Stars Charter, Vass NC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Stars Charter

STARS Charter is a K-12 charter school in Vass, a small Sandhills railroad town in Moore County that is currently in rapid growth. The school has phased down its high school program; as of 2025, it serves kindergarten through grade eight in person, plus a statewide online K-8 virtual academy. The in-person enrollment sits at around mid-level for a charter serving that grade band, with a student body that is mostly white, with meaningful representation of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students.

On state testing, STARS Charter performed well in the most recent year. In grades three through eight, students achieved proficiency rates in the high range in mathematics and strong performance in English language arts. Science proficiency was also in the high range, though science is tested only at certain grades so the student count there is smaller. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects is among the strongest in Moore County relative to the districts in that county.

The school's location in Vass places it in a town undergoing substantial residential development. New subdivisions are being built across several projects, with buyers including military families commuting to Fort Liberty, retirees, and professionals moving from more expensive nearby towns. Sewer infrastructure expansion has unlocked this growth. Housing values in the area are close to the state median and have risen modestly over the past year. Rent is in the mid-range for North Carolina. This context suggests STARS draws families from an expanding local population of homebuyers and renters, not a stable or declining town.

Free and reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the school's economic composition is not fully transparent from the data provided. The school does not report participation rates for state testing, making it unclear whether testing results reflect very high or near-universal participation. A parent may want to check with the school directly on these points.

The school's defining feature is its arts focus. STARS stands for Sandhills Theatre Arts Renaissance, and the school has built its identity around integrating theatre and the arts into academic learning across grades. This is not a traditional curriculum. For families seeking an environment where arts are woven through the day rather than offered as an elective, this is the draw. For families wanting a conventional classroom structure, this may not fit.

The high school phase-out is material: STARS no longer operates grades nine through twelve in person. Families with high school children must look elsewhere, such as Moore County Schools' traditional public high schools, or pursue virtual schooling. The school launched STARS Virtual Academy, a free statewide online K-8 option, which serves families across North Carolina who prefer remote learning. This is a lasting offering and expands the organization's reach, but it does not serve high school students seeking an in-person arts-focused environment within STARS itself.

The school's single-entity status in its charter district, Sandhills Theatre Arts Renaiss, means there are no other schools in the district, so a parent's choice is STARS or another district entirely.

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Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

60-79%Cohort of 16 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

637 schools plotted. 14 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grades 3-884%

School 84% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

English language arts

Grades 3-881%

School 81% · district not reported

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-884%

School 84% · district not reported

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income48%Higher-income79%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income84%36 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income75%Higher-income88%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income71%Higher-income83%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income65%Higher-income94%29 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income92%22 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income62%Higher-income87%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income62%Higher-income96%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income80%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income69%Higher-income85%16 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income76%Higher-income90%13 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income90%Higher-income93%3 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income71%Higher-income89%19 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income67%Higher-income89%22 pp gap