Summary:
There are five middle schools serving grades 6-8 in the city of Sumter, South Carolina, all part of the Sumter 01 school district, which currently holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the bottom 15% of districts statewide.
For parents, the standout choice is Alice Drive Middle, the only school in the district to earn a 2-star rating. It leads every other school in both English Language Arts (51.1% average proficiency) and math (31.3%), and its Algebra 1 students achieve a perfect 100% proficiency rate. At the other end, Chestnut Oaks Middle struggles the most, with just 14% average math proficiency and only 6.5% of 6th graders meeting grade-level math standards. Bates Middle shows the most promise for improvement, climbing 28 spots in state rankings over two years, while Furman Middle and Ebenezer Middle sit in the middle, with Ebenezer slightly ahead in math and Furman showing a dramatic jump in 8th grade math from 5.7% to 24%.
District-wide, math is a serious concern—even the best school only reaches 31.3% proficiency, far below the state average. Chronic absenteeism is also a major issue, affecting 35.9% of students district-wide compared to 22.3% statewide, with Chestnut Oaks highest at 46.4%. Interestingly, Chestnut Oaks spends the most per student ($16,083) yet achieves the lowest scores, while Alice Drive spends the least ($12,758) and performs best, suggesting funding alone isn't the answer. The district's strong Algebra 1 results at Alice Drive and Bates (100% and 96.55%) reveal a two-tiered system where advanced students excel but the majority struggle, pointing to a need for targeted support in foundational math and attendance interventions.
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