Middle Schools in Anderson 05

The Anderson 05 school district in South Carolina contains four middle schools serving grades 6-8, ranging from a small arts-focused academy of 409 students to a large comprehensive school of 1,134 students, with the district itself ranking in the 71st percentile statewide.

For parents, the standout choice is clearly Southwood Academy for the Arts, which earns a 5-star rating and ranks in the 96th percentile statewide. Its students achieve remarkable proficiency rates—88% in English Language Arts and 81% in math—far outpacing every other school in the district. McCants Middle is the next best option, consistently earning 4-5 stars with strong ELA scores (73%) and showing notable improvement in 8th-grade math, jumping from 53% to 69% in one year. Glenview Middle performs adequately near state averages, while Robert Anderson Middle struggles significantly, earning just 1 star with only 43% proficiency in ELA and 29% in math—roughly half the achievement of Southwood.

Several patterns stand out. Chronic absenteeism strongly tracks with performance: Southwood and McCants have rates around 16-17%, while Robert Anderson's rate is a troubling 37.8%. Per-student spending also varies dramatically, with Southwood receiving $20,140 per student versus just $13,695 at Robert Anderson, despite the latter serving nearly three times as many students. Interestingly, all four schools achieve 98-100% proficiency on the Algebra 1 exam, far exceeding the state average of 74%, indicating a strong advanced math pathway district-wide. Science scores are also relatively solid across all schools. The district essentially operates as two tiers—Southwood and McCants deliver excellent results, Glenview is respectable, and Robert Anderson requires significant attention to address its attendance, funding, and achievement gaps.