Lambs Elementary, North Charleston SC

Original Research by School Decision on Lambs Elementary

Lambs Elementary is a regular public school in North Charleston that serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Charleston 01 school district. The school sits on Dorchester Road in a city with deep industrial roots. North Charleston spread across a large area, is largely car-dependent, and mixes older residential neighborhoods with newer subdivisions and commercial corridors. The local economy is anchored by Boeing’s aircraft assembly plant, Joint Base Charleston, and other manufacturing and technology employers. Housing values in the area run higher than typical for South Carolina, reflecting broader regional pressure.

The school’s student body is diverse and economically disadvantaged. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a clear indicator of widespread need. Black and Hispanic students together make up the large majority of enrollment, with smaller shares of white students and students who identify as two or more races. The school enrolls a few hundred children across all elementary grades.

On state assessments in math, English language arts, and science, results were modest. In each tested grade, only a minority of students reached the proficient level. Performance was particularly low in math at the upper elementary level. At the same time, the data comes from a single year, and recent changes to state test cut scores for ELA and science mean results cannot be directly compared with earlier years. No multi-year trend is available. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. No data was provided on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, or course access, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those areas.

The district brief turned up no recently reported changes such as major bond referendums or curriculum shifts that would affect families. No information about special education or English learner populations was available in the data, nor about any specialized programs the school might offer. That means a family with specific needs should seek details from the school office.

Lambs Elementary sits in a part of North Charleston that offers proximity to major employers and the infrastructure of a growing city. The school itself reflects the economic realities of its community: high poverty and a student body that is mostly children of color. Academic proficiency rates are lower than what many families would hope to see, though the school’s status as a regular neighborhood elementary means it serves all children in its attendance zone. For a parent weighing this school, the central question is how the school supports students who arrive with significant economic challenges and whether the academic environment is a good fit for a particular child. Without data on interventions, class sizes, or enrichment offerings, the public record alone does not answer that.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 63% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 60% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 57% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 65% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 66% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 67% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Science

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 54% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 68% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolCharleston 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 3Lower-income27%Higher-income44%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income37%Higher-income61%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income41%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income39%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income55%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income16%18 pp gap