La France Elementary, Pendleton SC

Original Research by School Decision on La France Elementary

La France Elementary is a regular public school in Pendleton, South Carolina, serving students from prekindergarten through sixth grade. It is part of Anderson School District 4, a district that, according to publicly reported information, has seen notable enrollment growth in recent years and has a multi-year facility plan that includes building a new high school to add capacity. This context matters for a family considering the area because it signals a district actively responding to population change, which can affect school boundaries, class sizes, and the feel of a community over time.

Pendleton itself is a small historic town, with its entire core listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town square is compact, with antique shops, an art gallery, and a bluegrass music venue, and residential areas include a mix of families and retirees. Tri-County Technical College is located within town, and Clemson University lies in the adjacent city of Clemson. The town’s housing market, based on available data, shows home values that are moderately below state and national benchmarks, which is a characteristic a family weighing affordability should consider. A substantial share of students at La France Elementary qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that the school serves a population with significant economic diversity.

On state assessments, La France Elementary posted strong results across tested subjects and grade levels. In math, proficiency rates were consistently high, with the lowest rate still landing well above the midpoint. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with every tested grade level showing rates at or above a strong threshold. Science results, from the grade levels tested, were also solid. The school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quarter among elementary schools in Anderson County, a meaningful indicator that academic performance here is a clear strength relative to nearby schools. The state testing data from the most recent year is for the 2024-25 school year, and while the state made changes to the cut scores for ELA and science that year, which makes direct year-over-year trend comparisons unreliable, the single-year snapshot is favorable.

The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary serving pre-K through sixth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with Hispanic and Black students each making up a modest portion of the population, and small numbers of Asian and multiracial students as well. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the profile, so a parent with a child receiving special education services or language support would want to ask the school directly about those programs and staffing.

La France Elementary does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not appear to offer specialized magnet programs or have a charter status, and information on Title I status, class sizes, discipline rates, or course access beyond the standard elementary curriculum was not available in the data provided. A family interested in the school’s arts, music, physical education, or enrichment offerings would need to visit the school’s website or contact the office.

The town of Pendleton, according to publicly reported sources, has a stable, preservation-focused character. Housing vacancy rates are low, and the built environment centers on the historic square and village green. The district brief notes that Anderson 4 is growing, and the new high school construction is a tangible sign of that trajectory. For a family looking at La France Elementary, the key takeaway is a school with strong academic performance in a small-town setting that is seeing demographic shifts, with a district investing in facilities to match. The school’s solid test scores relative to other elementary schools in the county are the clearest data point for a parent weighing academic options, but the lack of detail on programs, student support services, and classroom environment means a visit and a conversation with the principal would be essential to get the full picture.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 382%

School 82% · District 75% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 486%

School 86% · District 72% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 65% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 682%

School 82% · District 64% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 48 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 75% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 80% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 80% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 678%

School 78% · District 73% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 65% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 677%

School 77% · District 66% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 85% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolAnderson 04, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income76%Higher-income81%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income85%Higher-income84%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income77%Higher-income89%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income72%Higher-income88%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income82%Higher-income84%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income77%Higher-income94%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income67%Higher-income79%12 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income74%Higher-income92%18 pp gap