W. A. Perry Middle, Columbia SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on W. A. Perry Middle

W. A. Perry Middle serves students in grades six through eight in Columbia, South Carolina, as part of the Richland 01 school district. It is a regular public school. The student body is small for a middle school, and nearly every student comes from a household with an income low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price meals. The student population is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small number of Hispanic students, students identifying as two or more races, and white students.

State assessment results from the most recent testing year show that proficiency across subjects is limited. In mathematics, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above is in the low double digits or below that mark across all three grade levels. English language arts results are higher but still reach less than half of tested students in any grade. Science proficiency is also low. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts within Richland County. The data for English language arts and science reflect a recent change in cut scores, which makes direct comparison with prior years uncertain. Social studies results are only available from an older assessment and are not current. There is no multi-year trend to examine because only one year of data is reported for the current test. A parent may want to follow up with the school to understand what academic interventions and supports are in place.

The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate is reported. Chronic absenteeism data, staffing ratios, and course access information were not available in the data provided. No program offerings were listed, so it is unclear what electives, enrichment, or career-oriented pathways exist for middle school students.

Columbia is South Carolina’s capital and second-largest city, shaped by the presence of state government, the University of South Carolina’s flagship campus, and Fort Jackson, a major Army training installation. The city’s downtown and university areas are closely intertwined, with civic life concentrated around the State House and the campus. The built environment includes notably wide streets laid out on a two-mile grid. Housing values in the zip code serving W. A. Perry Middle are below the state average, and rents are moderate relative to national benchmarks. The district itself did not report any recent major changes in its leadership, boundary lines, or academic programming in the publicly available information reviewed.

For a family considering this school, the central takeaway is that the student body is small and almost entirely from low-income households, and academic performance on state tests is well below average for the county, particularly in math. The school serves an urban community in a city with a mix of government, university, and military employment. A parent would want to learn directly from the school about its curriculum, student support services, and any efforts to raise achievement before forming a complete picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 610%

School 10% · District 27% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 23% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 635%

School 35% · District 47% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 45% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 35% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 756%

School 56% · District 55% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 6 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.