The top reported proficiency rate is 75% in Math. The lowest is 66% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Combs Elementary
Combs Elementary is a PreK through fifth-grade public school in Raleigh's northeast zone, serving a modestly sized enrollment of students across seven grade bands. The school sits in a stable residential area within the larger Raleigh metro, which has been undergoing steady growth as an urban center anchored by state government, tech employment, and proximity to Research Triangle Park.
In math, Combs students in grades three through five demonstrated proficiency at a solid rate on the state End-of-Grade assessment. Science proficiency also sits at a comparable level. English language arts proficiency is lower, with a meaningful share of students not yet meeting grade-level standard on the state test. For a reader trying to understand what this means: the school's math and science results align with what many Wake County schools achieve, while reading and writing performance appears to be a softer area. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the reading program, what targeted support exists for students below proficiency, and what the school's trajectory has been.
The school serves a diverse student body. A substantial plurality are white students; significant shares identify as Black, Hispanic, and Asian. About a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing Combs in a mixed-income enrollment. The school's composition reflects both Raleigh's professional workforce and the working families who live in older residential neighborhoods across the northeast.
State testing data for elementary grades three through five is available, but trend data going back multiple years was not available, so a reader cannot yet see whether performance has been stable, improving, or changing. Similarly, data on the rate of students with IEPs and English learners was not provided, so the scope of students receiving specialized support is not visible here.
Raleigh itself is North Carolina's capital and has transformed into a mixed-use city. Downtown anchors the civic core with museums, performance venues, and government offices, but much of the city remains car-dependent. Walkable historic neighborhoods like Five Points and Oakwood sit alongside suburban-style developments spreading outward. The economy centers on technology, healthcare, higher education, and professional services, with major employers including WakeMed, NC State University, IBM, Cisco, and Red Hat. Recent downtown investment pipelines have brought considerable new residential and office construction. The housing market in Raleigh sits above state median values but remains somewhat less costly than national benchmarks, with rents also moderate relative to income in the area.
Wake County Schools, the parent district, has been in active change mode. A bond approved in 2022 is funding five new schools and renovations across the county to manage growth. Beginning in 2025-26, the district implemented a new cellphone policy restricting device use during school, a practical shift for families. More significantly for instruction, the district has overhauled its approach to teaching reading in K-5 grades using the Science of Reading, with teachers completing structured LETRS training. This is a foundational pedagogy shift meant to strengthen early literacy across the county. The district has also gone through large-scale student reassignments to fill new schools and manage enrollment; another round took effect in 2026-27 affecting schools across different areas of the county. For families in Wake, knowing which calendar their school operates on (traditional versus year-round) and watching reassignment plans is an ongoing practical concern, since growth and school openings can mean moves between buildings.
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