The top reported proficiency rate is 60% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lamar-spaulding Elementary
Lamar-Spaulding Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the town of Lamar, within the Darlington 01 school district. This is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school, and it sits in a small, pedestrian-friendly town with a historic farming community heritage. The town itself is compact, with a Main Street that holds a grocery store, post office, bank, and locally owned restaurants, plus a public library and a recreation center. Recent additions include a family care center with an on-site pharmacy, reflecting a stable community that is adding services rather than growing rapidly.
The student body is diverse and reflects the local population. A substantial share of students are Black, a significant share are White, and there is a smaller group of students who are two or more races. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. This is a practical reality for families to consider, as it often means the school receives additional federal funding and offers a universal meal program.
Academically, the school shows a mixed picture that varies by subject and grade level. In English language arts, the school performs at a level that is a clear strength. Across the tested grades, a solid majority of students meet the state's proficiency benchmarks. This is the subject area where the school stands out most clearly. In math, performance is more uneven. In the third grade, a majority of students are proficient, but that share declines in fourth grade and declines further in fifth grade. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how math instruction and support change as students move through the grades. Science results are a notable soft spot. Only about a quarter of fourth graders scored proficient on the state science assessment. This is far below the school's own performance in reading and math, and it is the lowest single result across all tested subjects and grades. Families who value a strong science foundation in elementary school should ask about how the school approaches science instruction and whether there are any supplemental programs in place.
Because this is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high school programs such as Advanced Placement or career and technical education pathways, and no program offerings were provided in the data for this school.
The school is the only elementary school within its district in the comparison set, so it could not be placed relative to other county districts on proficiency or other metrics. The data does not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, or class sizes. These are gaps that a parent may want to explore directly with the school.
The broader district, Darlington 01, did not have any recent changes publicly reported that would materially affect a family's decision about this school. The town of Lamar offers a quiet, walkable setting with basic daily amenities and a modest housing market. The typical home value in the area is well below state and national averages, and renting is also comparatively affordable. For a family looking at a small-town, rural environment with a school where reading scores are a bright spot and where the entire student body participates in the meal program, Lamar-Spaulding Elementary fits that profile. The science result and the downward trend in math as students reach upper elementary are the areas worth investigating further.
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