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Best Elementary Schools in Darlington, SC

At a glance

Schools

1,829

Students

Top rankedBrockington Elementary358^th of 640 South Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Brockington Elementary up 61 spots statewide this year

Compare South Carolina cities →See the top-ranked South Carolina schools →

Summary:

The city of Darlington, South Carolina is home to 4 elementary schools serving grades K-5: J.L. Cain Elementary, St. John's Elementary, Pate Elementary, and Brockington Elementary. These schools serve the Darlington 01 school district and face significant challenges, including high poverty levels and chronic absenteeism rates.

Among the schools, Brockington Elementary and St. John's Elementary stand out with stronger academic performance. Brockington Elementary, a public magnet school, has the highest test scores, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics exceeding the district and state averages. St. John's Elementary also performs well, with the second-highest test scores. Both schools have lower student-teacher ratios, which may contribute to their academic success.

In contrast, the majority of the schools, including J.L. Cain Elementary, demonstrate consistently low academic performance across multiple grade levels and subject areas compared to the district and state averages. All four schools face high poverty levels, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and alarmingly high chronic absenteeism rates, which are double the state average. These challenges likely contribute to the overall academic underperformance observed in the district.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)			SC READY Mathematics (2025)			SC READY Science (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Brockington Elementary	Public, Magnet	3-5	413 Brockington Road	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 398-2500	303	23	13.2		64 (21.1%)	190 (62.7%)	21 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (9.2%)	42.8	358^th of 640 public elementary schools	44.1%		34.3	419^th of 638 public elementary schools	34.3%	61	49.2	49.5	58.8	60.7	47.5	56.5	35.6	$16,987	$2,731	$1,275	$4,006	$11,137	$1,844	$12,981
Pate Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	1010 Indian Branch Road	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-5070	397	29	13.8		94 (23.7%)	233 (58.7%)	26 (6.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	39 (9.8%)								(n/a)								$16,034	$2,394	$1,444	$3,839	$10,736	$1,460	$12,196
St. John's Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	140 Park Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-5130	596	39	15.2		195 (32.7%)	308 (51.7%)	29 (4.9%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (9.7%)	30.5	446^th of 640 public elementary schools	30.3%		35.9	406^th of 638 public elementary schools	36.4%	40	50.6	53.7	38.9	57.2	48.4	25.9	33.3	$17,078	$2,150	$1,429	$3,579	$11,957	$1,542	$13,500
J. L. Cain Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	607 First Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-2450	533	43	12.3		88 (16.5%)	383 (71.9%)	18 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (8.1%)	20.5	528^th of 640 public elementary schools	17.5%		18.4	538^th of 638 public elementary schools	15.7%	10	46.7	45.0	36.8	58.7	24.7	25.0	23.5	$14,930	$1,660	$1,294	$2,953	$10,562	$1,415	$11,976

Cities Near Darlington

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Florence	5.17 mi	22	91^st
Effingham	10.87 mi	2	87^th
Hartsville	12.19 mi	9	106^th
Timmonsville	12.82 mi	2	193^rd
Lamar	12.83 mi	3	132^nd

See the top SC South Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.