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Matilda F. Dunston Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
636th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 1% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Matilda F. Dunston Elementary is a public elementary school in North Charleston, South Carolina, serving 491 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Charleston 01 School District, which is ranked 23 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the district's relatively strong performance, Matilda F. Dunston Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 25% of South Carolina elementary schools, with proficiency rates on state assessments (SC READY) around 20-30% in English Language Arts and Mathematics, compared to the district's 60-70% and the state's 50-60%. The school's academic performance is particularly low for subgroups, such as female students, male students, African American students, Hispanic students, English Language Learners, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with rankings in the bottom 25-50% of the state. Additionally, the school has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 17.9% to 24.7% in recent years, and a relatively high dropout rate, ranging from 2.3% to 2.4%.

While the school has a high percentage of students (100%) eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage, and the per-student spending has increased over the years, the academic outcomes have not shown significant improvement. Addressing the root causes of the school's underperformance, attendance, and retention issues, as well as exploring effective strategies to support the unique needs of the student population, will be crucial for the school and the Charleston 01 School District to improve student success at Matilda F. Dunston Elementary.

569
Students ?
12.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$21,324
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1825 Remount Road
       North Charleston, SC  29406

(843) 745-7109

District: Charleston 01


Students who attend Matilda F. Dunston Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Morningside Middle
High:    North Charleston High
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
63.6%
African American:
25.8%
White:
6.3%
more
 See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Matilda F. Dunston Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2011 → 1st in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (22% vs 56% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (1st percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2011
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school22%
District avg62%
South Carolina avg56%
636th of 640
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 1%▼ down 44 pts since 2015
From bottom 44% (2015) to bottom 1% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
43rd of 43Elementary Schools in the Charleston 01
23rd of 75Charleston 01 among South Carolina districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20254.4636 of 6400.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20244.1635 of 6380.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202314.8563 of 64412.6%★☆☆☆☆
20227.6604 of 6253.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.2589 of 6225.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201544.6355 of 63844.4%★★☆☆☆
201453.8317 of 63049.7%★★☆☆☆
201339.1399 of 59933.4%★★☆☆☆
201265.6209 of 59464.8%★★★☆☆
201114.0553 of 5977.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201024.3502 of 58914.8%★☆☆☆☆
200944.6351 of 58039.5%★★☆☆☆
200814.1532 of 5777.8%☆☆☆☆☆
200726.0468 of 56617.3%★☆☆☆☆
200625.1458 of 55918.1%★☆☆☆☆
200515.8507 of 5579.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200411.2513 of 5506.7%☆☆☆☆☆
200320.1465 of 54214.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202514.3367 of 3813.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202418.8343 of 3697.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202343.1211 of 39446.4%★★☆☆☆
202218.4359 of 3938.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202123.7299 of 35014.6%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20257.8104 of 1040.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.979 of 790.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202321.558 of 7219.4%★☆☆☆☆
202213.277 of 848.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20253.4580 of 5810.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20243.6564 of 5650.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.1498 of 58014.1%★☆☆☆☆
20227.4551 of 5733.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20218.2533 of 5543.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20255.7154 of 1561.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.6115 of 1150.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202315.9102 of 11511.3%★☆☆☆☆
202210.2112 of 1152.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202121.874 of 8614.0%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20257.2607 of 6131.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20248.8581 of 5993.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202331.7443 of 60827.1%★☆☆☆☆
202216.7528 of 60012.0%★☆☆☆☆
202116.6504 of 58013.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20255.9575 of 5861.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.7556 of 5682.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.5528 of 5829.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.5554 of 5794.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.3526 of 5616.2%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
African American (2025)4th percentile+3 vs school
Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)1st percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)1st percentile~ school
Female (2025)<1st percentile~ school
English Language Learner (2025)<1st percentile~ school
By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics24%-28 vs state
English Language Arts22%-41 vs state
Science12%-37 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Matilda F. Dunston Elementary

Matilda F. Dunston Elementary ranks in the bottom 0.6% of South Carolina elementary schools.

In the 2024-25 school year, 569 students attended Matilda F. Dunston Elementary.

Students at Matilda F. Dunston Elementary are 64% Hispanic, 26% African American, 6% White, 4% Two or more races.

Students who attend Matilda F. Dunston Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Morningside Middle
High : North Charleston High


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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