The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Social studies. The lowest is 39% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on State Specialty Schools Ii- Furlow Charter School
State Specialty Schools II, operating as Furlow Charter School in Sumter County, is a small K-12 charter school serving enrollment of just under a thousand students across all grades from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school is the only public education entity in the comparison set for its county.
The school's academic profile rests on below-state-proficiency performance across tested subjects, though with some grade-level variation. In English and Language Arts, students cluster in the low-to-mid range across elementary and middle grades, with sixth grade showing a modest peak. Math proficiency runs consistently low from third through eighth grade, with eighth grade slightly outperforming third grade. Science testing covers only fifth and eighth grades within the available data; the former shows slightly stronger performance. Eighth-grade social studies results sit somewhat above the math and science range.
No trend data across multiple years is available, so growth over time cannot be assessed. The school has not reported a four-year graduation rate, which may reflect limited data collection at the high school or a small graduating class, or both. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility counts, special education identification rates, and English learner counts are not available in the data provided.
The student body is majority White, with a substantial Black student population and smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students. The student composition across elementary through high school is relatively balanced by grade, with slight enrollment tapering in the upper high school grades.
The charter school's state authorization has been renewed for a five-year term running through mid-2030, securing continued operation. Publicly reported, the school has also formalized an International Skills Diploma Seal and Capstone program pathway as a graduation credential, signaling a deliberate pedagogical choice to distinguish its diploma with a global-skills and capstone emphasis.
A parent considering Furlow should view the test-result data as an important starting point for conversation with school leadership about instructional approaches, support for students working below proficiency, and the school's improvement targets. The small enrollment and rural county context mean limited peer comparison data exist; the school may benefit from direct inquiry about student outcomes, college placement, and how the ISDS Capstone program has functioned for recent graduating cohorts.
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