Bluffton Middle, Bluffton SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bluffton Middle

Bluffton Middle serves sixth through eighth grade as a regular public school in the Beaufort 01 district. The school sits in Bluffton, a town that has grown dramatically over the past two decades through annexation and planned development, transforming from a small one-square-mile community into a sprawling municipality. Old Town remains the historic and civic core, with art galleries, restaurants, and the May River as its centerpiece, while the broader town has filled with retail corridors, hotels, and residential subdivisions. Bluffton is described as the fastest growing municipality in South Carolina, and that growth context shapes the school’s environment.

The student body is large for a middle school, and its composition is diverse in a way that reflects the area’s demographics. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed closely by white students, with Black students and those identifying as two or more races also present; Asian students and other groups appear in very small numbers. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a mixed economic context. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the reporting we reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of supports offered.

On state assessments, the school’s results show a clear pattern. English language arts proficiency is consistently higher than math across all three grades, with the majority of students scoring at or above the proficient level in reading and writing each year. Math proficiency is lower, and it drops as students move through the grades, with the sixth-grade math results stronger than what the school sees in seventh and eighth grade. Science results, available only for sixth grade, show a solid share of students meeting the bar. Social studies data was from an earlier year and a different assessment, making current comparisons difficult. The pattern suggests that Bluffton Middle’s literacy instruction is a relative strength, while math is an area where families may want to understand the school’s approach and any intervention programs in place.

Because this is the only year of data available for the current assessment, no trend direction can be determined. State testing cut scores changed recently for both English language arts and science, which means the reported proficiency rates may not align directly with prior years’ results; a parent should keep that context in mind when comparing this data to older reports.

Bluffton is part of Beaufort County, and the school district is Beaufort 01. The comparison against other districts in the county was not possible because the cohort was too small for meaningful positioning. The school itself has no charter or magnet designation, and its Title I status was not reported. We looked for recent district-level changes that might affect the school, but publicly available information was sparse, so we have nothing to report on that front.

The housing market in Bluffton’s zip code is expensive relative to state benchmarks. Home values and rents are both above typical South Carolina levels, and the local price-to-income ratio suggests that buying is a stretch for many households. That cost pressure is consistent with a fast-growing town near Hilton Head and Savannah that has become a destination in its own right.

For a family considering Bluffton Middle, the picture is this: a large, diverse middle school in a rapidly growing Lowcountry town, where literacy outcomes are a clear strength, math is a softer spot worth investigating further, and the economic and cultural context is one of rapid change and rising housing costs. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Families looking ahead to high school will need to consider the district’s high school options separately.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 40% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 35% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 31% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 55% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 760%

School 60% · District 58% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 55% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 47% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 60% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolBeaufort 01, 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 6Lower-income62%Higher-income66%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income55%Higher-income65%10 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income70%24 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income60%8 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income49%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income49%21 pp gap