Rawlinson Road Middle, Rock Hill SC

Original Research by School Decision on Rawlinson Road Middle

Rawlinson Road Middle serves grades six through eight in Rock Hill, part of York School District 3. It is a regular public school, not a magnet or charter, and sits on West Main Street on the western side of the city. Rock Hill itself is the largest city in York County, a mix of historic downtown blocks, suburban development, and a manufacturing-focused economy that has replaced the old textile base. Three colleges are in town, including Winthrop University, and the city runs along the Catawba River and Lake Wylie. The school draws from that broad city context.

The student body is diverse and economically very disadvantaged. All students at Rawlinson Road qualify for free or reduced-price meals, a figure that reflects the school's Title I eligibility. The largest group of students is Black, followed by a substantial White enrollment, with a smaller but noticeable Hispanic population and a handful of students who are Asian, multiracial, or Native American. The school is a mid-sized middle school in terms of enrollment for its grade band.

State testing results from the most recent school year show clear differences by subject. In English language arts, roughly half of students scored at or above the proficient level, with the eighth-grade cohort performing strongest. In math, the picture is much weaker: fewer than a third of students met the state standard in any grade, and seventh-grade math was the lowest of the three tested subjects. Science, tested only in sixth grade, also fell below the ELA mark, with about a third of students proficient. Social studies data is older and comes from a different state assessment, so it is not directly comparable. Overall, looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s combined proficiency index sits in the bottom quarter when compared with other districts in York County. A parent looking at these results should ask what math interventions and support systems are in place, and whether the school is addressing the gap between literacy and numeracy achievement.

Because Rawlinson Road Middle ends at eighth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not serve high school grades, so that metric simply does not apply. Similarly, data on chronic absenteeism and discipline was not available in the sources used here, so that piece of the picture is missing.

The district as a whole has made some changes that may affect families. Rock Hill Schools has introduced specialized magnet and choice programs at the elementary level, such as a language immersion school and a Montessori school, signaling a shift toward school-choice models within the district. At the same time, district enrollment has declined over the past several years, a trend that can affect funding, staffing, and class sizes across all schools. Rawlinson Road Middle itself is a neighborhood school without a special designation, so its enrollment patterns reflect the surrounding area rather than a citywide draw.

For housing context, home values in the zip code around the school have been roughly in line with the national median, though they slipped slightly over the past year. Rents have edged up modestly. The local unemployment rate has been steady at a moderate level, and median household income nationally has been around the mid-eighties in thousands of dollars. These figures give a general economic baseline but do not speak directly to the school’s academic environment.

Overall, Rawlinson Road Middle is a school where a large majority of students come from low-income households and where academic performance is uneven. ELA is a relative strength, particularly by eighth grade, while math is a clear area of concern. Families considering this school will want to learn about the specific supports offered in math, the school’s approach to student behavior and attendance, and how the broader district changes around school choice and enrollment decline might affect this building over time. The school’s setting in a mid-sized city with a historic core, college presence, and ongoing economic transition provides a wider community context that includes both opportunities and challenges.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 37% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 29% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 56% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 743%

School 43% · District 57% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 54% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 44% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 755%

School 55% · District 64% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below 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 6Lower-income39%Higher-income67%28 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income64%28 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income42%Higher-income79%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income19%Higher-income65%46 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income47%31 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income45%28 pp gap