Summary:
The city of Lake View, South Carolina, is served by the Dillon 04 school district, which includes just two schools—Lake View High (grades 6-12) and Lake View Elementary (grades PK-5)—together educating roughly 855 students in a predominantly low-income, rural area.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Lake View High shows real strengths in keeping students on track, even though its test scores lag the state. The school posts a graduation rate of 87.5%, which beats both the district and state averages, and its dropout rate of just 0.3% is remarkably low—14 times better than the district average. It also maintains a favorable 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio and spends about $14,101 per student. However, academic proficiency is mixed: English 2 scores are strong at 80.7%, but math proficiency in grades 6 and 7 is very weak (15.7% and 25%, respectively). In contrast, Lake View Elementary has a much better chronic absenteeism rate (17.6% vs. 30.7% at the high school), but its academic results are highly erratic—3rd grade ELA jumped from 25% to 65.6% proficiency in one year, while 4th grade ELA plummeted from 53.9% to 23%. This volatility suggests small class sizes and inconsistent instructional quality rather than a clear trend.
Overall, both schools are improving their state rankings, but from a low baseline. Lake View High moved from the 13th to the 33rd percentile over two years, while Lake View Elementary remains stuck near the 14th percentile. The district itself ranks in the bottom 8% of South Carolina districts. Parents should note that the high school is effective at graduating students and keeping them engaged, but the elementary school’s inconsistent performance and the district’s overall low rankings mean families should closely monitor grade-level progress, especially in math.
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