Southside Middle, Florence SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Southside Middle

Southside Middle is a regular public school in Florence, South Carolina, serving grades six through eight. It is part of Florence 1 Schools, the district created by a state-ordered consolidation of two former county districts in 2022 that combined governance and changed school board representation. The school draws a sizable student body for a middle school, with an enrollment that reflects the broader population of the city. The student composition is roughly evenly split between Black and white students, with a notable share of multiracial students and a smaller Hispanic presence. Every student at Southside qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a point that may reflect the economic profile of the attendance zone.

On the state’s annual assessments, Southside’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among the four districts in Florence County. That is a meaningful marker: among its county peers, the school holds a middle-to-upper position. Drilling into the results, the picture is mixed. In English language arts, roughly half of students at each grade level scored proficient or better on the SC Ready assessments, a stronger showing than in mathematics, where about a third of students met the proficiency bar across grades six, seven, and eight. Science results, available only for sixth grade, land in a similar range as math. The school has no multi-year trend data because only the most recent year’s results are reported for the current assessment, so a parent looking for improvement or decline over time will not find that here. South Carolina recently changed cut scores for ELA and science, which makes year-over-year comparisons difficult; the school has flagged those adjustments.

Because Southside is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report, and data on chronic absenteeism and discipline are not available in the public record. A family wanting a fuller picture of student support or school climate may wish to follow up directly with the school.

The school is located in Florence, a mid-sized city that functions as the commercial, medical, and service hub for the Pee Dee region. The economy is anchored by two major hospital systems and manufacturers such as General Electric, Honda, and QVC. Florence has invested heavily in downtown redevelopment in recent years, with a new library, performing arts center, and museum, plus streetscaping along Evans Street. The city is largely car-dependent outside the compact downtown core. The housing market in the area shows home values and rents that are below state and national benchmarks, which may be relevant for families considering a move.

The district itself underwent a significant restructuring in 2022 when the state consolidated Florence County School District One and District Four into a single entity. That new district, still called Florence 1 Schools, operates under a nine-member board elected from single-member districts. The change affects representation and may shift school attendance zones over time. Families new to the area may want to confirm which schools serve their address.

Overall, Southside Middle offers a conventional public middle school experience in a regional center with a redeveloping downtown and a healthcare-heavy economy. Its academic profile shows English language arts as a relative strength compared to math, and the school performs competitively when measured against other districts in the county. The absence of certain non-academic data points means some questions about student life and support remain unanswered from the available information.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 35% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 33% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 38% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 49% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 49% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 49% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median

Science

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 38% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 68% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below 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-income41%Higher-income72%31 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income78%38 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income38%Higher-income69%31 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income62%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income24%Higher-income69%45 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income66%45 pp gap