Corinth Elementary, Gaffney SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Corinth Elementary

Corinth Elementary serves prekindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Cherokee 01, the unified district of Cherokee County. The school is located on Corinth Road in Gaffney, a small city that is the county seat and historically a textile and peach market center along the I-85 corridor. Gaffney’s downtown contains a historic commercial district, but it has seen long-term economic contraction as highway-oriented development drew activity away from the core, and the recent closure of Limestone University may further shape the area’s trajectory. The housing market is meaningfully more affordable than the state and national benchmarks, with home values and rents well below typical costs seen in South Carolina’s metro areas.

The school is the sole elementary option in its comparison set of districts within Cherokee County, so direct peer positioning is not available. What is clear from the available data is a school that produces strong academic results on state assessments. Across the three tested grades, math proficiency rates are solid and rise slightly by grade, and English language arts proficiency rates are stronger still, with most grade levels posting well above half of students meeting the state’s proficient-or-above standard. Science proficiency in fourth grade is lower, at half of students reaching that bar, a result a parent may want to discuss further with the school. Social studies data is from an earlier year with a different assessment and different proficiency criteria, so it is not directly comparable and is not a current reflection.

The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Black and Hispanic students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, consistent with a school serving a community where many families face economic constraints. The school does not appear to report detailed data on special education identification or English learner status, nor on discipline or chronic absenteeism, so a parent seeking those specifics would need to ask directly.

Academically, across all tested grades and subjects in the most recent year, roughly seven in ten students scored proficient or above in math, and roughly three in four did so in reading. Those are high marks for any elementary school. The school appears to deliver consistent, above-average instruction for its student population, with the fourth-grade science result being the one area that gives a parent a reason to inquire further. This is not a school with wide programmatic breadth at the elementary level; the data shows a regular school with no magnet or charter designation, so the offering is a standard elementary curriculum delivered at a high level of effectiveness.

For a family considering the area, Corinth Elementary is a strong academic anchor. Gaffney’s housing costs are low relative to the state, and the school’s performance is well above what many communities with comparable economic demographics achieve. A parent moving to the region for work along the I-85 corridor should view this as a school that is getting strong results from its core academic mission, with the understanding that the surrounding city offers limited downtown vibrancy and a slow-growth economy. The school itself, based on the test data available, is a clear strength in that picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 40% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 40% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 32% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 50% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 54% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 50% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 31% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

Social studies

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 62% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median

This schoolCherokee 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.