Best Public Schools in Jefferson, SC

The city of Jefferson, South Carolina, is served by two schools within the Chesterfield 01 school district, which ranks in the bottom 21% of districts statewide and serves a total of 786 students across elementary and middle school grades, with no high school located within the city limits.

For parents comparing the two schools, Jefferson Elementary (grades PK-5) is the clear relative bright spot. It outperforms New Heights Middle (grades 6-8) in nearly every subject, with elementary students achieving roughly 44-51% proficiency in math and ELA compared to just 20-41% at the middle school. Jefferson Elementary also shows pockets of excellence, including a standout 67.4% proficiency rate in 4th grade ELA and a dramatic one-year improvement in 3rd grade math from 20.4% to 50%. The school also benefits from more resources, spending $15,427 per student with a favorable 12.1:1 student-teacher ratio, compared to New Heights Middle's $12,791 per student and 16.3:1 ratio. However, Jefferson Elementary still trails state averages by roughly 10-22 percentage points across subjects, and its overall ranking has slipped slightly from the 30th to 28th percentile over the past three years.

New Heights Middle presents more serious concerns. Math proficiency is critically low, with 6th-8th grade rates ranging from just 17.2% to 22.6%—all below 25% and far beneath the state average of 42.3%. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism at 32.6%, meaning nearly one-third of students are regularly missing school, which is 10 points above the state average. Both schools exceed the state's chronic absenteeism rate, and the dramatic year-to-year swings in test scores (such as 8th grade math jumping from 8.3% to 22.6%) suggest unstable instructional quality or significant cohort differences. The absence of a local high school adds another transition point for students, and the district's 1-star rating indicates systemic challenges. For parents, the data suggests that while Jefferson Elementary offers some promising bright spots, both schools face significant hurdles—particularly in math and attendance—that will require urgent attention to improve long-term outcomes.