Photo: NC Aquarium PKS · CC BY 3.0Pine Knoll Shores’s public schools outscore 70% of North Carolina districts
65% of students in Pine Knoll Shores’s public schools are proficient in math, above the North Carolina average (51%). The grade covers the public school district serving Pine Knoll Shores, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within North Carolina, not nationally.
From North Carolina state tests taken in spring 2022, when 100% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Pine Knoll Shores’s schools, in brief
Better than its incomes would predict
Among the 159 North Carolina towns with household incomes within a quarter of Pine Knoll Shores’s, its schools beat 75%, higher than their 70% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Above the state on tests
Reading proficiency is 62% and math 65% in spring 2022, against 50% and 51% statewide; 84% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 86%. Test scores ↓
Spending and class size
The district spends $13,751 per student, against $13,045 across North Carolina (FY2024). Spending doesn’t count toward the grade. Districts ↓
Eight elementary schools, then five middle and three high schools
Which school depends on the address at every step. See the path ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Pine Knoll Shores’s grade
B+: better than 70% of North Carolina school districts. Test scores are above the North Carolina average; graduation is below it.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Pine Knoll Shores, with each school’s own grade.
9th grade in Pine Knoll Shores · depends on your address
West Carteret High
Grades 8–12 · 1,095 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Morehead City
Croatan High
Grades 9–12 · 1,019 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Newport
East Carteret High
Grades 9–12 · 521 students · 17:1 students per teacher · in Beaufort
10th grade in Pine Knoll Shores · depends on your address
West Carteret High
Grades 8–12 · 1,095 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Morehead City
Croatan High
Grades 9–12 · 1,019 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Newport
East Carteret High
Grades 9–12 · 521 students · 17:1 students per teacher · in Beaufort
11th grade in Pine Knoll Shores · depends on your address
West Carteret High
Grades 8–12 · 1,095 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Morehead City
Croatan High
Grades 9–12 · 1,019 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Newport
East Carteret High
Grades 9–12 · 521 students · 17:1 students per teacher · in Beaufort
12th grade in Pine Knoll Shores · depends on your address
West Carteret High
Grades 8–12 · 1,095 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Morehead City
Croatan High
Grades 9–12 · 1,019 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Newport
East Carteret High
Grades 9–12 · 521 students · 17:1 students per teacher · in Beaufort
Pine Knoll Shores’s public schools are run by Carteret County Schools, which also serves Atlantic Beach, Beaufort, Bogue and Cape Carteret and others. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
The district
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Well above the state in reading
Pine Knoll Shores vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the North Carolina towns that share Pine Knoll Shores’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Pine Knoll Shores | B+ | Carteret County Schools |
| Atlantic Beach | B+ | Carteret County Schools |
Every school in Pine Knoll Shores
15 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with North Carolina’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Questions about Pine Knoll Shores’s schools
Are Pine Knoll Shores’s schools good?
By North Carolina’s own tests, yes: the public schools Pine Knoll Shores children attend outscore 70% of North Carolina’s school districts on tests and graduation, a B+ Schools grade. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 75%. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Pine Knoll Shores in?
Carteret County Schools, which runs grades PK–12 and enrolls 7,847 students in 17 schools (2024–25).
Where do Pine Knoll Shores kids go to high school?
One of 3 high schools, depending on your address: West Carteret High, Croatan High and East Carteret High.
What is Pine Knoll Shores’s graduation rate?
84% of the class of 2023 in Carteret County Schools graduated in four years, against 86% across North Carolina.
How much does Pine Knoll Shores spend per student?
$13,751 in Carteret County Schools (FY2024), against $13,045 across North Carolina. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Parents talk
What Pine Knoll Shores families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Pine Knoll Shores → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within North Carolina. Stars are from neighbors.