STEM Early College at N.C. A&T Continues to Rank No. 2 in State

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Aug. 19, 2026) – The STEM Early College at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University continues its statewide dominance with new U.S. News & World Report rankings that once again named it the No. 2 high school in the state. 

This is the fifth consecutive year the STEM Early College has held that position. It was also ranked No. 3 in the state in 2021. The school ranked No. 48 in the entire country out of 27,000 schools considered.

“We are delighted to see the excellence of the STEM Early College, its students and its faculty and professional staff once again recognized at such a high level in the U.S. News & World Report rankings,” said N.C. A&T College of Education Dean Paula Price.

The STEM Early College is a Guilford County public school, located on the A&T campus within facilities also housing the College of Science and Technology. It is one of four pre-K-12 schools affiliated with A&T.

The Child Development Laboratory serves children from age 2½ to 5 on the A&T campus and is a program of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences.

Aggie Academy, which serves grades 3-5, is the only lab school in North Carolina attached to a historically Black university. Its students benefit from cutting-edge education research and practices  transferred directly to the academy via A&T faculty and education students. It is designated an Apple Distinguished School by the computer industry giant for its innovation and integration of advanced technology in instruction.

Finally, The A&T Four Middle College serves an all-male population, also on the A&T campus. A public high school, it is named after the legendary civil rights activist A&T freshmen who staged a sit-in in 1960 that energized the civil rights movement nationally. It has boasted a near 100% graduation rate for the past 15 years.

The College of Education itself was honored last school year in a state Department of Public Instruction performance report that showed it as the No. 1 such college in North Carolina, with 100 percent satisfaction ratings by principals and degree candidates.