The top reported proficiency rate is 87% in Math. The lowest is 71% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on East Robeson Primary
East Robeson Primary is an early-childhood and primary school serving prekindergarten through third grade in Lumberton. The school enrolls a substantial student population across the five grade bands it serves, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly from kindergarten through third grade and a smaller prekindergarten cohort.
The school's student body is diverse. Students come from multiple ethnic backgrounds, with notably large portions identifying as Native American, Black, and White, plus meaningful representation of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of families the school serves.
On state math assessments for grades three and above, East Robeson Primary students showed strong proficiency, with most of those tested reaching proficiency or better. Reading performance was lower; a meaningful share of tested students did not meet proficiency benchmarks in English language arts. State testing data for grades below three is not available because North Carolina does not administer those assessments in the primary grades.
The school is part of Public Schools of Robeson County, which sits in a constrained budget environment. The district ranks last statewide in local per-student spending and lacks a substantial tax base; in 2025 the district lost a significant amount of federal pandemic-relief funding it had allocated for major facility upgrades district-wide, forcing the school system to reallocate scarce resources. That said, the district has recently invested in new curriculum aligned with structured literacy approaches at the elementary level, using a consistent reading foundations framework and a standards-based math curriculum across the early grades.
Lumberton itself, where the school is located, is a small city with a mixed character. A compact historic downtown around Dick Taylor Plaza and the Lumber River holds cultural anchors like the Carolina Civic Center theater, the public library, and museums. Beyond that core, the city is car-oriented and sprawling, built around Interstate 95 and commercial strips. The area has been shaped by hurricane damage in recent years and is in a slow recovery phase, with modest apartment construction underway but soft housing-market projections. Major employment sectors are healthcare (anchored by UNC Health Southeastern), education, retail, and logistics tied to the I-95 corridor.
For families considering East Robeson Primary, the school offers early childhood and primary instruction in a diverse peer environment with strong math performance but softer reading results at the upper primary grades. Given the reading performance gap, a parent may want to explore with the school how third-grade transition and early literacy instruction are supported, especially since the district has recently adopted a structured literacy approach that will shape how reading is taught. The school's location in Lumberton places families in a working-class community with limited walkability outside a small downtown core and with economic recovery still underway.
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