Summary:
The York 02 district in South Carolina is home to two middle schools serving grades 6-8: Oakridge Middle and Clover Middle, together enrolling about 2,115 students in a district ranked 2nd out of 75 in the state.
Oakridge Middle is the clear academic leader, ranking 28th in the state (92nd percentile, 5 stars) with exceptional results across the board. Its Algebra 1 pass rate is an extraordinary 98.36%, and its chronic absenteeism rate of 10.1% is less than half the state average. In ELA and math, Oakridge outperforms its sister school in every grade tested—for example, 70% of 6th graders and 79.5% of 7th graders meet ELA standards, compared to 58.5% and 64.2% at Clover Middle. Oakridge also achieves these results while spending $602 less per student ($12,964 vs. $13,566).
Clover Middle is a solid 4-star school (ranked 76th) but faces a significant challenge: its chronic absenteeism rate of 22.5% matches the state average and is more than double Oakridge's. This likely explains much of the achievement gap between the two schools. Still, Clover matches Oakridge's near-perfect Algebra 1 performance (97.95% pass rate), and both schools showed dramatic year-over-year improvements in 7th and 8th grade math—gains of 11-13 percentage points—suggesting a district-wide initiative is working. Both schools exceed state averages in all subjects, and the district's top-2 ranking means families can expect strong outcomes at either school, though Oakridge offers the more exceptional overall experience.
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