Gilbert Elementary, Gilbert SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Gilbert Elementary

Gilbert Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the small, rural town of Gilbert, part of Lexington School District 1. The school is a regular public elementary school with an enrollment that is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and a much smaller Black student body. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a moderate-to-high poverty context for the area.

Academically, the picture is mixed and shows variation by grade level and subject. In English language arts, the school’s overall proficiency across tested grades falls slightly above the mark where about half of students meet the state standard. Performance is strongest in fourth grade, where a solid majority of students scored proficient or above. Third and fifth graders also had a majority or near-majority reaching that level. In math, the overall proficiency rate is lower, and it drops sharply by grade level. Third and fourth graders had around half of students proficient, but in fifth grade the rate fell to about a quarter. Science results, assessed in fourth grade, show a similar pattern to the math data, with less than half of students reaching proficiency. Social studies data, which is from an older assessment cycle, is not comparable to current results and is not a meaningful guide to present performance. When compared to other schools in Lexington County, Gilbert Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among districts, a strong relative showing.

The school’s academic data comes from the most recent testing year, but state testing underwent changes in English language arts and science that year, making trend comparisons unreliable. Only a single year of data is available for both ELA and math, so there is no established trajectory to assess whether performance is improving or declining.

Gilbert Elementary does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, school discipline, staffing ratios, and course access was not available in the data provided. A parent may want to ask the school directly about these areas to get a fuller picture of the school environment.

The town of Gilbert itself is a small, rural community, primarily residential and agricultural, with most residents commuting elsewhere for work. The largest local industry by employment is educational services, a category that includes the district’s own schools. Housing values in the zip code are moderate, and the median rent is modest relative to household income. The town has seen only slow, incremental population growth. The school building sits on Main Street, near the town hall and a small cluster of civic buildings, giving the elementary school a central place in the community. Lexington School District 1, which operates Gilbert Elementary, is a fast-growing district that recently passed a large bond referendum to build new schools and manage overcrowding. The district has also adopted a new literacy curriculum aligned with science-of-reading principles and approved salary increases for teachers, signaling investment in instruction and staff retention that may affect Gilbert Elementary’s stability and resources.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 61% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 59% · ▼ 8 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 54% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 69% · ▼ 10 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 71% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 71% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 52% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 78% · ▼ 7 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolLexington 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 3Lower-income51%Higher-income78%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income60%Higher-income80%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income48%Higher-income56%9 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income59%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income38%Higher-income77%39 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income36%15 pp gap