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Sanders Middle

Public Grades 6-8

271^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 320 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 15% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Sanders Middle is a public middle school in Laurens, South Carolina, serving 289 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Laurens 55 School District, which is ranked 61 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite relatively high per-student spending of $15,689, Sanders Middle faces significant challenges. The school has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.5% to 33.8% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools like Laurens Middle (22.5%) and Ralph Chandler Middle (22.5%). Additionally, Sanders Middle's student performance on state assessments is consistently lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas.

The performance gaps between Sanders Middle and the state/district averages, as well as between different student subgroups within the school, are quite stark. For example, in 2024-2025, only 29.6% of 6th-grade students at Sanders Middle were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 40.7% in the Laurens 55 district and 56% statewide. This suggests that the school may be struggling to provide equitable educational opportunities for all students, despite its relatively high spending per student.

250

Students ?

8.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,411

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

609 Green Street
Laurens, SC 29360

(864) 984-0354

District: Laurens 55

Students who attend Sanders Middle usually attend:

High:

Laurens District 55 High

Feeder schools for Sanders Middle:

Elementary:	E. B. Morse Elementary
	Ford Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

45.6%

White:

34.0%

Hispanic:

16.0%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare Sanders Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 31st percentile in 2015 → 15th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (27% vs 46% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (15th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 16 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school27%

District avg31%

South Carolina avg46%

271^st of 320

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 15%▼ down 15 pts since 2015

From bottom 31% (2015) to bottom 15% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle Schools in the Laurens 55

61^st of 75Laurens 55 among South Carolina districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.4	271 of 320	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	269 of 325	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	245 of 325	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	277 of 310	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.7	265 of 311	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	221 of 315	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.7	228 of 303	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	27.2	236 of 317	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	36.8	201 of 303	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	34.3	209 of 301	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2014	41.4	179 of 291	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	47.2	157 of 276	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	46.8	158 of 271	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	19.7	238 of 269	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.1	232 of 261	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	19.9	218 of 249	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	25.3	205 of 244	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	34.2	173 of 236	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	32.3	172 of 231	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	30.5	174 of 230	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	48.2	131 of 230	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2003	47.1	127 of 225	43.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.1	190 of 252	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.5	221 of 248	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.5	188 of 253	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	245 of 249	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.2	228 of 235	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.2	209 of 252	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.4	198 of 237	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	26.2	159 of 195	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	263 of 295	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	263 of 294	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.2	242 of 299	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.8	259 of 290	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.5	247 of 279	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.4	222 of 296	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.0	227 of 281	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	22.1	255 of 307	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.0	254 of 307	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.8	217 of 313	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.5	264 of 300	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	237 of 288	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	225 of 289	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.0	226 of 280	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.4	245 of 296	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	221 of 294	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.1	191 of 303	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.1	262 of 292	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	230 of 279	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.1	208 of 296	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.4	199 of 284	29.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	12.6	234 of 257	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	228 of 255	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.9	201 of 260	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	239 of 249	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	220 of 244	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.3	188 of 258	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	196 of 250	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

African American (2025)25th percentile+9 vs school

Disabled (2019)18th percentile-11 vs school

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)17th percentile~ school

Female (2025)11th percentile-4 vs school

White (2025)9th percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts36%-20 vs state

Science32%-16 vs state

Mathematics16%-20 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sanders Middle

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)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (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 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	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
Sanders Middle	Public	6-8	609 Green Street	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-0354	250	30	8.3		85 (34.0%)	114 (45.6%)	40 (16.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	10 (4.0%)	16.4	271^st of 320 public middle schools	15.3%		18.4	269^th of 325 public middle schools	17.2%	2		29.6	38.1	40.9		19.3	10.6	16.3	31.9		$18,411	$1,559	$510	$2,069	$13,511	$2,831	$16,342
Laurens Middle	Public	6-8	1035 West Main Street	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-2400	373	33	11.3		151 (40.5%)	124 (33.2%)	87 (23.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.7%)	20.9	258^th of 320 public middle schools	19.4%		17.5	274^th of 325 public middle schools	15.7%	16		43.0	39.8	35.6		30.1	20.3	13.6	30.1	100.0	$14,605	$1,249	$498	$1,747	$10,243	$2,616	$12,858
Clinton Middle	Public	6-8	800 North Adair Street	Clinton	29325	Laurens County	Laurens 56	No	No	No	No	(864) 833-0807	580	50	11.4		300 (51.7%)	215 (37.1%)	34 (5.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.0%)	40.5	188^th of 320 public middle schools	41.3%		39.2	186^th of 325 public middle schools	42.8%	2		53.5	55.4	43.2		32.2	30.2	22.2	43.7	91.3	$14,964	$1,011	$1,326	$2,338	$10,671	$1,954	$12,626
Ware Shoals Elementary Middle	Public	5-8	45 West Main Street	Ware Shoals	29692	Greenwood County	Greenwood 51	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 456-2711	238	18	13.6		166 (69.7%)	34 (14.3%)	23 (9.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.3%)	57.1	117^th of 320 public middle schools	63.4%		58.7	117^th of 325 public middle schools	64.0%		63.0	62.7	59.7	52.6	61.7	45.7	35.8	15.8	56.9				$27,077
Woodruff Middle	Public	6-8	205 S. J. Workman Highway	Woodruff	29388	Spartanburg County	Spartanburg 04	No	No	No	No	(864) 476-3150	701	42	16.5		440 (62.8%)	111 (15.8%)	86 (12.3%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	57 (8.1%)	58.9	114^th of 320 public middle schools	64.4%		62.9	108^th of 325 public middle schools	66.8%	6		52.2	58.4	50.9		46.7	40.7	40.0	49.4	100.0	$12,335	$1,132	$602	$1,734	$9,433	$1,169	$10,601
Ralph Chandler Middle	Public	6-8	4231 Fork Shoals Road	Simpsonville	29680	Greenville County	Greenville 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 452-0300	763	46	16.7		568 (74.4%)	80 (10.5%)	71 (9.3%)	3 (0.4%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (4.8%)	73.2	76^th of 320 public middle schools	76.3%		72.9	71^st of 325 public middle schools	78.2%	5		67.3	70.3	55.3		45.0	44.1	42.8	59.5	100.0	$11,509	$939	$736	$1,676	$9,030	$803	$9,834
Brewer Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1000 Emerald Road	Greenwood	29646	Greenwood County	Greenwood 50	No	Yes	No	No	(864) 941-5500	600	52	11.4		156 (26.0%)	312 (52.0%)	102 (17.0%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	21 (3.5%)	27.9	237^th of 320 public middle schools	25.9%		31.8	218^th of 325 public middle schools	32.9%	19		50.5	47.3	39.5		37.2	17.8	8.8	34.1	86.2	$14,240	$1,614	$882	$2,496	$10,490	$1,254	$11,744

Frequently Asked Questions about Sanders Middle

What is the racial makeup of Sanders Middle?

Students at Sanders Middle are 46% African American, 34% White, 16% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

How many students attend Sanders Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 250 students attended Sanders Middle.

What district is Sanders Middle in?

Laurens 55

Is Sanders Middle a good school?

Sanders Middle ranks in the bottom 15.3% of South Carolina middle schools.

What high school do graduates of Sanders Middle attend?

Students who attend Sanders Middle usually go on to attend Laurens District 55 High

Rate Sanders Middle!

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Schools in Laurens, SC

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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.