus High Concord | 1,627 | 57.2% | 38.7% |
| Cedar Ridge High Hillsborough | 1,148 | 47.2% | 50.2% |
| Cary High Cary | 2,044 | 38.6% | 55.1% |
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 South Mecklenburg High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Mecklenburg County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.9% | #261 of 468 | #15 of 28 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.7% | #376 of 464 | #23 of 29 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 61.3% | #183 of 448 | #13 of 28 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,534 | #6 of 598 | #3 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.8:1 | #195 of 473 | #12 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.7% | #114 of 474 | #10 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.8% | #398 of 527 | #21 of 35 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -18.4% | #59 of 277 | #6 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
2,534
-668 (-21%) vs 2020
+71% since 1990-91, when it was 1,479
Student : Teacher
17.8:1
was 18.8:1
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 | 2,534 | 142.4 | 17.8:1 | 47% (1,187) |
| 2023-24 | 3,244 | 180.6 | 18.0:1 | 51% (1,640) |
| 2022-23 | 3,344 | 170.6 | 19.6:1 | 36% (1,207) |
| 2020-21 | 3,202 | 170 | 18.8:1 | 30% (948) |
| 2017-18 | 3,106 | 158.7 | 19.6:1 | 40% (1,257) |
| 2015-16 | 2,917 | 158 | 18.5:1 | 43% (1,261) |
| 2010-11 | 1,999 | 100 | 20.0:1 | 36% (713) |
| 2000-01 | 2,251 | 126 | 17.9:1 | 14% (306) |
| 1990-91 | 1,479 | 99 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for South Mecklenburg High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (3,106 to 2,534); teachers down 10% (158.7 to 142.4).
About South Mecklenburg High School
South Mecklenburg High School is a high school in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it is part of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. Students in grades 9 through 12 make up the school's enrollment of 2,534 students. High schools in North Carolina have about 761 students on average; enrollment here is 233% higher.
South Mecklenburg High School is run by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, whose 186 schools enroll 145,014 students.
Hispanic students account for 42% of enrollment at South Mecklenburg High School, more than any other group. Enrollment also includes 32% White, 21% Black, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. Among people living in Mecklenburg County, the Hispanic share is about 16%. The diversity index for South Mecklenburg High School is 68%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
On staff are 142.4 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 17.8:1. The average for high schools in North Carolina is 19.6:1, so this school has fewer students per teacher. About 47% of students at South Mecklenburg High School are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Mecklenburg County average 71%.
South Mecklenburg High School holds a C allk12 Grade, placing it above 32% of North Carolina public high schools.
South Mecklenburg High School is a bottom-10% school in North Carolina on BeatsExpectations, with an actual average proficiency rate across its state test results of 44.9% against a predicted 64.5%.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Mecklenburg County show that the median household earns about $87,005 a year, about 49% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 7%. Across Mecklenburg County, 226 public schools serve about 170,407 students.
Quail Hollow Middle is about 0.4 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The school's 44.9% average proficiency ranks 4th among 8 nearby schools.
Locale data from NCES put South Mecklenburg High School inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more (City: Large).
Over 4 years, enrollment decreased by 668 students, from 3,202 to 2,534. Federal data show the ratio falling from 18.8:1 to 17.8:1.
This page collects posts and questions about South Mecklenburg High School, such as open houses, carpools, and field trips. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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
- William Amos Hough HighHigh · 2,518 students
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,422 students
- Palisades High SchoolHigh · 2,332 students
- Julius L. Chambers High SchoolHigh · 2,225 students
Other schools in Charlotte
- Myers Park High SchoolHigh · 3,225 students
- Ardrey Kell High SchoolHigh · 3,036 students
- East Mecklenburg High SchoolHigh · 2,422 students
- Palisades High SchoolHigh · 2,332 students
- Julius L. Chambers High SchoolHigh · 2,225 students
- Providence High SchoolHigh · 2,167 students
Nearby schools
- Quail Hollow Middle0.4 mi · 1,090
- Smithfield Elementary0.5 mi · 672
- Sterling Elementary1.5 mi · 786
- Huntingtowne Farms Elementary1.6 mi · 776
- Beverly Woods Elementary2.0 mi · 645
- Starmount Academy of Excellence2.2 mi · 416
Frequently asked questions
About South Mecklenburg High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at South Mecklenburg High School?
South Mecklenburg High School enrolls approximately 2,534 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does South Mecklenburg High School serve?
South Mecklenburg High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at South Mecklenburg High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at South Mecklenburg High School is approximately 17.8:1 (142 FTE teachers).
How diverse is South Mecklenburg High School?
South Mecklenburg High School reports a student body of 32% White, 42% Hispanic, 21% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is South Mecklenburg High School public or private?
South Mecklenburg High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.