Williams Middle, Florence SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Williams Middle

Williams Middle sits in the heart of Florence, a mid-sized regional hub at the intersection of two interstates that functions as the medical and commercial center of northeastern South Carolina’s Pee Dee region. The school serves grades six through eight as a regular public school within Florence County School District One, which underwent a mandatory consolidation with the former Florence District Four in 2022, bringing governing changes and potentially shifting attendance patterns for families across the combined area.

The student body is sizeable for a middle school. The largest racial group is Black students, followed by White students and students who identify as two or more races. Smaller shares of Asian and Hispanic students are present as well. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a sign of the concentrated economic need the school supports. Data on students with individualized education programs and English learners was not reported.

On state assessments, Williams Middle’s results sit below the midpoint when compared with the other school districts in Florence County. In math, proficiency rates were in the lower third across all three tested grades. English language arts results were somewhat stronger, with roughly two in five students meeting the state’s proficient or above standard in grades six and eight, and a slightly lower rate in grade seven. Science results, available only for sixth graders, matched the ELA pattern. An older social studies score from several years ago is on file, but it used a different assessment and cut-score structure, so it is not directly comparable to current performance. The assessment data is a single snapshot; no multi-year trend was available to show whether these results are improving or declining.

Parents considering Williams Middle will find a school that serves a high-poverty population in a community with a stable housing market. Typical home values in the Florence area are below the national average, and rents are moderate, making the region relatively affordable compared to many parts of the country. The school’s location on North Irby Street places it near the city’s downtown redevelopment area, where recent investments have added a performing arts center, a museum, and new apartments along Evans Street. Florence’s economy is anchored by healthcare, manufacturing, and distribution, with major employers that include two hospital systems and companies such as General Electric, Honda, and QVC.

The district’s recent consolidation means that Williams Middle now operates under a unified nine-member elected board, and families may want to understand how attendance zones and school resources are being adjusted in the merged system. No data on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access was provided, so those are areas a parent might wish to investigate directly with the school. For a family focused on academic outcomes, the proficiency numbers are lower than what the county’s other districts typically see, and the school does not offer a specialized magnet or charter focus—it is a traditional neighborhood middle school serving a high-needs student body. The setting is a car-dependent midsize city with some concentrated downtown walkability, but most travel to and from school will rely on driving or busing.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 35% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · District 33% · ▼ 5 pts below district

even with state median

Grade 832%

School 32% · District 38% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 49% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 49% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 49% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median

Science

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 38% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 766%

School 66% · District 68% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median

This schoolFlorence 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income37%Higher-income76%39 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income30%Higher-income82%53 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income80%48 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income69%43 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income79%60 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income73%52 pp gap