Summary:
The city of Anderson, South Carolina, is served by 22 public schools spanning Pre-K through 12th grade across four districts, including the dominant Anderson 05 district, with a total enrollment exceeding 14,000 students.
For parents, the standout academic performer is Southwood Academy for the Arts, a middle school ranked in the 96th percentile statewide with 85-90% ELA proficiency and a near-perfect Algebra 1 pass rate, supported by the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.9:1) and highest per-student spending ($20,140) in the area. At the high school level, T. L. Hanna High leads with a 90.5% graduation rate and strong EOCEP scores, while Anderson Five Charter School boasts the best graduation rate (95.5%) and a 0% dropout rate despite its tiny 61-student enrollment. Among elementary schools, Midway Elementary ranks in the 89th percentile and has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (12.2%) in the dataset. Conversely, Westside High lags with a 79.5% graduation rate and 5.0% dropout rate, while Robert Anderson Middle shows the highest chronic absenteeism (37.8%) and ELA proficiency as low as 39%.
Key takeaways for families include a strong link between attendance and achievement—schools like Concord Elementary (14.1% absenteeism) and North Pointe Elementary (13.1%) consistently outperform peers with higher absenteeism. The two charter schools under the Limestone Charters Association struggle significantly, with South Carolina Preparatory Leadership School ranking in the bottom 2% of high schools and both charters having very high student-teacher ratios. Notably, higher spending doesn't guarantee results—New Prospect Elementary spends $15,768 per student but ranks in the bottom 15%, while T. L. Hanna High achieves strong outcomes with the lowest spending ($11,896). Finally, several middle schools show near-perfect Algebra 1 EOCEP scores (100% at Glenview Middle and McCants Middle), suggesting selective course placement rather than broad math proficiency.
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