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What's the biggest difference between Western Harnett Middle and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
700
Middle
DISTRICT 709 · STATE 605
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HARNETT COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370201002296
Western Harnett Middle
11135 NC Hwy 27 West, Lillington, NC 27546 · (919) 499-4497 · Harnett County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL700 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 29% of North Carolina public middle schools
- C+Test 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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.4:1 · STATE 15.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
56%
389 students
DISTRICT 76% · STATE 82%
Community
1
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 207 | 30% |
| Grade 7 | 237 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 256 | 37% |
Student demographics
67%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
43.4%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
50.1%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 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
47.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.9%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 Western Harnett Middle
Western Harnett Middle's state test result (47.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Harnett Middle this school | 700 | 55.6% | 47.2% |
| Western Alamance Middle Elon | 837 | 55.0% | 44.4% |
| Southern Alamance Middle Graham | 822 | 58.2% | 41.7% |
| Hunters Creek Middle Jacksonville | 856 | 57.2% | 51.5% |
| Northwoods Park Middle Jacksonville | 633 | 52.8% | 53.9% |
| Hawfields Middle Mebane | 864 | 56.0% | 65.0% |
Matched among North Carolina middle 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 Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In Harnett County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 47.2% | #273 of 463 | #1 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 50.1% | #218 of 461 | #1 of 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #294 of 463 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 700 | #159 of 478 | #4 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.4:1 | #158 of 456 | #2 of 6 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 67.4% | #127 of 456 | #4 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 55.6% | #366 of 472 | #6 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.1% | #262 of 300 | N/A |
Ranked against other public middle 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
700
-119 (-15%) vs 2020
-20% since 2000-01, when it was 874
Student : Teacher
15.4:1
was 18.6:1
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 | 700 | 45.5 | 15.4:1 | 56% (389) |
| 2023-24 | 766 | 47.7 | 16.1:1 | 57% (439) |
| 2022-23 | 820 | 49.2 | 16.7:1 | 57% (470) |
| 2020-21 | 819 | 44 | 18.6:1 | 39% (320) |
| 2017-18 | 730 | 44 | 16.6:1 | 53% (389) |
| 2015-16 | 687 | 43 | 16.0:1 | 58% (400) |
| 2010-11 | 1,046 | 59 | 17.7:1 | 54% (560) |
| 2000-01 | 874 | 89 | 9.8:1 | 93% (809) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Western Harnett Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (730 to 700); teachers up 4% (44 to 45.5).
About Western Harnett Middle
Western Harnett Middle is a mid-sized middle-grades school in Lillington, North Carolina. The school has 700 students in 2024-25 across grades 6 through 8.
Harnett County Schools oversees Western Harnett Middle and 28 other schools, with 20,095 students in total.
The student body at Western Harnett Middle has no majority group. White students lead at 47%. The remaining shares are 25% Hispanic, 18% Black, and 8% multiracial. Harnett County as a whole is about 62% White, so the school's share is lower. A diversity index of 67% means there is a 67% chance two randomly chosen students at Western Harnett Middle are from different groups.
On staff are 45.5 full-time-equivalent teachers; the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.4:1. The 15.9:1 average for middle schools in North Carolina is close to this figure. Western Harnett Middle has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 56%. It compares with 74% for public schools in Harnett County.
Western Harnett Middle earns a C on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 29% of North Carolina public middle schools.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Western Harnett Middle would score about 61.9%. It scores 47.2%, 14.7 points below that figure.
In the wider Harnett County area, median household income comes to about $71,287, roughly 25% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Harnett County's 31 public schools enroll about 20,611 students and include Western Harnett Middle.
Western Harnett High is about 0.4 miles away, making it the nearest public school. Western Harnett Middle is one of several public schools in the area, with 5 others within five miles. Western Harnett Middle ranks 3rd of 7 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 47.2% against a local average of 48.0%.
Federal data place Western Harnett Middle in the Rural: Distant locale, which means it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
A 15% drop took enrollment from 819 in 2020-21 to 700 in 2024-25. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 18.6:1 to 15.4:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
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
- Western Harnett HighHigh · 1,324 students
- Triton HighHigh · 1,274 students
- Benhaven ElementaryElementary · 1,065 students
- Harnett Central MiddleMiddle · 1,059 students
Other schools in Lillington
- Western Harnett HighHigh · 1,324 students
- Lillington-Shawtown ElementaryElementary · 695 students
- Boone Trail ElementaryElementary · 545 students
- Harnett Virtual AcademyCombined · 100 students
- STAR AcademyHigh · 31 students
Nearby schools
- Western Harnett High0.4 mi · 1,324
- Highland Middle3.6 mi · 762
- Highland Elementary3.6 mi · 854
- Anderson Creek Academy4.1 mi · 305
- Boone Trail Elementary4.9 mi · 545
- Benhaven Elementary5.3 mi · 1,065
Frequently asked questions
About Western Harnett MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Western Harnett Middle?
Western Harnett Middle enrolls approximately 700 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Western Harnett Middle serve?
Western Harnett Middle serves grades 06-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Western Harnett Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Western Harnett Middle is approximately 15.4:1 (46 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Western Harnett Middle?
Student demographics at Western Harnett Middle are roughly 47% White, 25% Hispanic, 18% Black, 0% Asian, 8% Two or more.
What district is Western Harnett Middle in?
Western Harnett Middle is part of Harnett County Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.