The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Social studies. The lowest is 34% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Logan Elementary
Logan Elementary is a regular public school in Columbia, South Carolina, serving students from Pre-K through fifth grade. It is part of Richland 01, the school district that covers much of the city’s core. The school is located on Elmwood Avenue, in a part of Columbia that blends historic residential streets with proximity to downtown.
Columbia itself is not a single-note city. It operates as the state capital, houses the flagship University of South Carolina campus, and contains Fort Jackson, a major Army installation. Those three forces—government, university, and military—give the city a layered character, with a large student population, state employees, military families, and a professional class working in the health and insurance sectors. Downtown and the campus are physically interwoven, meaning the civic core is also the student core. Residential neighborhoods spread outward from there.
The school’s enrollment is small for a PK-5 elementary, with a student body that is majority Black, with a substantial white minority and smaller shares of students who are two or more races, Hispanic, or Asian. Every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker that the school serves a low-income population. The school’s type is regular; it is not a charter or magnet. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how it supports those groups.
State testing data paints a mixed picture. In English language arts, Logan’s students showed a wide range by grade level. Third graders posted a strong proficiency rate, while fourth graders were lower. Fifth graders came back up, with a solid majority meeting the standard. In math, the pattern was less consistent: third graders were about even, fourth graders had a soft year, and fifth graders improved. Science results, available only for fourth grade, were lower than the ELA and math numbers for that same grade. The overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places Logan in the top quartile relative to other elementary schools in Richland County, meaning that when averaged together, the school’s results are among the stronger ones in the district. A parent looking at the grade-level detail, however, will see real variation, with some grades performing well and others needing support. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say from the data whether these scores represent a change from previous years.
The school serves only elementary grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Programs beyond the core curriculum were not listed in the data. The district brief did not surface any recent major changes affecting Logan, so what a parent sees now is likely the current stable operation.
Housing in Logan’s zip code is more affordable than the state average, with home values and rents below the South Carolina benchmark. A mortgage payment in the area, estimated at current rates, would be significantly lower than the typical rent, which tilts the financial calculation toward buying for those who can. The broader Columbia market has seen steady, moderate home price growth.
For a family considering Logan, the school’s main attributes are clear. It is a neighborhood elementary serving a low-income community, with a small enrollment that may allow for more individual attention. Academically, the school has real strengths in ELA, especially in the younger grades, and its combined test performance is among the better ones in the county. But the math and science results are uneven, and a parent would want to understand how the school addresses the weaker areas by grade. The city context is active and institution-heavy, with the university and state government a short drive away. The absence of data on special education and English learner services is a gap a parent should fill by talking to the school directly.
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