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If you had an hour of school board time for Wilkes Central High School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
719
High
DISTRICT 523 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WILKES COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370495001989
Wilkes Central High School
1179 Moravian Falls Rd, Wilkesboro, NC 28697 · (336) 667-5277 · Wilkes County
GRADES 09–12HIGH41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL719 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 53% of North Carolina public high schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
14.6:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.9:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
716 students
DISTRICT 99% · 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 | 182 | 25% |
| Grade 10 | 174 | 24% |
| Grade 11 | 191 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 172 | 24% |
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · 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
54.5%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
54.9%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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
46.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 46% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Wilkes Central High School
Wilkes Central High School's state test result (46.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilkes Central High School this school | 719 | 99.6% | 46.2% |
| Dalton McMichael High Mayodan | 681 | 99.6% | 43.9% |
| South Lenoir High Deep Run | 721 | 99.6% | 39.3% |
| West Caldwell High Lenoir | 634 | 98.7% | 29.9% |
| Lincolnton High Lincolnton | 797 | 99.5% | 44.6% |
| South Rowan High China Grove | 932 | 99.7% | 28.6% |
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 Wilkes Central High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.2% | #243 of 468 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 54.9% | #112 of 464 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.5% | #246 of 448 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 719 | #280 of 598 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #58 of 473 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.9% | #174 of 474 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #105 of 527 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -19.9% | #46 of 277 |
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
719
-24 (-3%) vs 2020
0% since 1990-91, when it was 720
Student : Teacher
14.6:1
was 14.9:1
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 | 719 | 49.1 | 14.6:1 | 100% (716) |
| 2023-24 | 737 | 49 | 15.1:1 | 100% (734) |
| 2022-23 | 752 | 50 | 15.1:1 | 54% (404) |
| 2020-21 | 743 | 50 | 14.9:1 | 34% (254) |
| 2017-18 | 898 | 53.3 | 16.9:1 | 46% (417) |
| 2015-16 | 911 | 55 | 16.6:1 | 98% (891) |
| 2010-11 | 875 | 50 | 17.5:1 | 48% (416) |
| 2000-01 | 957 | 62 | 15.4:1 | 22% (215) |
| 1990-91 | 720 | 53 | 13.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wilkes Central High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (898 to 719); teachers down 8% (53.3 to 49.1).
About Wilkes Central High School
Wilkes Central High School is a medium-sized high school in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. It enrolled 719 students in grades 9 through 12 for the 2024-25 school year.
Wilkes Central High School is one school in a 22-school district, Wilkes County Schools, which enrolls 8,547 students.
By race and ethnicity, Wilkes Central High School is 51% White. It is also 27% Hispanic, 11% Black, and 10% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Wilkes County is roughly 87% White. By the diversity index, Wilkes Central High School comes in at 65%.
Teachers at Wilkes Central High School total 49.1 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 14.6:1. The 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina is higher than this school's figure. The school counts 716 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 100%. Across public schools in Wilkes County, the average is about the same, 99%.
Wilkes Central High School is graded B- by allk12, scoring above 53% of North Carolina public high schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 48.4% at Wilkes Central High School; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 46.2%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Wilkes County, median household income is about $51,721, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 17% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 13%. Wilkes Central High School is one of 22 public schools in Wilkes County, which together enroll about 8,547 students.
The nearest public school is Moravian Falls Elementary School, at about 0.9 miles. There are 5 other public schools within five miles. On state test proficiency, Wilkes Central High School ranks 7th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
The school's federal locale classification is Rural: Fringe.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Wilkes Central High School went from 743 students to 719.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Wilkes County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
65,935
Census ACS
Median income
$51,721
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
17%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
22
8,547 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Wilkes County Schools
- Millers Creek Elementary SchoolElementary · 699 students
- West Wilkes High SchoolHigh · 582 students
- North Wilkes High SchoolHigh · 578 students
- Central Wilkes Middle SchoolMiddle · 564 students
- Mountain View Elementary SchoolElementary · 488 students
- North Wilkes Middle SchoolMiddle · 484 students
Other schools in Wilkesboro
- West Wilkes Middle SchoolMiddle · 450 students
- Wilkesboro Elementary SchoolElementary · 405 students
- Wilkes Early College High SchoolHigh · 265 students
Nearby schools
- Moravian Falls Elementary School0.9 mi · 257
- Central Wilkes Middle School1.1 mi · 564
- Wilkesboro Elementary School1.6 mi · 405
- Wilkes Early College High School1.8 mi · 265
- C C Wright Elementary School4.5 mi · 316
- North Wilkesboro Elementary School5.2 mi · 329
Frequently asked questions
About Wilkes Central High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Wilkes Central High School?
Wilkes Central High School enrolls approximately 719 students in grades 09-12.
Is Wilkes Central High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Wilkes Central High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
How many teachers does Wilkes Central High School have?
Wilkes Central High School employs 49 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 14.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Wilkes Central High School?
Student demographics at Wilkes Central High School are roughly 51% White, 27% Hispanic, 11% Black, 1% Asian, 10% Two or more.
Who oversees Wilkes Central High School?
Wilkes Central High School is overseen by Wilkes County Schools in Wilkes County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.