Summary:
The city of Duncan, South Carolina, is served by the highly-rated Spartanburg 05 school district, which includes eight schools—four elementary, two middle, one high school, and a freshman academy—serving nearly 7,000 students in a growing suburban area. Overall, this is a strong district that ranks in the top 16% of South Carolina, with most schools earning 3 or 4 stars and performing at or above state averages, particularly in English Language Arts.
For families, the standout elementary school is Tyger River Elementary, which is the highest-ranked in the city and excels in 5th grade, where math proficiency (69.1%) is a remarkable 20 points above the state average. At the middle school level, Florence Chapel Middle is the clear leader, boasting an extraordinary 96.25% pass rate on the Algebra 1 end-of-course exam and outperforming Beech Springs Middle in both math and English. The district's main high school, James F. Byrnes High, is the largest school and maintains a strong 91.2% graduation rate, though its Algebra 1 scores are a notable weak point. A unique bright spot is James Byrnes Freshman Academy, which achieved a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the English 2 exam, suggesting the smaller, focused environment is highly effective.
The main area of concern is Berry Shoals Elementary, the lowest-performing school in the district, particularly in 4th-grade science where proficiency lags the state by 16 points. Interestingly, spending per student does not predict success here—Berry Shoals spends more than the top-performing Tyger River. Additionally, chronic absenteeism is a challenge at the high school level (23.1%), which may help explain the disconnect between strong graduation rates and more modest test scores. For parents, the data suggests that choosing a school within this district matters, with Tyger River and Florence Chapel offering the strongest academic pipelines, while the district as a whole provides a solid, above-average education.
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