Chase Middle School, Forest City NC

Original Research by School Decision on Chase Middle School

Chase Middle School serves grades six through eight in Forest City, a small foothills town in Rutherford County with a preserved downtown and a mixed character of antique shops, restaurants, and mid-twentieth-century residential neighborhoods. The school draws from a community shaped by textile-era manufacturing and a regional commercial hub that continues to function as the economic center of the county.

The student body is nearly universal in economic need: a very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is balanced fairly evenly across the three grades. Demographically, the school's population is predominantly white, with sizable Hispanic and multiracial communities; a small Black student population; and only a handful of American Indian students. Data on special education and English learner populations were not available.

On state testing in 2024-25, Chase's performance was mixed. In English language arts, roughly three in five students met or exceeded state proficiency, a result that outperformed math, where a little more than half met the benchmark. Science proficiency was stronger, with nearly two-thirds of students reaching proficiency on the newly redesigned assessment. These figures sit against the context of grading and assessment adjustments in the district; science tests changed their name and cut score this year, so year-to-year comparisons are not safe to calculate. A parent may want to understand whether these proficiency rates match this school's trajectory or represent movement, and should ask the school directly about trends.

The neighborhood of Forest City itself is anchored by downtown civic institutions: the public library, parks, and summer events like Hometown Holidays. The downtown core is walkable, with sidewalks and a median running along Main Street, though the broader community is car-dependent. Schools here sit on separate campuses rather than embedded in the downtown grid. The local job market mixes manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and public-sector work, with named employers including window-coverings manufacturing and behavioral health services. Housing values in the zip code are below the state median and appreciating modestly. Monthly rent is well below estimated mortgage payments, making rental housing the more economical choice for many households.

The Rutherford County Schools district itself has faced significant contraction. In June 2025, the board voted to close Mt. Vernon-Ruth Elementary School and the Rutherford Opportunity Center, an alternative school option that served students needing a different setting. That closure eliminates an off-campus pathway for high school students in crisis or seeking a nontraditional route. For families considering the district, this change means fewer placement options if their child needs to move schools. Separately, beginning in 2025-26, the district shifted to a different grading-period calendar, changing how progress gets reported home. These shifts are material for families weighing whether to settle in or stay.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grades 3-854%

School 54% · District 60% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grades 3-859%

School 59% · District 56% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grades 3-864%

School 64% · District 60% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolRutherford County Schools, 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 6Lower-income57%Higher-income71%14 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income59%Higher-income67%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income54%1 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income57%Higher-income63%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income69%Higher-income73%5 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income57%Higher-income59%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income42%8 pp gap

Grades 3-8Lower-income53%Higher-income56%3 pp gap