Old Pointe Elementary, Rock Hill SC

Original Research by School Decision on Old Pointe Elementary

Old Pointe Elementary is a regular public school in Rock Hill, South Carolina, serving students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of the York 03 district. The school’s student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Black enrollment and smaller shares of Hispanic and Asian students. A majority of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the economic diversity in the community the school draws from.

State testing results from the most recent school year show Old Pointe’s performance sitting above the midpoint among elementary schools in York County, based on an index combining proficiency across tested subjects and grades. The picture across individual subjects is varied. In English language arts, the school posts solid proficiency rates that climb as students get older, ending with a strong share of fifth graders meeting the state standard. Math results are less consistent. Fourth graders show a reasonably strong proficiency rate, but third-grade and especially fifth-grade math performance drops off noticeably, with the fifth-grade rate falling well below the school’s performance in other subjects at that grade level. In science, which is tested in fourth grade, the proficiency rate is below the school’s own marks in reading and writing for that grade. Up-to-date social studies results were not available; the most recent data is from a prior testing cycle, when a high share of fifth graders met the old standard, but that assessment has since changed, so comparisons to current performance are not meaningful. Parents may want to ask the school how it supports math achievement in the upper elementary grades, given the drop between fourth and fifth grade.

Located in Rock Hill, the most populous city in York County, the school sits in a community that has transitioned from a textile-based economy to one focused on manufacturing. The city is home to several colleges, including Winthrop University, and features a historic downtown with dining and retail, a riverfront with parks and trails, and civic anchors such as a BMX supercross track and large soccer complex. The area has seen mixed growth; a major professional sports training facility was proposed but later canceled, while the Riverwalk project along the Catawba River represents ongoing development. Housing values in the school’s zip code are above the state average, and rents have risen slightly, reflecting the area’s position in the broader Charlotte regional market.

The York 03 district, which operates Old Pointe, is navigating some demographic change. Enrollment district-wide has declined over a multi-year period, a trend that can affect school funding and resource allocation. The district has also introduced specialized program options at several elementary schools, such as a language immersion school and a Montessori program, indicating a shift toward school choice within the district. Parents considering Old Pointe should note that the school itself does not appear to have a magnet or special program designation, so the academic profile here reflects the standard curriculum rather than a specialized track. The school’s size, roughly mid-range for an elementary school in the area, may appeal to families who want a neighborhood school with a diverse student body, though the declining district enrollment could mean that future class sizes and staffing levels shift over time.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 56% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 47% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 43% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 65% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 64% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 563%

School 63% · District 62% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 70% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

This schoolYork 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 3Lower-income47%Higher-income82%36 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income54%Higher-income86%33 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income56%Higher-income84%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income39%Higher-income68%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income73%27 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income30%Higher-income44%15 pp gap