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Schools›North Carolina›Jacksonville
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ONSLOW COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370345001431

Southwest High

1420 Burgaw Hwy, Jacksonville, NC 28540 · (910) 455-4888 · Onslow County
GRADES 09–12HIGH22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL803 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 10% 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.
  • FBeats 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

Enrollment
803
High
DISTRICT 1,012 · STATE 761
Student : Teacher
19.0:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
57%
460 students
DISTRICT 52% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 924330%
Grade 1019725%
Grade 1119925%
Grade 1216420%
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 71% · US 70%
White
42453%
DISTRICT 55% · STATE 42% · US 43%
Hispanic
11314%
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 22% · US 30%
Black
16521%
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 25% · US 15%
Asian
101%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 4% · US 6%
Two+
8410%
DISTRICT 10% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
41%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 1% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
30%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
42853%
Female
37547%

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Test scores

NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)
English Language Arts
47.3%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
18.4%
NC avg 52.2%

What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 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 · methodology
Tier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
31.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-29.4pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 61% 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 Southwest High

Southwest High's state test result (31.9% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Southwest High this school80357.3%31.9%
Havelock High
Havelock
1,01452.5%50.1%
Cape Fear High
Fayetteville
1,51555.1%55.2%
White Oak High
Jacksonville
1,25248.4%40.1%
Southern Alamance High
Graham
1,14849.8%36.3%
Western Alamance High
Elon
1,13849.5%48.5%
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 Southwest High ranks

Among high schools
MeasureThis schoolIn North CarolinaIn Onslow County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
31.9%#386 of 468#7 of 7
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
18.4%#401 of 464#7 of 7
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
47.3%#316 of 448#6 of 7
Enrollment
ranked largest first
803#238 of 598#7 of 8
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
19.0:1#260 of 473#6 of 7
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
64.8%#175 of 474#4 of 7
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
57.3%#355 of 527#1 of 8
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked fastest growth first
+3.3%#133 of 164#6 of 6
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 2024-25
Enrollment
803
+183 (+30%) vs 2020
+52% since 1990-91, when it was 528
Student : Teacher
19.0:1
was 15.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2580342.419.0:157% (460)
2023-2468541.816.4:157% (389)
2022-2370239.317.9:154% (380)
2020-216204015.5:140% (246)
2017-187774816.2:144% (340)
2015-167474317.4:138% (286)
2010-117104814.8:140% (286)
2000-017104814.8:133% (234)
1990-915283216.5:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwest High.

Since 2017-18: students up 3% (777 to 803); teachers down 12% (48 to 42.4).

About Southwest High

Southwest High is a public high school run by Onslow County Schools in Jacksonville, North Carolina. It enrolls 803 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are 9 through 12.

Southwest High is in Onslow County Schools, a district with 27,397 students across 39 schools.

More than half of enrollment at Southwest High is White: 53%. Other groups include 21% Black, 14% Hispanic, and 10% multiracial. The county population is about 67% White. The diversity index for Southwest High is 65%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

Southwest High has a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.0:1, with 42.4 full-time-equivalent teachers. The 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina is close to this figure. The school has 57% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.

Southwest High earns a D on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 10% of North Carolina public high schools.

When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Southwest High ranks in the bottom 10% of North Carolina schools. It scores 31.9%; the prediction is 61.4%.

Census data for Onslow County show the median household earns about $68,148 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 26%, and about 9% of people live in poverty. The county has 42 public schools and about 27,501 students.

Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Blue Creek Elementary, is about 0.4 miles. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, Southwest High ranks 8th on average proficiency.

The school's setting, by NCES definition, is Suburb: Mid-size: in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

Federal enrollment counts rose from 620 (2020-21) to 803 (2024-25). There were more students per teacher in 2024-25 (19.0:1) than in 2020-21 (15.5:1).

This page collects posts and questions about Southwest High, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Onslow County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
207,906
Census ACS
Median income
$68,148
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
26%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
42
27,501 students

Quick facts

School name
Southwest High
District
Onslow County Schools
Address
1420 Burgaw Hwy, Jacksonville, NC 28540
Phone
(910) 455-4888
County
Onslow County
Level
High
Grade range
09–12
Total enrollment
803
Teachers (FTE)
42
Student–teacher ratio
19.0:1
Free and reduced lunch
460 (57%)
Locale
22-Suburb: Mid-size
NCES ID
370345001431
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Onslow County Schools
Other schools in Jacksonville
Other Southwest High schools

8 other US public schools in 8 states are named Southwest High. Southwest High is the 8th largest of the 9.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Southwest High
What is the total enrollment at Southwest High?
Southwest High enrolls approximately 803 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Southwest High serve?
Southwest High serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Southwest High have?
Southwest High employs 42 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 19.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Southwest High?
Student demographics at Southwest High are roughly 53% White, 14% Hispanic, 21% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Southwest High?
Southwest High is overseen by Onslow County Schools in Onslow County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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