Summary:
Cross, South Carolina is a small, rural community served by a single high school, Cross High, which enrolls 273 students across grades 7 through 12 within the Berkeley 01 school district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Cross High presents a mixed picture. The school excels at the high school level, with English 2 proficiency at 86.96% and Algebra 1 at 84%, both exceeding state averages. However, middle-grade performance is a significant concern—8th grade ELA proficiency is just 31.5% compared to the state's 58.9%, and 8th grade math is 23.7% versus 44.2% statewide. The good news is that scores are improving rapidly; 8th grade math jumped 17.1 percentage points in one year, and U.S. History improved by 10.11 points. The school also benefits from a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 9.4:1 and high per-student spending of $23,136, which suggests small class sizes and ample resources.
The most pressing issues are attendance and graduation. Chronic absenteeism affects 33.9% of students—11.6 points above the state rate—and the dropout rate of 3.2% is more than double the district's 1.3%. Despite strong high school test scores, the graduation rate of 84.9% trails both district and state averages, indicating that non-academic barriers are preventing some students from finishing. The school's state ranking improved from 144th to 128th out of 245 schools, showing positive momentum. Parents should know that while Cross High demonstrates that high school students can achieve at or above state levels, the middle grades need attention, and addressing attendance will likely be key to unlocking further gains across all grade levels.
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