Enrollment
270
High
DISTRICT 953 · STATE 761
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW HANOVER COUNTY SCHOOLS·NCES 370333002915
Wilmington Early College High
4500 Blue Clay Rd, Castle Hayne, NC 28429 · (910) 362-7789 · New Hanover County
GRADES 09–13HIGH21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL270 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% 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
20.7:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.2:1 · STATE 19.6:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
267 students
DISTRICT 72% · 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 | 77 | 29% |
| Grade 10 | 56 | 21% |
| Grade 11 | 80 | 30% |
| Grade 12 | 53 | 20% |
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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+)English Language Arts
86.0%
NC avg 50.9%
Math
70.0%
NC avg 52.2%
What this means: On the NC EOG / EOC, North Carolina's statewide test, about 86 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 70 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of NC schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
72.8%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.6%
based on NC schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+24.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 49% 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 Wilmington Early College High
Wilmington Early College High's state test result (72.8% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilmington Early College High this school | 270 | 98.9% | 72.8% |
| Wayne School of Technical Arts Goldsboro | 271 | 97.8% | 83.6% |
| Cleveland ECHS Shelby | 225 | 98.7% | 84.0% |
| Richmond Early College High Hamlet | 294 | 99.0% | N/A |
| Columbus Career and College Academy Whiteville | 230 | 98.7% | 70.2% |
| SEA-Tech Castle Hayne | 227 | 98.7% | 81.3% |
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 Wilmington Early College High ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In North Carolina | In New Hanover County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.8% | #80 of 468 | #3 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 70.0% | #59 of 464 | #3 of 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 86.0% | #55 of 448 | #1 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 270 | #427 of 598 | #6 of 10 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 20.7:1 | #324 of 473 | #7 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.9% | #204 of 474 | #3 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.9% | #211 of 527 | #2 of 9 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +10.7% | #66 of 164 | 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
270
+23 (+9%) vs 2020
+44% since 2010-11, when it was 187
Student : Teacher
20.7:1
was 22.4:1
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 | 270 | 13.1 | 20.7:1 | 99% (267) |
| 2023-24 | 254 | 11 | 23.1:1 | 99% (251) |
| 2022-23 | 255 | 12 | 21.2:1 | 99% (252) |
| 2020-21 | 247 | 11 | 22.4:1 | 99% (244) |
| 2017-18 | 244 | 10.1 | 24.1:1 | 34% (82) |
| 2015-16 | 200 | 9 | 22.2:1 | 43% (86) |
| 2010-11 | 187 | 10 | 18.7:1 | 40% (75) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wilmington Early College High.
Since 2017-18: students up 11% (244 to 270); teachers up 29% (10.1 to 13.1).
About Wilmington Early College High
Wilmington Early College High is a public high school run by New Hanover County Schools in Castle Hayne, North Carolina. There are 270 students enrolled, covering grades 9 through 13. The school is 65% below the average for high schools in North Carolina.
New Hanover County Schools has 42 schools; together they serve 24,791 students.
More than half of the students at Wilmington Early College High are White (54%). The next largest groups are 21% Black, 18% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 3% Asian. In New Hanover County overall, about 77% of residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 63%.
A staff of 13.1 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 20.7:1. The gap from the 19.6:1 average for high schools in North Carolina is 1.1 students per teacher. By family income, 99% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared with the 67% average for public schools in New Hanover County, the school's rate is higher.
On the allk12 Grade, Wilmington Early College High lands at A, ahead of 87% of North Carolina public high schools.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Wilmington Early College High would score about 48.6%. It scores 72.8%, a top-10% result among North Carolina schools on BeatsExpectations.
New Hanover County is the school's county. There, the median household earns about $75,166 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 45% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 8%. Wilmington Early College High shares New Hanover County with 49 other public schools.
Wilmington Early College High's closest public school neighbor is SEA-Tech, about 0.9 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Wilmington Early College High at 3rd of 9.
Under the NCES locale system, Wilmington Early College High is Suburb: Large.
The school's enrollment rose 9% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio falling from 22.4:1 to 20.7:1.
People who know Wilmington Early College High can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
New Hanover County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
235,229
Census ACS
Median income
$75,166
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
45%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
27,460 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in New Hanover County Schools
- Emsley A Laney HighHigh · 2,243 students
- John T Hoggard HighHigh · 2,082 students
- Eugene Ashley HighHigh · 1,893 students
- New Hanover HighHigh · 1,437 students
- Charles P Murray MiddleMiddle · 907 students
- Roland-Grise MiddleMiddle · 878 students
Other schools in Castle Hayne
- Holly Shelter MiddleMiddle · 801 students
- Castle Hayne ElementaryElementary · 531 students
- SEA-TechHigh · 227 students
Nearby schools
- SEA-Tech0.9 mi · 227
- Emma B Trask Middle1.5 mi · 611
- Emsley A Laney High1.7 mi · 2,243
- Holly Shelter Middle2.0 mi · 801
- Castle Hayne Elementary2.1 mi · 531
- Murrayville Elementary2.3 mi · 573
Frequently asked questions
About Wilmington Early College HighWhat is the total enrollment at Wilmington Early College High?
Wilmington Early College High enrolls approximately 270 students in grades 09-13.
Is Wilmington Early College High an elementary, middle, or high school?
Wilmington Early College High is a high school covering grades 09-13.
How many students per teacher at Wilmington Early College High?
Approximately 20.7:1 students per teacher at Wilmington Early College High.
How diverse is Wilmington Early College High?
Wilmington Early College High reports a student body of 54% White, 18% Hispanic, 21% Black, 3% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Wilmington Early College High?
Wilmington Early College High is overseen by New Hanover County Schools in New Hanover County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.