Geiger Elementary, Ridgeway SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Geiger Elementary

Geiger Elementary is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Ridgeway, a very small, predominantly rural town in Fairfield County. The school is part of the Fairfield 01 district, which is headquartered in Winnsboro, the county seat, about eleven miles away. Because only one district in Fairfield County was available for comparison, no relative academic positioning among neighboring districts can be drawn. State testing data from the most recent year offers a clear view of student performance across grade levels. In English language arts, results are solid: roughly three in five third graders scored proficient or above, rising to two-thirds of fourth graders, about four in five fifth graders, and just over three in five sixth graders. Mathematics proficiency also shows strength in the early grades, with roughly three in five third, fourth, and fifth graders meeting the bar. However, sixth-grade math performance drops sharply, with only about a quarter of students proficient. Science results, from a single tested grade each, show about half of fourth graders and one-third of sixth graders proficient. Older social studies data from a prior year, when the school was using a different assessment, showed roughly four in five fifth graders proficient, but that metric may not be directly comparable to current tests. The school has reported only a single year of proficiency data for most subjects, so no trend is available.

Geiger Elementary enrolls a small student body. The student population is predominantly Black, with a smaller share of White students and small fractions of Hispanic and multiracial students. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting high poverty levels. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not reported, so a parent may want to ask the school about those supports directly. No chronic absenteeism or discipline data were available, either; these are gaps that would need to be explored locally.

The community context matters for families considering Geiger. Ridgeway is a historic rural town with a population that has declined steadily over several decades. The town’s motto, “Revitalization, Responsibility, Relationships,” indicates awareness of that shrinkage, and no major new housing or commercial developments were identified in publicly available sources. Home values in the area have risen modestly in recent years, likely reflecting broader regional trends rather than local growth pressure. The town is compact, with a historic core, and residents typically commute to larger communities like Columbia or Winnsboro for employment; no major employers are based in Ridgeway itself. The cost of living is low, and the housing market is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks.

For a family considering Geiger Elementary, the school offers a small, high-poverty environment with solid literacy outcomes in most tested grades and a notable weakness in sixth-grade math that warrants further inquiry. The town’s rural character and population decline mean limited local amenities and employment, but proximity to Columbia and Winnsboro provides access to broader services. The district did not appear to have recent high-profile changes or initiatives. Families who prioritize strong early elementary performance and want a small-town setting may find Geiger a good fit, while those concerned about the middle-school transition in math should look into how the school addresses that gap.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 47% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 46% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 47% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 22% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 49% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 59% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 581%

School 81% · District 54% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median

Grade 663%

School 63% · District 49% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median

Science

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 43% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 30% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median

Social studies

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 51% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median

This schoolFairfield 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.