Summary:
Sumter, South Carolina is served by 20 public schools—12 elementary, 5 middle, and 3 high schools—with a total enrollment of roughly 12,100 students, and the vast majority belong to the Sumter 01 district, which currently ranks in the 11th percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout school in the city is Alice Drive Elementary, which earns a 4-star rating and ranks in the 81st percentile—far ahead of every other Sumter 01 school. Its ELA proficiency ranges from 67-76% and math from 65-70%, both well above state averages, and it also has the second-lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 26.1%. The next best option is Liberty STEAM Charter School, operating under the School Public Charter School District, which ranks in the 53rd percentile with a 3-star rating and the lowest chronic absenteeism in the city at just 15.2%. Among high schools, Sumter High School is the strongest, with an 83.6% graduation rate and a 1.3% dropout rate, both better than Crestwood High (78.8% graduation) and Lakewood High (74.1% graduation).
The broader district picture is challenging. Chronic absenteeism averages 35.9%—13.6 points above the state—with Willow Drive Elementary (52.8%), Chestnut Oaks Middle (46.4%), and Lemira Elementary (45.1%) the worst. Math proficiency is critically low across all levels, from 6.5% at Chestnut Oaks 6th grade to 39.5% for Algebra 1 at Sumter High. Notably, the highest-spending schools—Oakland Primary ($19,352), R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy ($18,431), and Wilder Elementary ($17,935)—are among the lowest performers, while Alice Drive Elementary achieves top results with moderate spending. There are some positive trends: Lakewood High jumped from the 4th to 28th percentile, and Kingsbury Elementary improved from 14th to 29th percentile, but the district as a whole faces systemic hurdles in attendance, math instruction, and middle school transitions.
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