Sandy Run School, Swansea SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sandy Run School

Sandy Run School is a regular public school in Calhoun County, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. It is part of the Calhoun 01 school district. The school is located on Old Swamp Road in Swansea, which is a small rural town in Lexington County, part of the broader Columbia metropolitan region. Swansea has seen notable population shifts over recent decades, including a period of decline, and its built environment reflects a low-density, small-town setting with a residential core and limited commercial activity. A branch of the Lexington County Public Library serves the community, and several other public schools within the district are also located in or near the town.

Because Sandy Run School serves only through grade eight, it does not have a high school graduation rate to report. The school’s enrollment is substantial for its grade band, serving students from PK through eighth grade across a range of classrooms. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial population of Black students and a smaller Hispanic presence. Every student at Sandy Run qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a data point that the school reports at the full rate, meaning the entire student body comes from households meeting the economic threshold. Information on the share of students with individualized education plans or those classified as English learners was not available in the data provided.

State assessment results from the SC Ready exams offer a mixed picture. In English language arts, the school’s performance is stronger than in math. Across the tested grades, roughly half of students or just under half met the state’s proficiency benchmark in reading and writing. Several grades posted proficiency rates at or near that level, and one grade showed a modest majority of students reaching the bar. In math, the results are softer. The share of students scoring proficient declines markedly in the upper grades; the eighth-grade math proficiency rate was notably lower. Across all grades, math results sit at a level below what many parents would hope to see. Science results, which are available for only two grade levels, show a similar pattern, with one grade performing moderately better than the other. The most recent social studies data is several years old, predating the pandemic, and reflects a different assessment than the current one, so a parent should treat that as a historical snapshot rather than a current read. The data notes that changes to the cut scores and assessment names have occurred in recent years, which can complicate direct year-to-year comparisons.

The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Information on course access, staffing, discipline practices, and chronic absenteeism was not present in the source data. Because no recent district-level strategic updates, bond referendums, or curriculum shifts were found in the public record, little can be said about the district’s recent direction. The housing context in the area shows a market with a home value that is considerably lower than the state and national benchmarks, reflecting the rural and more affordable character of the surrounding area. The price-to-income ratio suggests that homeownership is relatively accessible compared to national norms, though a parent should weigh this against commuting realities and the limited local commercial base.

For a family considering Sandy Run School, the core takeaway is a school that serves a single, high-poverty student population from elementary through middle school. Its English language arts results are a relative strength, while math and science are areas where a parent will want to have direct conversations with the school about curriculum and support. The absence of data on special populations and staffing makes it hard to evaluate learning environment details from this record alone. The setting is rural and small-town, with the full range of district schools located within the town itself, which means a child who continues through the district will move to a separate high school after eighth grade. Families looking for strong elementary and middle school academics in a close-knit, economically homogenous community will find a school that fits that profile, but those concerned about math outcomes or wanting a more affluent peer context may want to investigate further.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 34% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 29% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 22% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 39% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 18% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 19% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 46% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 45% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 746%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 847%

School 47% · District 51% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 35% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 28% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 63% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median

Grade 744%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median

This schoolCalhoun 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.