Summary:
The Conway High area, part of the Horry 01 district, includes 15 schools serving roughly 9,857 students from elementary through high school, with a mix of traditional public, charter, and specialized magnet options.
For parents, the standout options are the specialized high schools. HCS Scholars Academy High is the district's academic powerhouse, ranked #1 in the state with 100% proficiency on all EOCEP exams, a 100% graduation rate, and a remarkably low 1.6% chronic absenteeism rate. HCS Early College High is a close second, ranked 5th in the state with near-perfect test scores and a 97.3% graduation rate. At the elementary level, Kingston Elementary leads the pack, ranking in the 84th percentile with strong math and science scores, while Conway Elementary also performs well above district averages. In contrast, Conway High struggles significantly, with only 56.9% English 1 proficiency and a troubling 32.5% chronic absenteeism rate—the highest in the district by far. The Palmetto Academy of Learning Motorsports (PALM) has also seen a dramatic decline, dropping from the 70th to the 35th percentile in one year despite spending the most per student.
Middle schools show a consistent weakness in math, with proficiency rates between 35-42%, though all three schools post near-perfect Algebra 1 scores—suggesting only top students are placed in that course. Notably, Atlantic Collegiate Academy achieves strong results with the lowest per-student spending ($9,591) and highest student-teacher ratio (31.3:1), outperforming Conway High on nearly every metric. This suggests that school culture and mission matter more than raw funding. Overall, families in Conway have excellent specialized options but should be aware of significant disparities between the elite academies and traditional schools, particularly regarding attendance and math achievement in the middle grades.
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