Chesnee Middle, Chesnee SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Chesnee Middle

Chesnee Middle sits in the heart of a very small, rural crossroads town in the northeast corner of Spartanburg County. The town itself is compact and has seen a slight population decline in recent years, and its economic base is modest, with the school district itself likely one of the larger local employers. The school serves roughly three grades and enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area's limited economic opportunity. Data on students with disabilities and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are supported.

Academically, Chesnee Middle presents a picture that varies by subject. In English language arts, proficiency rates across all three grades are solid, with most students scoring at or above the state standard. Math performance is more uneven: one grade level posts a rate that is notably lower than the others, and overall math proficiency sits at a level that is modest. Science results, available only for sixth grade, are comparable to the stronger ELA rates. Social studies data is from several years ago and used a different test, so it does not offer a current read. The state has made changes to its testing program in recent years, including adjustments to cut scores and assessment names, which means year-to-year comparisons are not reliable from the data provided.

When placed alongside other districts in Spartanburg County, Chesnee Middle's overall proficiency index lands above the midpoint of the cohort. That is a meaningful marker: among the seven districts for which proficiency data was available, the school's combined average of tested subjects and grades sits slightly ahead of the middle of the pack. A family will want to consider that this is a measure of the school as a whole, and individual grade-level results do vary.

The school's setting is worth weighing. Chesnee is a town with a traditional small downtown, a public library branch, a city park, and easy road access to the nearby Cowpens National Battlefield. Housing in the town is more affordable than the state average, and monthly costs for owning or renting are relatively low. The town's population is not growing, and no major new development is evident from available information. For a family considering relocating, this means a stable, low-cost environment with limited upward pressure on housing prices, but also limited local job growth.

This is a regular public middle school with no special charter or magnet designation. There is no data on course offerings, extracurricular programs, or staffing ratios, so a parent should visit or contact the school to understand the breadth of academic pathways and support services available. The school's academic strengths lie in literacy, while math is an area where results are less consistent. The student body is economically diverse in terms of household income, and the community is predominantly white. For families who value a small-town, rural setting and solid language arts instruction, Chesnee Middle may be a good fit, particularly if the school can fill in the gaps in the available data about special education supports and enrichment opportunities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 44% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 36% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 42% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 63% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 767%

School 67% · District 62% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 55% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 765%

School 65% · District 67% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolSpartanburg 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 6Lower-income61%Higher-income80%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income66%Higher-income73%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income60%Higher-income72%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income47%Higher-income73%26 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income34%Higher-income61%26 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income66%26 pp gap