Summary:
Pendleton, South Carolina is home to four public schools within the highly-rated Anderson 04 school district, serving approximately 1,909 students across three elementary schools (Pendleton Elementary, Mt. Lebanon Elementary, and La France Elementary) and one middle school (Riverside Middle), with no high schools within the city limits.
For parents, the standout choice is La France Elementary, which ranks 34th out of 649 elementary schools statewide (95th percentile) and leads the district in nearly every subject, with 82%+ proficiency in both math and ELA. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (8.3%) and spends the least per student ($14,091), proving that efficiency and excellence can go hand-in-hand. Mt. Lebanon Elementary is a close second, ranking 58th statewide with elite ELA scores (83%+ in grades 4-6) and strong science results. However, Pendleton Elementary lags significantly behind its sister schools, ranking 209th statewide with a concerning math proficiency of just 46.2% in 4th grade—21.4 percentage points below the district average. Riverside Middle performs well overall (ranked 37th of 335 middle schools) and boasts a remarkable 99.99% proficiency on the Algebra 1 exam, though it shows a typical dip in scores compared to the top elementary schools.
All four schools benefit from chronic absenteeism rates well below the state average (22.3%), indicating strong community engagement. The district's 5-star rating is well-deserved, but the 25+ point math gap between La France and Pendleton Elementary—despite similar per-student spending—suggests that school leadership and culture, not just funding, drive success. Parents should note that Pendleton Elementary needs targeted math intervention, while the middle school transition presents a challenge for all students, though they still outperform state averages by 20+ points in most subjects.
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