Memminger Elementary, Charleston SC

Original Research by School Decision on Memminger Elementary

Memminger Elementary sits on Beaufain Street in the historic downtown peninsula of Charleston, a neighborhood of antebellum homes, cobblestone lanes, and tourist foot traffic. The school serves children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within the Charleston 01 district. The surrounding housing market is among the most expensive in the region, with home values well above national and state medians and rents that consume a large share of typical income. Yet the school itself serves a student body where every enrolled child qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a sharp contrast that reflects the economic diversity of the city's core.

The student population at Memminger is closely split between black and white children, with small numbers of Asian, Hispanic, and multiracial students. Enrollment is concentrated in the early grades, with larger kindergarten and first-grade classes that thin noticeably by fifth grade, a pattern that may be driven by families moving to other schools or out of the area as children get older. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available from the state.

State assessment results for the most recent school year give a mixed picture. In third grade, a solid majority of students met the state's proficiency bar in English language arts, and a modest majority did so in math. By fourth grade, those rates dropped, with just under half proficient in ELA and a smaller share in math. Fifth-grade results show a continued decline in both subjects. In science, which is tested only in fourth grade, about a third of students reached proficiency. The most recent social studies data, from several years ago and on an older test, showed roughly half of fifth graders meeting the standard. Because the state changed its ELA and science cut scores in recent years, direct comparisons with earlier years are not meaningful.

The multi-year trend data available covers only the current school year for both ELA and math, so there is no basis to judge whether performance is improving or declining over time. The district's chronic absenteeism and graduation rates are not applicable to an elementary school, and no meaningful comparison against other schools in Charleston County was possible because the cohort of schools with comparable data was too small.

Memminger is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status. The district reported no major recent changes such as bond referendums, boundary shifts, or curriculum overhauls that would affect families in the immediate term. The school's location in the dense, walkable historic core means that many families living nearby can reach it on foot or by a short drive, but the high housing costs in the immediate area mean that the majority of enrolled families likely reside in more affordable parts of the city or in subsidized housing.

For a parent considering Memminger, the academic picture is one of uneven proficiency that tends to weaken as students move into the upper elementary grades. The school serves a high-poverty population, which can come with additional needs and supports, but the data provided do not include information on staffing ratios, special education services, English learner programs, or disciplinary climate, all of which a parent would want to investigate directly. The school's website and district central office may offer fuller detail on after-school programs, family engagement, and classroom resources.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 63% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 60% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 57% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 65% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 66% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 67% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 54% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 68% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below 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.