The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in Science. The lowest is 85% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mills Park Elementary
Mills Park Elementary is a small public elementary school serving prekindergarten through fifth grade in Cary, Wake County. The school enrolls a student body in which Asian students represent roughly half the enrollment, with white students making up a substantial share, and Hispanic students and a small number of Black students comprising the remainder. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
The school's recent state assessment results show strong proficiency across tested grades and subjects. In mathematics, students demonstrated high proficiency. In English language arts, proficiency was solid. Science proficiency was also notably high, though the science assessment underwent a methodology change, so year-over-year comparison is not directly possible. State testing data was not available for prekindergarten and kindergarten, as North Carolina does not test those grades.
Mills Park sits within Cary, a large suburban town in the Raleigh-Cary metro that has grown substantially over decades following the establishment of Research Triangle Park. The town combines a compact, walkable historic downtown with extensive master-planned residential subdivisions. It is home to major employers including SAS Institute, Epic Games, and Deutsche Bank, which shape the economic character and household profile of families in the area. The surrounding housing market reflects that context: median home values in the school's zip code are substantially above the state benchmark, and rents similarly track above state norms. Mortgage costs and the overall price-to-income ratio indicate a higher-cost market; rent as a share of household income remains moderate but notably above the national benchmark. For families purchasing, this is a market that generally requires household incomes well above state averages.
Cary itself is experiencing continued growth and development. The town is implementing the Imagine Cary comprehensive plan to organize that growth, and recent projects include the new Downtown Cary Park and mixed-use developments such as Fenton. The town has also begun an affordable housing initiative; Cary's recent and planned community development block grant rounds have funded construction of new affordable units, and in 2025 the town expanded zoning to allow detached accessory dwelling units.
At the school district level, Wake County Schools has been navigating significant change. In 2022, voters approved a substantial school construction bond to fund five new schools and renovations at seven existing schools, which will reshape where children in various parts of the county attend school and will increase property taxes modestly. The district has also overhauled prekindergarten through fifth-grade reading instruction to align with the Science of Reading approach, completing state-mandated LETRS training for all teachers in that band by spring 2024. This represents a foundational shift in how early literacy is taught across the district. Additionally, the district has implemented a new district-wide cellphone policy effective the 2025-26 school year, requiring elementary and middle school students to keep phones stored away all day. Large-scale student reassignments have continued to address growth; while Mills Park itself was not part of the November 2024 reassignment plan, families considering the school should be aware that reassignment risk remains a significant consideration in Wake County as new schools open and enrollment patterns shift.
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