Summary:
The Anderson 05 school district in Anderson, SC, serves roughly 11,300 students across 18 schools—11 elementary, 4 middle, and 3 high schools—and ranks 22nd out of 75 districts in the state, though this overall 4-star rating hides dramatic internal disparities.
This is a district of stark contrasts, where a family's address can determine whether their child attends a top-15 school or one in the bottom quartile. Southwood Academy for the Arts is the crown jewel, ranking 13th of 335 middle schools (96th percentile) with 8th grade math proficiency at 85.4% versus the state's 44.2%. At the high school level, T. L. Hanna High is the flagship, ranking 64th of 245 with a 90.5% graduation rate and English 2 proficiency of 86.54%, while Westside High ranks 195th with a 79.5% graduation rate and a 5.0% dropout rate—more than double the state average. Among elementary schools, Midway Elementary and North Pointe Elementary lead the pack (84th-89th percentile), while New Prospect Elementary ranks 550th of 649 with 5th grade math proficiency at just 28.3%.
Chronic absenteeism is the district's hidden crisis—10 of 18 schools exceed the state rate of 22.3%, with Robert Anderson Middle at a staggering 37.8% (nearly 4 in 10 students), correlating strongly with its 26.1% 6th grade math proficiency. There's also a notable middle school drop-off in math, and spending doesn't guarantee success: Southwood spends the most ($20,140 per student) and performs best, but New Prospect spends the second-most ($15,768) and performs worst. For parents, the specific school assignment matters enormously—northern Anderson schools (Midway, North Pointe, Concord, T. L. Hanna) consistently outperform southern schools (New Prospect, Varennes, Homeland Park, Westside), making school choice perhaps the single most important factor in this district.
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