The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 49% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Cooper Academy
Cooper Academy serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Clayton, a fast-growing Raleigh suburb in Johnston County. The school is a regular public elementary campus with an enrollment of about four hundred and forty students spread across seven grade bands.
The student body reflects Clayton's demographic diversity. Roughly a third of the school identifies as Black, roughly a third as Hispanic, and roughly a quarter as white, with smaller percentages of students identifying as multiracial or Asian. The vast majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, meaning Cooper Academy serves a primarily low-income population in a town where major pharmaceutical manufacturing and biotech expansion are reshaping the economy and housing market.
On state testing, Cooper Academy's proficiency rates sit in the lower range. In third through fifth grade mathematics, about six in ten students reached proficiency on the 2024-25 End-of-Grade test. In English language arts for the same grades, roughly half of students were proficient. In science, also tested in those grades, proficiency was at about half. These are areas where a parent may want to look into further with the school: what support structures exist for students not yet meeting grade-level standards, what the school's trajectory has been, and what specific interventions or small-group work are in place for reading and math in the elementary years when gaps can widen if not addressed.
State testing data was not available for kindergarten through second grade, since North Carolina does not administer standardized assessments in those grades. Data on special education enrollment and English learner identification was not available from the state. Graduation rate does not apply to an elementary school.
Clayton itself is in the midst of significant change. The town has grown rapidly and is anchored by major life-sciences manufacturing, including Novo Nordisk's insulin production facility and Grifols' plasma therapeutics plant. Housing values in the zip code are moderate relative to the national benchmark. New subdivisions, particularly Flowers Plantation, a large master-planned community, are expanding alongside downtown revitalization. Two major school bonds passed in 2022 and 2024, with the district constructing a new high school (slated to open in 2026), a new elementary school, and additions across multiple campuses to address overcrowding in one of North Carolina's fastest-growing counties. Mobile classrooms had been in use to meet enrollment pressure.
Cooper Academy is one school within Johnston County Public Schools, a district undergoing structural change. The board of education shifted from at-large to single-member residency districts in 2024, changing how neighborhoods are represented in school decisions. The district adopted a new calendar beginning in the 2024-25 school year that allows fall semester to end before December 31, moving high school exams before winter break and giving AP classes more instructional time before May tests.
A parent considering Cooper Academy should factor in the school's current proficiency levels in reading and math, confirm what the school's improvement trajectory looks like and what specific supports are offered to struggling readers and mathematicians, and understand how the school's enrollment may shift as new elementary capacity comes online in the district. The community offers a walkable historic downtown alongside sprawling newer subdivisions; school campuses are distributed across the town rather than clustered in the downtown core, and the area is car-dependent despite recent pedestrian planning in the historic district.
See more original research from School Decision →