Summary:
The city of Chesterfield, South Carolina, is served by three public schools within the Chesterfield 01 district, which together educate 1,437 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade. The district itself ranks in the bottom half of South Carolina districts, but the individual schools show a mix of strengths and challenges that are important for parents to understand.
Chesterfield High is the clear academic leader, having improved its state ranking to the 56th percentile and earning a 3-star rating. Its End of Course exam results are strong, with English 2 proficiency at 79.7% and Algebra 1 at 73.3%, both near state averages. However, the school has a high dropout rate of 4.1%, more than double the state average, and its graduation rate of 80.4% trails the state by over six points. In contrast, Chesterfield-Ruby Middle shows a concerning pattern in math, with 7th grade proficiency at just 17.2% compared to the state's 41.8%. Yet, the school achieved a perfect 100% proficiency on the Algebra 1 EOCEP exam, suggesting its advanced math pathway is exceptionally effective. Edwards Elementary is the most consistent performer, with 5th grade English Language Arts proficiency at 66.7%, exceeding the state average, though its 4th grade science scores dropped sharply to 32.5%.
Across all three schools, math is the district's biggest weakness, with proficiency lagging state averages by 10 to 25 points. A notable strength is chronic absenteeism, which sits at about 17.6% for all schools—well below the district's 24.1% and the state's 22.3%. All schools also share similar per-student spending and healthy student-teacher ratios, indicating equitable resources. For parents, this means Chesterfield High offers solid academics for students who stay enrolled, while the middle school's math struggles and the elementary school's science decline are areas to watch closely.
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