Summary:
Pelzer, South Carolina is served by three elementary schools—Ellen Woodside Elementary, Fork Shoals School, and West Pelzer Elementary—spanning grades PK-5, with no middle or high schools within the city limits, and these schools belong to two different districts: Greenville 01 and Anderson 01.
For parents, the standout school is West Pelzer Elementary, which is the smallest (361 students) yet the highest-performing, ranking in the 78th percentile statewide with 4 stars. It also has the best resources: the lowest student-teacher ratio (11.4:1) and the highest per-student spending ($14,604), which likely contributes to its top scores in ELA (75% average proficiency) and math (62.9%). In contrast, Ellen Woodside Elementary is the largest (1,071 students) and shows solid improvement, moving to the 71st percentile with 4 stars, but it has the highest student-teacher ratio (19.8:1) and lowest spending ($9,732). Fork Shoals School is the most concerning, with its ranking dropping from the 73rd to the 56th percentile over two years, despite spending more per student ($12,189) than Ellen Woodside.
Key takeaways include a clear resource-achievement link, as West Pelzer’s smaller classes and higher spending correlate with better outcomes. Chronic absenteeism is a concern at Ellen Woodside (19.3%, affecting roughly 207 students) and Fork Shoals (17.6%), while West Pelzer is much lower at 12.8%. Across all schools, math proficiency lags behind ELA, and 3rd-grade scores are typically the strongest, with declines in 4th and 5th grades. Notably, all three schools outperform state averages in 4th-grade science, and West Pelzer’s 4th-grade scores showed significant volatility, dropping sharply in both math and ELA. Fork Shoals’ decline despite higher spending suggests non-financial factors, like instructional strategies, need attention.
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