North Carolina Cyber Academy, Durham NC

Original Research by School Decision on North Carolina Cyber Academy

North Carolina Cyber Academy is a fully remote charter school serving students from kindergarten through twelfth grade across North Carolina. The school operates from a physical address in Durham but delivers all instruction online, making it a statewide option for families seeking an alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar schooling.

The school's enrollment spans more than two thousand students distributed across all grade levels, with higher concentrations in the middle and high school years. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse, with roughly equal shares of white and Black students, and meaningful representation of Hispanic, Asian, and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data and special education enrollment counts were not available in the school's public reporting.

On state end-of-grade assessments for grades three through eight, NC Cyber Academy's performance sits below state benchmarks. In English language arts, about half of tested students achieved proficiency. In mathematics, roughly one-third of students tested at or above proficiency. In science, proficiency hovered near halfway. These results place the school in the lower range academically compared to traditional public school options in North Carolina. The school has been formally designated by the state as continually low-performing, a status that reflects both its test results and its graduation rate, which trails the state average.

A significant recent development came in January 2026 when NC Cyber Academy received a five-year charter renewal that converted it from a temporary pilot program into a permanent remote charter academy. This structural change secures the school's operating authority through roughly 2031 and means families choosing this school now do so with greater stability and long-term viability assurance than existed when the school operated under the state's virtual charter pilot.

The school has invested in what it describes as the largest career and technical education program of any charter school in North Carolina. Students can pursue industry-recognized certifications in Microsoft Office Specialist, Adobe Creative Suite, and Veterinary Technician, with these offerings provided at no cost to enrolled families. In 2024, a substantial majority of students in the Microsoft Office program earned the MOS certification, reflecting genuine traction in this pathway.

For families considering NC Cyber Academy, the core trade-off centers on flexibility and career preparation against academic proficiency. The fully remote model removes geographic boundaries and offers flexibility for families who need or prefer distance learning. The CTE offerings provide real credential pathways and may appeal to families prioritizing career-ready skills and certifications over traditional academic performance. However, parents should weigh the school's lower proficiency rates and low-performing designation as significant factors if breadth of college preparation or strong foundational academics are priorities. A parent may want to look into the school's supports for struggling students and ask about intervention strategies, given the proficiency gaps. The school's own reporting does not break down performance by grade band or subgroup, so families might request that information to understand where support is strongest or where challenges concentrate.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

55.0%Cohort of 448 students · Class of 2021

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 3-835%

School 35% · district not reported

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-850%

School 50% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-847%

School 47% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below 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-income34%Higher-income50%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income51%Higher-income63%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income68%24 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income67%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income48%Higher-income59%11 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income44%Higher-income71%26 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income43%Higher-income65%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income45%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income34%Higher-income54%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income28%Higher-income61%32 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income58%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income53%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income43%27 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income28%Higher-income51%23 pp gap