Best Public Schools in Lamar, SC

Summary:

The city of Lamar, South Carolina is home to three public schools: Lamar-Spaulding Elementary, Lamar High, and Spaulding Middle, all of which serve the Darlington 01 school district.

Among the standout schools, Spaulding Middle School ranks 137 out of 320 South Carolina middle schools and earned a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school excelled in Algebra 1/Mathematics, with 90.47% of students scoring proficient or better, far surpassing district and state averages. Lamar-Spaulding Elementary also performed well, ranking 316 out of 640 South Carolina elementary schools and outperforming the district and state in English Language Arts and Mathematics assessments.

However, Lamar High School faced more significant challenges, with only 29.12% of students scoring proficient or better on the EOCEP English 1 exam in 2024-2025. Additionally, all three schools had high rates of chronic absenteeism, at 22.5% in 2023-2024, which may be an area of concern for the district. The schools also serve a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating the need for targeted interventions and support.

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)						SC READY Mathematics (2025)						SC READY Science (2025)		EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2025)	EOCEP English 1 (2025)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2025)	EOCEP English 2 (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Lamar High	Public	9-12	216 North Darlington Avenue	Lamar	29069	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 326-5543	268	21	12.7		103 (38.4%)	131 (48.9%)	11 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.6%)	10.1	221^st of 235 public high schools	6.0%		22.6	181^st of 235 public high schools	23.0%	40															55.7	29.1	40.9	74.1	$24,681	$1,974	$1,582	$3,556	$17,721	$3,404	$21,125
Spaulding Middle	Public	6-8	400 East Cartersville Highway	Lamar	29069	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 326-7625	228	18	12.6		77 (33.8%)	115 (50.4%)	13 (5.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (9.6%)	51.6	137^th of 320 public middle schools	57.2%		52.7	138^th of 325 public middle schools	57.5%	1				53.2	47.7	65.6				39.3	31.3	36.0		41.8	90.5				$18,777	$2,233	$1,365	$3,598	$12,774	$2,404	$15,179
Lamar-Spaulding Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	5232 Lamar Highway 401	Lamar	29069	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-6370	496	31	16.0		185 (37.3%)	265 (53.4%)	12 (2.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (6.3%)	48.7	316^th of 640 public elementary schools	50.6%		50.1	314^th of 638 public elementary schools	50.8%	2	63.0	52.3	63.7				60.5	53.7	48.1				23.9						$15,467	$1,826	$1,221	$3,047	$10,932	$1,488	$12,420

Cities Near Lamar

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Timmonsville	8.1 mi	2	193^rd
Bishopville	8.84 mi	5	212^th
Darlington	10.9 mi	8	125^th
Hartsville	11.33 mi	9	106^th
Mayesville	11.76 mi	1

See the top SC South Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.