Enrollment
294
High
DISTRICT 1,536 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAKE COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370472003192
Wake STEM Early College High School
2205 Walnut Street, Cary, NC 27518 · (919) 694-8130 · Wake County
GRADES 09–13HIGH12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL294 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of North Carolina public high schools
- A+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ABeats 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
20.3:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.5:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
105 students
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 82%
Community
0
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 | 67 | 23% |
| Grade 10 | 68 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 65 | 22% |
| Grade 12 | 67 | 23% |
Student demographics
75%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 73% · 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
QUIET COMMUNITY
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START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
NC EOG / EOC 2024-25 . % Grade Level Proficient (Level 3+)Math
90.9%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 91 of every 100 students at this school do math at grade level. The North Carolina average is about 52 of 100.
Source: NC EOG / EOC. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
92.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+24.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 92% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 68% typical for North Carolina schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 24 points, placing it in North Carolina's top 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 Wake STEM Early College High School
Wake STEM Early College High School's state test result (92.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake STEM Early College High School this school | 294 | 35.7% | 92.2% |
| Wake Early College of Health and Science Raleigh | 317 | 34.1% | 91.9% |
| Challenger Early College High Hickory | 376 | 49.5% | 90.1% |
| Cabarrus Health Sciences Institute Concord | 159 | 30.2% | 74.2% |
| Char Eng Early College-UNCC Charlotte | 313 | 35.5% | 81.8% |
| Cabarrus Early College of Technology Concord | 236 | 32.2% | 88.6% |
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 Wake STEM Early College High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Wake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 92.2% | #5 of 468 | #1 of 31 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 90.9% | #11 of 464 | #4 of 31 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 294 | #411 of 598 | #34 of 39 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.3:1 | #310 of 473 | #31 of 37 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 74.5% | #9 of 474 | #2 of 37 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 35.7% | #449 of 527 | #15 of 34 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +18.1% | #36 of 164 | #5 of 13 |
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
294
+38 (+15%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
20.3:1
was 18.3:1
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 | 294 | 14.5 | 20.3:1 | 36% (105) |
| 2023-24 | 282 | 14.5 | 19.4:1 | 39% (109) |
| 2022-23 | 263 | 15.2 | 17.3:1 | 30% (78) |
| 2020-21 | 256 | 14 | 18.3:1 | 16% (41) |
| 2017-18 | 249 | 14.6 | 17.1:1 | 13% (33) |
| 2015-16 | 249 | 14 | 17.8:1 | 21% (52) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wake STEM Early College High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 18% (249 to 294); teachers down 1% (14.6 to 14.5).
About Wake STEM Early College High School
Wake STEM Early College High School is a very small high school in Cary, North Carolina, under Wake County Schools. The school counted 294 students in 2024-25, covering grades 9 through 13. It has 61% fewer students than the average for high schools in North Carolina (about 761).
Wake STEM Early College High School is run by Wake County Schools, whose 198 schools enroll 163,176 students.
About 33% of students at Wake STEM Early College High School are White, the largest single group. It is also 29% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 14% Black, and 4% multiracial. Wake County's residents are about 58% White, 25 points above the school's share. A diversity index of 75% means there is a 75% chance two randomly chosen students at Wake STEM Early College High School are from different groups.
With 14.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 20.3:1. High schools in North Carolina have an average ratio of 19.6:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Wake STEM Early College High School, 36% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Wake STEM Early College High School earns an A+ on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 96% of North Carolina public high schools.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Wake STEM Early College High School ranks in the top 10% of North Carolina schools. It scores 92.2%; the prediction is 67.9%.
In the surrounding county, Wake County, the median household earns about $105,768 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 57%, and about 5% of people live in poverty. Counting Wake STEM Early College High School, Wake County has 237 public schools.
Wake STEM Early College High School's nearest public school is Crossroads FLEX (about 0.1 miles). The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Ranked by average proficiency, Wake STEM Early College High School places 1st out of 6 schools in its immediate area.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Mid-size. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
By 2024-25, enrollment had risen to 294, from 256 in 2020-21. Students per teacher increased from 18.3 in 2020-21 to 20.3 in 2024-25.
The Wake STEM Early College High School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Wake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,178,653
Census ACS
Median income
$105,768
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
237
184,790 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wake County Schools
- Apex Friendship HighHigh · 2,748 students
- Enloe HighHigh · 2,643 students
- Panther Creek HighHigh · 2,609 students
- Millbrook HighHigh · 2,498 students
- Apex HighHigh · 2,449 students
- Leesville Road HighHigh · 2,411 students
Other schools in Cary
- Panther Creek HighHigh · 2,609 students
- Green Hope HighHigh · 2,304 students
- Green Level HighHigh · 2,283 students
- Cary HighHigh · 2,044 students
- Triangle Math and Science AcademyCombined · 1,904 students
- Mills Park MiddleMiddle · 1,632 students
Nearby schools
- Crossroads FLEX0.1 mi · 139
- SCORE Academy0.1 mi · 584
- Connections Academy0.8 mi · 8
- Dillard Drive Middle0.9 mi · 977
- Dillard Drive Elementary1.0 mi · 648
- Yates Mill Elementary1.4 mi · 538
Frequently asked questions
About Wake STEM Early College High SchoolHow large is Wake STEM Early College High School?
Wake STEM Early College High School enrolls approximately 294 students in grades 09-13.
What age range does Wake STEM Early College High School serve?
Wake STEM Early College High School serves students from grade 09 through grade 13.
How many teachers does Wake STEM Early College High School have?
Wake STEM Early College High School employs 15 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 20.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Wake STEM Early College High School?
Student demographics at Wake STEM Early College High School are roughly 33% White, 29% Hispanic, 14% Black, 20% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Wake STEM Early College High School in?
Wake STEM Early College High School is part of Wake County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.