Lead Academy, Greenville SC - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lead Academy

LEAD Academy is a public charter school in Greenville, South Carolina, serving kindergarten through eighth grade. It operates under the SC Public Charter School District, a statewide authorizer rather than a traditional geographic district. The school occupies a location on Mauldin Road, inside the city limits of a fast-growing metropolitan area that has seen a surge in population and development in recent years. The city itself features a walkable downtown anchored by Falls Park on the Reedy and the Liberty Bridge, and major employers include Michelin, Prisma Health, and Duke Energy. Housing values in the area sit above the state median, and rents have held relatively steady.

The student body is diverse. Just over half of students identify as Black, roughly a quarter as Hispanic, about one in six as white, and a modest number as multiracial. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a high proportion of families with lower incomes. The school enrolls roughly four hundred students across grades K through eight, with each grade level hosting a cohort of about forty to fifty children. The charter status means the school operates with some autonomy from the local district, and it is classified as a regular public school.

On state assessments, the school’s results vary by subject. In English language arts, proficiency levels generally sit around the midpoint or higher, though there is a range from grade to grade. Third graders posted relatively stronger results, while fourth graders showed a lower share meeting the bar. Test scores for sixth and seventh graders were higher than those of the younger grades. In math, the picture is weaker. Across all tested grades, less than a third of students scored at the proficient level, and the share declined from third to eighth grade, with eighth graders showing the lowest result. Science results are available for fourth and sixth grades; the fourth-grade rate was modest, while sixth graders did notably better. An older social studies assessment from several years ago showed strong performance, but no recent data is available for that subject. Because the state changed proficiency cut scores for ELA and science, direct comparisons with prior years are not straightforward.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing was not available.

Greenville is experiencing rapid growth, and the housing market reflects that demand. For a family considering this school, the mix of a diverse student body, a charter structure, and a central location in a growing city are key traits. The academic results suggest that the school’s math performance is an area a parent may want to ask about further, while literacy outcomes are more mixed and show some bright spots in the middle grades. The school does not offer high school programs, so families would need to plan for a transfer after eighth grade. The SC Public Charter School District does not operate as a typical district with neighborhood boundaries, so enrollment is generally open to families who apply.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 50% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 44% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 40 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 36% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 35% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 32% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 24% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 59% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 60% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 58% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 663%

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

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

Grade 757%

School 57% · District 64% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 59% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 43% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 50% · ▼ 6 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 66% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 777%

School 77% · District 65% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

This schoolSC Public Charter School District, 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.