Lake Norman Charter

Huntersville · NC · Lake Norman Charter · Public charter · K-12 combined


📚AP rigor: 82nd percentile nationally 📖15 AP courses 🎓97% 4-yr grad rate

🧭 A parent's read

  • 97% graduate on time. Nearly every student who starts 9th grade here finishes in four years — the strongest baseline signal a school can post.
  • Course rigor in the top 18% of US high schools. 15 AP courses plus advanced math and lab-science depth — measured against every high school in the country, not just the neighborhood.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 15 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • 🔢 2 calculus classes · 1 physics · 8 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 82nd percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 74th percentile by test-taker volume
  • 🎓 4-yr grad rate: 97% (90th percentile nationally)

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts graduation data, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

You've seen Lake Norman Charter. What are your child's real college odds? Check any college in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price for every college on their list. Check odds →
💡

How Lake Norman Charter compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor in the top 18% nationally with 15 AP courses.
  • LocallyNC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Lincoln Charter School, Pine Lake Preparatory, Corvian Community School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

📬

Get alerts when Lake Norman Charter's numbers change

New admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores — a few alerts a year, no spam. Your email also saves your list across devices.

Objective, government-grade data — no school pays us for placement.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

82nd percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
15
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
288
≈36 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
11
2 calculus · 9 advanced
Lab science classes
9
1 physics · 8 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

74th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
187
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
23.1
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🎓 4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

90th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
97%
Range: 95–100%
4-year cohort size
194
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
7.5%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
23.0%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

19%
admit rate
$8,994
in-state tuition/yr · $41,203 out-of-state
1370–1530
SAT 25–75 · ACT 30–34

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $11,655/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
4.0%
Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.
Students absent 15+ days
88
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
370:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
6.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
125
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 183 in 2021 to 197 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+7.7%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +0.2%/year, projecting from 2024's 2,222 students:

2025
2,226
2027
2,233
2029
2,240

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $9,793 per student in district revenue, the 18 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $176,274/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Lincoln Charter School
Denver
Public · charter 11.3 817 +16.1%
Pine Lake Preparatory
Mooresville
Public · charter 10.0 684 +1.0%
Corvian Community School
Charlotte
Public · charter 4.0 460 +0.0%
Northwest School of the Arts
Charlotte
Public 9.3 573 -4.2%
Mountain Island Charter School
Mt. Holly
Public · charter 8.9 561 +3.9%
East Gaston High
Mount Holly
Public 14.5 917 +8.1%
North Mecklenburg High School
Huntersville
Public 1.2 1,854 -11.5%
Stuart W Cramer High
Belmont
Public 16.1 953 +1.1%

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Lake Norman Charter?

Check any college's odds in 10 seconds — no email needed — then get the free Family Decision Report: Reach / Match / Likely with real admit odds and your real net price, for every college on their list.

Check your child's odds →
🎯 What are your child's odds? →