South Carolina
South Carolina's education policy has been shaped by a recurring tension between underfunded rural districts — particularly in the Corridor of Shame (I-95 corridor) school districts documented in a 2005 lawsuit — and a political environment resistant to large state funding increases. The Abbeville County School District v. State case has produced numerous court orders to the legislature to increase education spending, with inconsistent compliance. South Carolina has been innovative in some areas: its Read to Succeed literacy initiative, launched in 2014, mirrors the science of reading reforms that states like Mississippi and Tennessee have adopted. The Charleston and Greenville-Spartanburg metro areas host some of the state's highest-performing districts. South Carolina uses the SC READY and SC Pass assessments.
| District | Schools | Students | Per-Pupil | Grad Rate | Free Lunch | Opp. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Large Districts — 10,000+ Students | ||||||
| Greenville 01 | 92 | 78K | $13,261↓23% | 85.6% | 65.7%↓14% | 38 |
| Charleston 01 | 82 | 50K | $20,688↑20% | 83.4% | 59.9%↓22% | 37 |
| Horry 01 | 57 | 47K | $14,530↓15% | 83.6% | 74.1% | 38 |
| Berkeley 01 | 46 | 38K | $13,148↓24% | 82.1% | 57.3%↓25% | 36 |
| Richland 02 | 32 | 29K | $18,376↑7% | 88.8%↑6% | 64.9%↓15% | 36 |
| Lexington 01 | 31 | 28K | $16,643 | 89.5%↑7% | 34.9%↓55% | 39 |
| Dorchester 02 | 24 | 25K | $13,014↓24% | 90.9%↑8% | 63.3%↓17% | 36 |
| Aiken 01 | 40 | 23K | $14,610↓15% | 91.1%↑9% | 70.0%↓9% | 41 |
| Charter Institute at Erskine | 24 | 23K | $18,946↑10% | 61.3%↓27% | 59.8%↓22% | 36 |
| Richland 01 | 48 | 22K | $22,848↑33% | 81.7% | 100.0%↑31% | 33 |
| Beaufort 01 | 32 | 21K | $22,414↑30% | 87.7% | 52.4%↓32% | 33 |
| York 04 | 20 | 18K | $15,020↓13% | 95.6%↑14% | 23.0%↓70% | 42 |
| Lexington 05 | 23 | 17K | $15,709↓9% | 88.9%↑6% | 63.4%↓17% | 42 |
| York 03 | 25 | 16K | $14,454↓16% | 82.4% | 64.7%↓16% | 34 |
| SC Public Charter School District | 36 | 16K | $25,770↑50% | 89.8%↑7% | 49.2%↓36% | 36 |
| Pickens 01 | 24 | 16K | $12,307↓28% | 85.6% | 74.1% | 36 |
| Florence 01 | 24 | 16K | $16,480 | 83.6% | 87.0%↑14% | 36 |
| Lancaster 01 | 23 | 15K | $14,178↓18% | 83.9% | 58.0%↓24% | 36 |
| Sumter 01 | 25 | 15K | $13,072↓24% | 83.8% | 100.0%↑31% | 36 |
| Anderson 05 | 19 | 13K | $14,281↓17% | 83.7% | 79.2% | 36 |
| Spartanburg 02 | 14 | 12K | $12,458↓28% | 91.0%↑9% | 67.4%↓12% | 38 |
| Spartanburg 06 | 13 | 11K | $13,672↓20% | 87.0% | 80.0% | 39 |
| Kershaw 01 | 17 | 11K | $16,649 | 85.5% | 79.2% | 34 |
| Orangeburg | 27 | 11K | $16,538 | — | 100.0%↑31% | 34 |
| Anderson 01 | 14 | 11K | $14,120↓18% | 92.1%↑10% | 54.7%↓29% | 36 |
| Spartanburg 05 | 12 | 10K | $16,243↓5% | 89.0%↑6% | 64.7%↓16% | 34 |
| Oconee 01 | 17 | 10K | $16,539 | 87.0% | 77.2% | 40 |
| Medium Districts — 1,000–9,999 Students | ||||||
| York 02 | 10 | 9,087 | $14,492↓16% | 88.0% | 36.8%↓52% | 35 |
| Darlington 01 | 19 | 9,042 | $17,417 | 91.3%↑9% | 100.0%↑31% | 35 |
| Lexington 02 | 13 | 8,626 | $16,747 | 76.5%↓9% | 95.2%↑24% | 34 |
| Greenwood 50 | 13 | 8,610 | $14,020↓18% | 84.7% | 100.0%↑31% | 33 |
| Georgetown 01 | 19 | 8,429 | $18,708↑9% | 86.1% | 84.1%↑10% | 35 |
| Cherokee 01 | 15 | 7,925 | $15,161↓12% | 82.8% | 88.9%↑16% | 35 |
| Spartanburg 07 | 10 | 7,371 | $21,655↑26% | 82.0% | 84.9%↑11% | 34 |
| Chesterfield 01 | 16 | 7,019 | $13,849↓19% | 84.3% | 100.0%↑31% | 35 |
| Newberry 01 | 14 | 5,806 | $14,882↓13% | 85.7% | 87.8%↑15% | 37 |
| Spartanburg 01 | 10 | 5,458 | $13,176↓23% | 91.6%↑9% | 67.9%↓11% | 36 |
| Laurens 55 | 9 | 5,344 | $13,649↓21% | 80.0% | 100.0%↑31% | 37 |
| York 01 | 9 | 5,038 | $14,974↓13% | 82.0% | 80.0% | 38 |
| Colleton 01 | 9 | 4,946 | $14,513↓16% | 78.0%↓7% | 100.0%↑31% | 36 |
| Chester 01 | 12 | 4,767 | $16,887 | 80.0% | 95.8%↑25% | 36 |
| Dillon 04 | 8 | 3,880 | $13,283↓23% | 85.1% | 100.0%↑31% | 33 |
| Marion 10 | 10 | 3,875 | $14,103↓18% | 76.7%↓8% | 100.0%↑31% | 34 |
| Union 01 | 7 | 3,788 | $12,593↓27% | 75.0%↓11% | 91.0%↑19% | 39 |
| Marlboro 01 | 7 | 3,549 | $15,935↓7% | 79.0%↓6% | 100.0%↑31% | 33 |
| Lexington 04 | 7 | 3,544 | $14,350↓17% | 80.0% | 100.0%↑31% | 36 |
| Anderson 02 | 7 | 3,494 | $13,073↓24% | 87.0% | 80.9%↑6% | 36 |
| Edgefield 01 | 8 | 3,100 | $21,700↑26% | 87.0% | 77.1% | 35 |
| Anderson 04 | 6 | 3,005 | $15,497↓10% | 85.0% | 68.5%↓11% | 37 |
| Florence 03 | 8 | 2,993 | $15,242↓11% | 73.0%↓13% | 100.0%↑31% | 36 |