The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Social studies. The lowest is 44% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Wallace Gregg Elementary
Wallace Gregg Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade in the city of Florence, South Carolina, as part of the Florence 1 district. This is a regular public school, and every student who attends qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a detail that shapes the context in which the school operates. The student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial white minority and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races; there is a very small Hispanic population.
On the most recent state assessments, known as SC Ready, the school’s results varied by grade and subject. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from roughly two-fifths in fifth grade to just under half in fourth grade, with third grade falling in between. In English language arts, the proficient share was about half in fourth and fifth grades, and a little lower in third grade. On the fourth-grade science assessment, nearly half of students met the proficiency bar. The pattern across these results suggests a school where a little under half of students are meeting state benchmarks in most tested areas. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages these rates across subjects and grades, placed it in the top quartile when compared with other districts in Florence County, a metric that should be read with the understanding that the comparison set is a small group of four districts.
One limitation in interpreting these results is that the state made changes to the cut scores on the English language arts and science assessments, which means the most recent results cannot be directly compared with earlier years. The school’s multi-year trend data shows only a single year of results for math and ELA, so there is no way to tell from the data whether performance is improving, declining, or stable over time. A parent may want to ask the school about longer-term trends.
Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and English learner or special education populations were all missing from the available information, so a full picture of school climate and student support is not possible from this data alone. A family considering Wallace Gregg would want to ask about class sizes, intervention programs, and how the school supports students who are below grade level.
Florence itself is a mid-sized regional hub in the Pee Dee region, anchored by two major hospital systems and a mix of manufacturing and distribution employers that include General Electric, Honda, and QVC. The city has invested heavily in downtown redevelopment, including a new library, performing arts center, museum, and apartments, all part of an effort to revive the historic core. The city is car-dependent overall, though the downtown corridor has seen pedestrian-focused improvements. For a family living in or moving to Florence, the school sits within a community that has a stable economic base driven by healthcare and industry.
The district itself underwent a notable change in 2022, when the state mandated the consolidation of Florence County School District One and Florence County School District Four. The combined district, still called Florence 1, now operates under a new nine-member board elected from single-member districts. This restructuring may have implications for governance, school attendance zones, and resource allocation across the broader area, including the communities of Effingham and Timmonsville that were added to the district. A parent may want to check whether any boundary changes affect which elementary school their child would attend.
Wallace Gregg Elementary is a school where nearly every student comes from a low-income household, and where academic proficiency hovers around the halfway mark in most subjects. The school’s position relative to other districts in Florence County is favorable on the proficiency index, but the comparison set is narrow. For a family, the central questions are likely to be about student supports, school climate, and how the school addresses the challenges that come with its demographic reality. The data available does not fully answer those questions, but it does establish that this is a school where families can expect proficiency rates that are roughly midway between the lowest and highest in the county.
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