Elementary Schools in Marion 10

The five elementary schools in Marion 10—Easterling Primary, Marion Intermediate, North Mullins Primary, Creek Bridge STEM Academy, and McCormick Elementary—serve roughly 1,800 students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade in a rural South Carolina district ranked in the bottom 1% statewide, presenting significant academic challenges but also some notable bright spots.

For parents, the standout school is Creek Bridge STEM Academy, which has the district’s lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 20.1%—actually below the state average—and shows the strongest improvement trajectory, climbing from the 3rd to the 6th percentile over two years. Marion Intermediate is the highest-ranked school overall, reaching the 10th percentile in 2024-2025, with its 5th-grade ELA proficiency hitting 48.3%. At the other end, McCormick Elementary faces the toughest challenges, with a 35% chronic absenteeism rate and the lowest math proficiency (22.6%), though it surprisingly leads the district in 4th-grade science at 29.4%. North Mullins Primary spends the most per student ($19,656) and has the best student-teacher ratio (10.3:1), while Easterling Primary sits in the middle on most metrics.

Key takeaways for families: every school except Creek Bridge exceeds the state’s chronic absenteeism average, making attendance a district-wide concern. English Language Arts proficiency consistently outpaces math by about 11 percentage points, suggesting math intervention is critical. Year-to-year scores fluctuate dramatically—Creek Bridge’s 8th-grade math jumped from 5.8% to 23.7% in one year—likely due to small class sizes. Resource allocation also looks uneven: Marion Intermediate serves the most testing-grade students but has the highest student-teacher ratio (22.9:1) and lowest spending ($14,542), while North Mullins Primary enjoys the most favorable resources despite serving only PK-2. Parents should weigh attendance patterns, specific grade-level strengths, and the notable volatility when choosing a school.