Chester 01

The Chester 01 school district in South Carolina serves about 4,518 students across 11 schools—six elementary schools, two middle schools, and three high schools—in the communities of Chester, Richburg, and Great Falls, and currently holds a 2-star rating, ranking 54th out of 75 districts statewide.

If you're looking at school options in this district, Lewisville Middle is the clear standout. It ranks in the 71st percentile statewide with a 4-star rating, and its students outperform district and state averages in nearly every subject—for example, 70.4% of 6th graders are proficient in ELA versus 46.6% district-wide, and 96.55% of Algebra 1 test-takers are proficient. On the high school side, Great Falls High leads the district with a 96.2% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, while Lewisville High also posts a strong 94.6% graduation rate and excels in U.S. History. By contrast, Chester Senior High lags with a 78.4% graduation rate. There's also a clear geographic divide: the Lewisville cluster (Elementary, Middle, High) consistently outperforms the Chester cluster schools, including Chester Middle, which ranks in the 7th percentile.

One of the most striking findings is that spending doesn't drive success—Great Falls High spends the most per student ($19,665) yet ranks in the bottom third, while Lewisville Middle spends the least ($13,663) and achieves the best results. The three Chester Park schools (Inquiry, Arts, and Literacy & Technology) all struggle with chronic absenteeism above 28% and rank in the bottom 20th percentile statewide. Math is the district's biggest weakness—even at the top-performing Lewisville Middle, math proficiency trails ELA by about 25 points. However, Academy for Teaching and Learning shows promise with the lowest chronic absenteeism (16.4%) and strong 3rd-grade ELA, though its middle-school math needs attention. Across all high schools, English 2 proficiency is a bright spot, approaching the state average.