Wake County Schools- Knightdale/Wendell Area

We are pretty new to the triangle area (summer 2019), currently we rent in Western Wake and our kids middle and elementary go to schools on this side of town- which are great.

Currently we are looking at relocating because our lease is coming to an end, but simply cannot afford to buy on this side of the county- or it will be very difficult. We are looking over in the knightdale/wendell area. I am just looking for personal experience of schools on that side of town.

I see that they score lower on test scores but I know that doesn't paint a picture of the school as a whole and that more diverse schools tend to score lower on those measures anyway. But being a transplant it is hard to know which schools are good and what schools to "stay away from". We have zero problems with a diverse school, but also want to make sure our kids get a good education and the school culture isn't toxic.

(I am also open to suggestions of other areas to look in the county that have good school environments but houses that "normal people" can afford.)