Enrollment
449
Elementary
DISTRICT 308 · STATE 467
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BLADEN COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370039002619
Tar Heel School
14888 Hwy 87 West, Tar Heel, NC 28392 · (910) 862-2475 · Bladen County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL449 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 13% of North Carolina public elementary 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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
26 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.8:1 · STATE 14.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
96%
429 students
DISTRICT 98% · STATE 82%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 17 | 4% |
| Kindergarten | 40 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 32 | 7% |
| Grade 3 | 32 | 7% |
| Grade 4 | 33 | 7% |
| Grade 5 | 39 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 77 | 17% |
| Grade 7 | 72 | 16% |
| Grade 8 | 66 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (40) is 39% smaller than its 8th grade class (66).
Student demographics
71%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · 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
32.2%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
39.2%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 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
39.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
49.7%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 50% 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 Tar Heel School
Tar Heel School's state test result (39.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tar Heel School this school | 449 | 95.5% | 39.5% |
| Snow Hill Primary Snow Hill | 403 | 99.3% | N/A |
| West Greene Elementary Snow Hill | 402 | 99.3% | 29.6% |
| GW Carver Elementary Kannapolis | 503 | 99.0% | 43.5% |
| Clear Creek Elementary Charlotte | 459 | 99.3% | 53.2% |
| Third Creek Elementary Statesville | 526 | 99.2% | 32.4% |
Matched among North Carolina elementary 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 Tar Heel School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Bladen County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.5% | #1,111 of 1,297 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.2% | #1,148 of 1,296 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 32.2% | #1,142 of 1,300 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 449 | #755 of 1,485 | #3 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.4:1 | #1,247 of 1,377 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 70.8% | #155 of 1,379 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.5% | #1,049 of 1,414 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +33.6% | #61 of 369 | N/A |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
449
+119 (+36%) vs 2020
+29% since 2010-11, when it was 347
Student : Teacher
17.4:1
was 16.5:1
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 | 449 | 25.8 | 17.4:1 | 96% (429) |
| 2023-24 | 255 | 15.6 | 16.3:1 | 99% (252) |
| 2022-23 | 287 | 15.6 | 18.4:1 | 99% (284) |
| 2020-21 | 330 | 20 | 16.5:1 | 99% (327) |
| 2017-18 | 336 | 15.7 | 21.4:1 | 99% (333) |
| 2015-16 | 311 | 17 | 18.3:1 | 99% (308) |
| 2010-11 | 347 | 24 | 14.5:1 | 72% (249) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Tar Heel School.
Since 2017-18: students up 34% (336 to 449); teachers up 64% (15.7 to 25.8).
About Tar Heel School
Tar Heel School is a mid-sized elementary school in Tar Heel, North Carolina. It offers pre-K through 8 and has 449 students enrolled.
Bladen County Schools is made up of 12 schools with 3,928 students in all.
At Tar Heel School, Hispanic students make up the biggest share, 37%. Smaller groups are 30% Black, 26% White, 6% multiracial, and 2% Native American. County-wide, 9% of Bladen County residents are Hispanic. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 71%.
The student-to-teacher ratio at Tar Heel School is 17.4:1, based on 25.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average for elementary schools in North Carolina, 14.9:1, is lower. Tar Heel School counts 96% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That is in line with the 98% average for public schools in Bladen County.
Tar Heel School holds a D allk12 Grade, placing it above 13% of North Carolina public elementary schools.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Tar Heel School is 10.2 points below the average proficiency rate across its state test results predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 39.5% actual, 49.7% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in North Carolina.
In Bladen County, where the school is located, median household income comes to about $42,422, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 20%, and about 19% of people live in poverty. There are 15 public schools in the county, enrolling about 4,756, Tar Heel School among them.
Dublin Primary, about 7.0 miles away, is the closest public school. Other public schools within ten miles number 5. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 53.3%; Tar Heel School's is 39.5%, ranking 6th of 8.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Distant. That means it sits in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
A 36% rise took enrollment from 330 in 2020-21 to 449 in 2024-25.
People who know Tar Heel School can post here about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Bladen County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
29,566
Census ACS
Median income
$42,422
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
19%
Below federal line
Schools in county
15
4,756 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bladen County Schools
- West Bladen HighHigh · 720 students
- East Bladen HighHigh · 525 students
- Elizabethtown PrimaryElementary · 483 students
- Bladenboro PrimaryElementary · 448 students
- Elizabethtown MiddleMiddle · 305 students
- Bladenboro MiddleMiddle · 254 students
Nearby schools
- Dublin Primary7.0 mi · 234
- Bladen Early College7.2 mi · 129
- West Bladen High7.3 mi · 720
- Southeastern Academy7.4 mi · 218
- Littlefield Middle9.4 mi · 632
- East Robeson Primary10.6 mi · 556
Frequently asked questions
About Tar Heel SchoolHow many students attend Tar Heel School?
Tar Heel School enrolls approximately 449 students in grades PK-08.
Is Tar Heel School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Tar Heel School is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many teachers does Tar Heel School have?
Tar Heel School employs 26 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 17.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Tar Heel School?
Student demographics at Tar Heel School are roughly 26% White, 37% Hispanic, 30% Black, 6% Two or more.
What district is Tar Heel School in?
Tar Heel School is part of Bladen County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.