Summary:
The city of Kershaw, South Carolina, is served by six public schools across two districts—Kershaw 01 and Lancaster 01—covering elementary through high school for roughly 3,000 students.
For parents, the standout high school is Andrew Jackson High, which leads the city with an 85.3% graduation rate, a 1.3% dropout rate, and exceptional English 1 proficiency at 81.7%—more than 20 points above the state average. Its student-teacher ratio of 11.4:1 is also the most favorable in the area. By contrast, North Central High trails in graduation (79.7%) and English 1 (57.9%), though it actually outperforms Andrew Jackson in English 2 and U.S. History. At the elementary level, the picture flips: North Central Elementary is a remarkable success story, jumping from a 2-star to a 4-star rating and beating state averages by 20+ points in 4th grade math and science. Kershaw Elementary is solid but less consistent, excelling in 3rd grade but falling behind in 4th grade science (47.7% vs. 74.7% at North Central).
The middle schools are the city's weak spot, especially North Central Middle, which ranks in the 37th percentile with 8th grade math at just 23.5% (state: 44.2%) and the highest chronic absenteeism in the city at 32.2%. Andrew Jackson Middle performs better in math—50.9% in 8th grade—but both schools struggle with a severe middle school math slump. A hidden gem: both middle schools post near-perfect Algebra 1 proficiency (100% and 99.99%), suggesting strong acceleration programs. Chronic absenteeism exceeds state averages at every school, and higher spending doesn't guarantee better results—North Central Elementary spends the least yet performs best. Overall, Lancaster 01 schools generally have stronger high school outcomes and lower absenteeism, while Kershaw 01 excels at the elementary level but loses ground in middle and high school.
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