Summary:
The three middle schools in the Darlington 01 district—Darlington Middle, Hartsville Middle, and Spaulding Middle—serve grades 6 through 8 in this South Carolina district, which holds a 2-star rating and ranks 47th out of 75 districts statewide.
If you’re comparing schools, Spaulding Middle stands out as the consistent overachiever despite being the smallest (228 students). It has the highest current ranking (45th percentile), the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (15.1% vs. the state’s 22.3%), and the best per-student spending ($18,777) with the lowest student-teacher ratio (12.6:1). Meanwhile, Darlington Middle is the largest (888 students) and excels in advanced math—its Algebra 1 EOCEP proficiency is a perfect 100%, far above the state average of 73.95%—and it leads the district in 8th-grade math (39.2%) and ELA (58.2%). Hartsville Middle is the most improved, climbing from the 27th to the 43rd percentile over three years, with a notable 21.4-point jump in 7th-grade math proficiency (from 17.2% to 38.6%).
Key takeaways for parents: chronic absenteeism is a major issue at Darlington Middle (27.1%) and Hartsville Middle (25.2%), both above the district average of 23.4%, while Spaulding Middle shows what’s possible with a rate well below the state. Standard grade-level math is a district-wide weakness—all three schools fall below state averages in 6th, 7th, and 8th grade—yet all three shine in advanced Algebra 1, with proficiency rates between 90% and 100%. Spending doesn’t directly predict success: Darlington Middle spends the least ($15,589 per student) but achieves top scores in advanced coursework, suggesting that school culture and instructional focus matter as much as funding. Performance also fluctuates by grade and cohort, so it’s worth looking at subject-specific results rather than overall ratings when choosing a school.
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