Bradley Elementary, Columbia SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bradley Elementary

Bradley Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the Richland 01 school district. The school is situated on Pinebelt Road in an area of the city shaped by the presence of state government, the University of South Carolina, and Fort Jackson, the Army’s largest basic training installation. Columbia is an unusual city in that its downtown, the State House, and the university campus are closely intertwined, giving the broader area a texture that mixes legislative business, student life, and military families. Housing in the school’s ZIP code carries a value below both the state and national benchmarks, and the estimated rent-to-income ratio suggests a relatively affordable market for the area.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a smaller share of Hispanic students, a modest multiracial population, and a handful of Asian and white students. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a marker of the community’s economic profile.

State testing results from the most recent year show a pattern worth examining closely. In English language arts, proficiency rates rise meaningfully from grade to grade, starting at a point below half in third grade and climbing to a rate above the halfway mark by fifth grade. Math proficiency holds at roughly half across each tested grade, with little variation. Science, assessed in fourth grade, shows a proficiency rate that is notably lower than either the English or math results—a parent may want to look into this further with the school, as it is a clear soft spot in the data. The school’s overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Richland County, meaning it performs in the upper half of the local field, though it does not reach the top.

The school’s own data does not include any multi-year trends beyond a single year, so there is no way to tell from the available information whether these performance levels are improving or declining. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism and student discipline was not available. Because the school only goes through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to assess.

Bradley is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and no information was provided about whether it receives Title I funding beyond the universal free-lunch qualification. The district itself appears stable: a search for recent parent-relevant changes in Richland 01 found little of lasting impact to report.

For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a school where the large majority of students come from low-income backgrounds, where English language arts results strengthen as students move up through the grades, where math achievement holds steady at a moderate level, and where science scores are a meaningful concern. The school’s overall standing relative to other Richland County districts is solidly in the middle to upper tier, but the gaps between subjects, especially the soft spot in science, are the kind of detail a parent would want to discuss directly with the principal or a classroom teacher.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 42% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 37% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 349%

School 49% · District 54% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 57% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 56% · ▲ 5 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Science

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 63% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

This schoolRichland 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.