Batesburg-leesville Middle School, Batesburg-leesville SC

Original Research by School Decision on Batesburg-leesville Middle School

Batesburg-Leesville Middle School serves sixth through eighth graders in Lexington County School District Three, a regular public school in a consolidated town that straddles Lexington and Saluda counties. The town of Batesburg-Leesville originated as two separate settlements along old trading paths, and today its economy is heavily tied to poultry processing, with two large plants operating in town. The population has been relatively flat, with a slight decline between recent censuses. The district has invested in major capital construction projects in recent years, which has implications for the school facilities students experience.

The student body is diverse. White students make up about half of the enrollment, Black students account for roughly three in ten, and Hispanic students about one in six, with a small share of students identifying as two or more races. Every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a key piece of context: this is a school serving a community with widespread economic need, and that shapes the resources and support the school must provide. Enrollment is spread fairly evenly across the three grades, with the eighth-grade class being the smallest of the three.

On state assessments, the picture is mixed and a parent should weigh it carefully. In English language arts, the school performs in a moderate range. About half or slightly more of students in grades seven and eight scored at the proficient level, with sixth grade close behind. That pattern is a relative bright spot. In math, the numbers are lower across all three grades, with fewer than one in three students reaching proficiency. Science results, available only for sixth grade, fall between the math and ELA performance. The school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Lexington County, a meaningful point of reference given that this county includes several districts with different economic profiles. Because the data for this school year is a single point, no trend lines are available to show whether performance is improving or declining.

The school is a regular public middle school, not a charter or magnet. It does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, course access, staffing, and special education or English learner populations was not available in the data. A parent may want to ask the school directly about class sizes, how the school supports students who are below grade level in math, and what programs are available for students with disabilities or those learning English.

The town itself has two historic business districts, a satellite campus of Midlands Technical College located in a downtown-adjacent historic area, and an annual poultry festival that draws attendance each May. Housing values in the area are below both the state and national benchmarks, which may be a factor for families considering relocating. The town has invested in an industrial park with infrastructure improvements, though population growth has been flat. For a family considering this middle school, the core trade-off is a school that serves a high-need population with ELA results that land in a reasonable range but math performance that is a clear area of concern, all within a small-town setting where the local economy and housing market are modest.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 728%

School 28% · District 28%

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 751%

School 51% · District 51%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

even with state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

even with state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

This schoolLexington 03, 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-income40%Higher-income59%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income65%20 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income47%Higher-income69%22 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income41%16 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income46%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income43%19 pp gap