The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in Social studies. The lowest is 19% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pinehurst Elementary
Pinehurst Elementary is a regular public school in North Charleston, South Carolina, serving students in first through fifth grade. It is one of the elementary schools within the Charleston 01 school district. The school’s enrollment is large for an elementary building in this grade band. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with a much smaller share of Black students and a very small number of White, multiracial, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students combined. A defining characteristic of the school’s population is that every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a fact that places the school among those with the highest economic need in the region.
State assessment results from the 2024-25 school year provide the most current picture of academic performance. On the math portion of South Carolina’s regular assessment, proficiency rates are highest in third grade and then settle at a lower level in fourth and fifth grades, meaning roughly three in ten fourth and fifth graders meet the state’s proficiency standard. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: third grade shows a modest share of students reaching proficiency, fourth grade a slightly higher share, and fifth grade the lowest share among the tested grades. Fourth-grade science results show that about one in five students scored at the proficient level or above. The school also records a social studies proficiency rate from the 2018-19 school year, which was the last time that subject was assessed before a test change, and that figure is higher than the current science rate, though direct comparisons are not reliable due to the gap in years and the change in testing. Because the state changed its ELA cut scores and science assessment in recent years, it is not possible to draw a clean trend line from earlier data. Multi-year trend data shows only a single year of results for both math and ELA, so no direction of change can be determined. A parent considering this school should be aware that overall proficiency is below the midpoint for Charleston County elementary schools in the subjects tested.
The school’s academic environment reflects a high-needs population. The district did not report the number of students with Individualized Education Programs or English learner designations, so it is unclear what share of students receive those supports. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no information was available about its Title I status, though the universal free-lunch eligibility strongly suggests federal support for low-income students. No data was reported on discipline incidents, staffing ratios, course access, chronic absenteeism, or attendance. Those are notable gaps for a family trying to understand the day-to-day climate and support structure at the school.
North Charleston, where the school is located, is a large, spread-out city with a distinct industrial and manufacturing character. Publicly reported sources describe the city as having evolved from a military-dependent economy, anchored by the former Charleston Naval Base, into a center for aerospace and advanced manufacturing. Boeing operates a major facility near the airport where wide-body aircraft fuselages are assembled and tested. Joint Base Charleston, the city’s other large employer, supports tens of thousands of military and civilian personnel. The residential landscape is a mix of older neighborhoods near the former base and newer suburban subdivisions. The city is largely car-dependent, spread over a wide area, and does not have a single downtown core; civic and cultural facilities like the coliseum, performing arts center, and Riverfront Park are distributed across the city. Housing values in the school’s ZIP code have seen a modest decline over the past year, and rents have risen slightly, though mortgage payments substantially exceed typical rents, making homeownership a stretch for many local households. The median household income in North Charleston falls below the national median, consistent with the school’s high rate of economic need.
The Charleston 01 school district, which oversees Pinehurst Elementary, has no publicly reported recent changes that would be of immediate relevance to parents—no large referendums, bond measures, curriculum overhauls, or property tax adjustments surfaced in the available research. The district itself is large and urban, serving a diverse county that includes affluent areas closer to the historic Charleston peninsula as well as older suburbs like North Charleston. That range means families within the same district can have very different experiences depending on the specific school.
For a parent evaluating Pinehurst Elementary, the clearest story is one of a school that serves a deeply low-income, majority-Hispanic student body and produces academic results that are below the county average. The school does not yet have sufficient data to show whether performance is improving or declining, and many elements of school environment remain unmeasured in the available records. A family would want to visit the school, speak with the principal about supports for struggling readers and English learners, and ask about specific programs that are not reflected in the data here. The surrounding community offers stable employment in manufacturing and defense, but the housing market is expensive relative to local incomes, and the city’s dispersed layout means that most daily travel requires a car.
See more original research from School Decision →