Summary:
Ravenel, South Carolina, is served by a single public elementary school, E.B. Ellington Elementary, which enrolls 366 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the highly ranked Charleston 01 school district.
For parents considering this school, the most striking finding is a paradox of resources versus results. E.B. Ellington spends an exceptionally high $34,476 per student and maintains a favorable 11.1-to-1 student-teacher ratio, yet it ranks in the bottom 13% of South Carolina elementary schools. Academic proficiency in both English Language Arts and Math is roughly 22 to 40 percentage points below district and state averages across all grade levels. For example, 5th grade proficiency sits at just 27.1% in both subjects, while 4th grade science proficiency is 39.1% compared to the district's 60.7%. A critical red flag is the chronic absenteeism rate of 26.4%, meaning more than one in four students misses at least 10% of the school year—a likely barrier to learning that extra funding hasn't overcome.
There are, however, encouraging signs. In 2025-2026, 4th grade showed remarkable growth: math proficiency jumped from 29.5% to 41.3%, science nearly doubled from 20.4% to 39.1%, and ELA improved by 5 points. This suggests targeted interventions are working in that grade and could be replicated elsewhere. Conversely, 5th grade is a point of concern, with the largest ELA decline (-11.2 points) and the lowest overall scores. While the school's ranking has improved from the 2nd to the 13th percentile over three years, it remains a clear outlier within its high-performing district. Parents should weigh the small class sizes and heavy investment against the persistent achievement gaps and attendance challenges, while noting that 4th grade offers a promising model for future improvement.
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