Summary:
The two middle schools serving Spartanburg 07—McCracken Middle and Carver Middle—educate students in grades 6-8 within a district ranked 33rd out of 75 in South Carolina (56th percentile, 3-star rating).
For parents, the choice between these two schools is stark. McCracken Middle is the clear academic leader, holding a 3-star rating for three straight years and ranking in the 66th percentile statewide (115th of 335). It outperforms both district and state averages in nearly every subject and grade level, with particular strength in 8th-grade ELA (60.2% proficient vs. 58.9% state) and 8th-grade math (51.0% vs. 44.2% state). McCracken also shows a positive trajectory within each year, with proficiency rising from 6th to 8th grade. In contrast, Carver Middle holds a 1-star rating, ranks in the 18th percentile (274th of 335), and falls below district and state averages across all tested subjects. The gap is widest in 6th-grade math (41.2% vs. 19.9% proficiency) and 6th-grade science (55.7% vs. 29.9%).
Two findings stand out. First, both schools achieve near-perfect proficiency (100% and 99.99%) on the Algebra 1 EOCEP exam, despite much lower scores in standard grade-level math—suggesting only the strongest students reach advanced coursework. Second, Carver Middle actually spends more per student ($16,479 vs. $15,199) and has a better student-teacher ratio (10.2:1 vs. 11.7:1) than McCracken Middle, yet performs far worse. Chronic absenteeism is a likely factor: Carver's rate is 38.0%—15.7 points above the state average—while McCracken's is 26.9%. The performance gap between the two schools is widening, making attendance and targeted intervention at Carver critical priorities for the district.
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