The top reported proficiency rate is 73% in Social studies. The lowest is 46% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Pee Dee Elementary
Pee Dee Elementary serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the Horry County Schools district, located on the outskirts of Conway, South Carolina. The school operates as a regular public elementary school and is not a charter or magnet school.
The school’s academic performance on the state’s SC Ready assessments in the most recent testing year shows a mixed picture. In English language arts, a solid majority of third graders met the proficiency standard, with slightly more than half of fourth and fifth graders also reaching that level. That pattern suggests reading instruction is a relative strength, particularly in the early grades. Math results are more uneven. Third graders posted a decent proficiency rate, but the share of students scoring proficient dropped by a noticeable margin in fourth grade and again in fifth grade. Science, tested only in fourth grade, landed in a similar range to the math results for that grade. The state changed its cut scores for English language arts and science in this testing cycle, which means this year’s results do not compare directly with prior years, so it is not possible to say whether these levels represent an improvement or a decline from previous performance. Social studies results are from several years earlier and used a different assessment and different proficiency standards, making them stale and not comparable to current data.
Pee Dee Elementary enrolls a student body that is mostly white, with a substantial Hispanic presence and a meaningful share of Black students, plus smaller numbers of multiracial and Asian students. Every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, which places the school in a high-poverty category. The enrollment by grade is large for an elementary school, with each grade from kindergarten through fifth grade holding a considerable number of students.
Conway is a growing city that functions as the county seat of Horry County and sits within the Myrtle Beach metropolitan area. Its historic downtown along the Waccamaw River has been revived since the 1980s and features a Riverwalk with restaurants and shops. The city is also home to Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College, giving it a noticeable college-town character. Residential growth has been steady, driven by Conway’s position in the expanding coastal region. Housing values in the immediate area are moderately below the state average, and rents are also below that benchmark, which may make the area more accessible for families than the more tourist-heavy parts of Horry County. The unemployment rate nationally has been low and stable, and mortgage rates were around the mid-six percent range in recent months, both factors that affect the practical choices families make when deciding where to live and send their children to school.
The Horry 01 district did not have any significant recent changes reported in publicly available sources. The district brief found little of lasting impact, meaning the administrative and programmatic landscape for Pee Dee Elementary is likely stable from a parent’s standpoint, without recent redistricting, leadership turnover, or new major initiatives that would alter the school’s day-to-day operations.
The school’s weak spot is clear in the math trajectory. While third graders start at a decent level, the proficiency drops in the upper elementary grades. A parent considering this school for a child who might need stronger math support, or who is already showing signs of struggling in that subject, may want to ask the school directly about its math curriculum and intervention practices for fourth and fifth graders. The fact that the entire student body qualifies for meal assistance also indicates a high concentration of economic need, which can correlate with additional support resources but also with challenges that families may want to understand in context.
On the positive side, the English language arts results are consistently solid across all tested grades, and the early literacy showing for third graders is a clear strength. The school is large enough to provide a full elementary experience with multiple sections per grade, and the surrounding Conway area offers a blend of small-city amenities and access to the coastal economy. The absence of any recent disruptive changes in the district suggests a measure of continuity that many families value.
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