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Welcome to the Western Harnett High community. What's one thing that would make Western Harnett High even better?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
1,324
High
DISTRICT 1,053 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARNETT COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370201000894
Western Harnett High
10637 NC Hwy 27 West, Lillington, NC 27546 · (919) 499-5113 · Harnett County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL1,324 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 17% of North Carolina public high schools
- CTest 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
23.4:1
56 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.3:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
818 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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 | 362 | 27% |
| Grade 10 | 330 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 284 | 21% |
| Grade 12 | 348 | 26% |
Student demographics
66%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
47.1%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
28.3%
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 28 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
35.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.0%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-24.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 60% 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 Western Harnett High
Western Harnett High's state test result (35.4% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Harnett High this school | 1,324 | 61.8% | 35.4% |
| Harnett Central High Angier | 1,522 | 56.1% | 36.0% |
| Randleman High School Randleman | 870 | 59.5% | 34.0% |
| Southeast Alamance High Haw River | 1,079 | 54.9% | 48.2% |
| Central Cabarrus High Concord | 1,369 | 54.0% | 40.6% |
| Western Alamance High Elon | 1,138 | 49.5% | 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 Western Harnett High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Harnett County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.4% | #349 of 468 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 28.3% | #300 of 464 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #320 of 448 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 1,324 | #115 of 598 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 23.4:1 | #396 of 473 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.3% | #150 of 474 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 61.8% | #348 of 527 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.4% | #133 of 277 | N/A |
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
1,324
+16 (+1%) vs 2020
+32% since 1990-91, when it was 1,002
Student : Teacher
23.4:1
was 17.9:1
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 | 1,324 | 56.5 | 23.4:1 | 62% (818) |
| 2023-24 | 1,343 | 73.5 | 18.3:1 | 62% (837) |
| 2022-23 | 1,386 | 73.4 | 18.9:1 | 60% (827) |
| 2020-21 | 1,308 | 73 | 17.9:1 | 36% (474) |
| 2017-18 | 1,462 | 77.4 | 18.9:1 | 49% (719) |
| 2015-16 | 1,450 | 73 | 19.9:1 | 56% (815) |
| 2010-11 | 1,274 | 73 | 17.4:1 | 47% (601) |
| 2000-01 | 1,712 | 85 | 20.1:1 | 30% (520) |
| 1990-91 | 1,002 | 65 | 15.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Harnett High.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (1,462 to 1,324); teachers down 27% (77.4 to 56.5).
About Western Harnett High
Western Harnett High operates as a high-enrollment high school in Lillington, North Carolina. Enrollment is 1,324 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 9 through 12. Against the 761-student average for high schools in North Carolina, enrollment here is 74% higher.
District-wide, Harnett County Schools has 29 schools and 20,095 students.
Western Harnett High has no majority group; White students are the largest, at 47%. Smaller groups are 30% Hispanic, 16% Black, and 6% multiracial. County-wide, 62% of Harnett County residents are White. The school's diversity index is 66%, meaning two students picked at random have a 66% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The count of teachers at Western Harnett High is 56.5 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 23.4:1. That is higher than the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina. The school counts 818 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 62%. Across public schools in Harnett County, the average is 74%.
The allk12 Grade for Western Harnett High is C-. Compared with North Carolina public high schools, the school scored higher than 17% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Western Harnett High is in the bottom 10% of North Carolina schools: 35.4% actual against 60.0% predicted.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Harnett County show that the median household income is $71,287, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 25%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Besides Western Harnett High, Harnett County has 30 other public schools.
The closest public school, Western Harnett Middle, is about 0.4 miles from Western Harnett High. Other public schools within five miles: 5. On average proficiency, Western Harnett High is 7th of 7 nearby schools with test data.
NCES describes the area around Western Harnett High as Rural: Fringe, meaning in rural territory close to an urban area.
Federal data show 1,308 students in 2020-21 and 1,324 in 2024-25, a difference of under 3%. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 17.9:1 in 2020-21 to 23.4:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Western Harnett High may include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Harnett County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
139,150
Census ACS
Median income
$71,287
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
31
20,611 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Harnett County Schools
- Overhills HighHigh · 1,981 students
- Harnett Central HighHigh · 1,522 students
- Triton HighHigh · 1,274 students
- Benhaven ElementaryElementary · 1,065 students
- Harnett Central MiddleMiddle · 1,059 students
- Overhills ElementaryElementary · 866 students
Other schools in Lillington
- Western Harnett MiddleMiddle · 700 students
- Lillington-Shawtown ElementaryElementary · 695 students
- Boone Trail ElementaryElementary · 545 students
- Harnett Virtual AcademyCombined · 100 students
- STAR AcademyHigh · 31 students
Nearby schools
- Western Harnett Middle0.4 mi · 700
- Highland Middle3.9 mi · 762
- Highland Elementary4.0 mi · 854
- Anderson Creek Academy4.0 mi · 305
- Boone Trail Elementary4.7 mi · 545
- Anderson Creek Primary5.2 mi · 553
Frequently asked questions
About Western Harnett HighWhat is the total enrollment at Western Harnett High?
Western Harnett High enrolls approximately 1,324 students in grades 09-12.
What age range does Western Harnett High serve?
Western Harnett High serves students from grade 09 through grade 12.
How many students per teacher at Western Harnett High?
Approximately 23.4:1 students per teacher at Western Harnett High.
What is the student diversity at Western Harnett High?
Student demographics at Western Harnett High are roughly 47% White, 30% Hispanic, 16% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Western Harnett High?
Western Harnett High is overseen by Harnett County Schools in Harnett County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.