Summary:
The city of Fairfax, South Carolina, is served by four schools—one elementary, one middle, and two high schools—that together educate roughly 863 students across the Allendale 01 district, which ranks in the 7th percentile statewide, plus a unique correctional facility school under the Dept Of Correction N04 district.
For parents, the standout is Allendale-Fairfax Elementary, which is the clear academic leader in the area. Its 3rd-grade English and math proficiency rates (71.4% and 64.3%) actually beat the state averages, and it earned its best-ever ranking (32nd percentile, 2 stars) in 2024-2025. However, this early success fades sharply by 5th grade, where math proficiency collapses to just 16.3%—a 48-point drop from 3rd grade. Allendale-Fairfax Middle shows a similar pattern, with math proficiency ranging from 18.9% to 32.8% across grades 6-8, all far below state averages. At Allendale-Fairfax High, the picture is mixed: Algebra 1 proficiency (82.7%) exceeds the state, but English 1 (25%), U.S. History (34%), and the graduation rate (73.3% vs. 86.7% statewide) are all deeply concerning. The fourth school, Allendale High, is a correctional facility with just 8 students and no academic or attendance data available.
The most striking issue across all three traditional schools is chronic absenteeism, which ranges from 38.8% to 45.3%—roughly double the state average of 22.3%. This likely drives the low test scores and high dropout rate (5.2% vs. 2.1% statewide). Paradoxically, these schools spend over $23,000 per student and maintain excellent student-teacher ratios (as low as 7.8:1), yet results remain poor. The Algebra 1 success at the high school suggests targeted interventions can work, but the systemic challenges of poverty and attendance appear to outweigh resource advantages. Year-to-year test scores also swing dramatically (e.g., 4th-grade math dropped from 52% to 29% in one year), making single-year rankings unreliable for judging progress.
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