Herbert A. Wood Elementary, West Columbia SC

Original Research by School Decision on Herbert A. Wood Elementary

Herbert A. Wood Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in West Columbia, a commuter city and suburb of Columbia that sits directly across the Congaree River from the state capital. The city describes itself as blending slow southern charm with a bustling urban environment, and it is part of one of the fastest growing counties in South Carolina. The enrollment at Wood Elementary is large for its grade band, with every grade from kindergarten through fifth grade carrying a sizeable student population.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows a mixed academic picture across subjects and grades. In math, the share of students scoring at or above proficiency declined steadily from third grade to fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was reversed, with proficiency increasing at each grade level and reaching just over half of students in fifth grade. Science results were available for fourth grade, where roughly one-third of students met the proficiency bar. The school's overall proficiency, averaged across all tested subjects and grades, placed it in the top quartile among elementary schools in Lexington County, according to the available comparison set. That comparison set is limited to districts within the county, so it does not account for schools outside Lexington County. Social studies data was only available from a prior testing year and a different assessment, so it does not offer a current picture of performance in that subject. State test results were not available for any earlier year in a comparable format, meaning there is no multi-year trend to observe.

The school has a distinctive demographic profile. It is racially and ethnically diverse, with the student body roughly split among white students, Black students, and Hispanic students, along with smaller shares of multiracial students and very small numbers of Asian and American Indian students. A notable characteristic is that every student at the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, according to available enrollment data. This is uncommon and may be relevant for families considering the school's peer environment and the types of supplemental supports or funding the school receives. Data on the share of students with disabilities or English learners was not available in the source information, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those programs.

The school is a regular public school within Lexington School District Two, a system for which no recent district-level changes of lasting impact were identified in the available research. The surrounding community is active and growing. West Columbia has invested in sewer expansion along a major corridor to unlock development, and Lexington Medical Center, a major employer in the city, is adding new facilities including a USC Nursing School building. The city offers a Riverwalk trail system, a downtown commercial corridor on State Street, and property taxes that are described as lower than surrounding municipalities. Housing values in the area are below both the state and national medians, which may be relevant for families comparing affordability across the Columbia metro.

Because Wood Elementary serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. The school also does not have available data on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, or course access. For a family weighing this school, the central question is how the school's academic profile, with its upward trend in reading but downward trend in math across grades, matches a child's needs, alongside the context of a large, economically disadvantaged, and diverse student population in a growing suburban city.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 43% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 39% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 27% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 48% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 51% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 50% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Science

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 37% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 64% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolLexington 02, 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-income37%Higher-income54%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income48%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income63%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income44%12 pp gap