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Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts

Public Grades PK, KG-5

536^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 16% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts is a public elementary school serving grades PK-5 in Chester, South Carolina, with 344 students. The school is part of the Chester 01 school district, which is ranked 51 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. Unfortunately, Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of South Carolina elementary schools, receiving a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

The school faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 22.5% to 31.9% over the past few years, well above the state average. Academically, the school's performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is well below state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, only 30.9% of 3rd graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 61.8% statewide and 47.2% in the Chester 01 district. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 93.31% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2023-2024.

Interestingly, the nearby schools in the Chester 01 district, such as Lewisville Elementary, Academy for Teaching and Learning, and the other Chester Park schools, generally outperform Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts on key metrics like test scores and chronic absenteeism. This suggests that the challenges faced by Chester Park Elementary for the Arts may be unique to the school itself, rather than district-wide issues. Despite the school's low performance, its spending per student ($13,638 in 2023-2024) is relatively high compared to the state average, indicating that additional resources alone may not be the solution to the school's challenges.

331

Students ?

11.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,915

Per pupil spending ?

93.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

835-A Lancaster Highway
Chester, SC 29706

(803) 581-7279

District: Chester 01

Students who attend Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts usually attend:

Middle:	Chester Middle
High:	Chester Senior High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.2%

White:

28.7%

Hispanic:

12.4%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 16th percentile in 2015 → 16th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (36% vs 56% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (30% vs 22% South Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school36%

District avg42%

South Carolina avg56%

536^th of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 16%▬ steady since 2015

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Chester 01

51^st of 75Chester 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.9	536 of 640	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.3	506 of 638	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	524 of 644	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.4	477 of 625	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.7	503 of 622	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.4	537 of 643	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.0	524 of 624	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	19.0	552 of 639	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.6	530 of 619	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.7	537 of 638	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	28.3	496 of 630	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	24.2	508 of 599	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	17.9	531 of 594	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	19.6	528 of 597	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	34.3	435 of 589	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	28.5	459 of 580	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	29.4	461 of 577	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	22.2	490 of 566	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	26.7	454 of 559	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.3	317 of 381	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.3	364 of 394	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.8	385 of 393	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	13.7	403 of 421	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.4	379 of 412	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.5	510 of 581	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	472 of 565	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.3	466 of 580	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.6	452 of 573	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.4	481 of 554	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.3	502 of 588	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.3	463 of 570	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.6	531 of 613	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.3	472 of 599	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	482 of 608	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	457 of 600	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.4	463 of 580	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	479 of 600	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.7	503 of 588	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	12.1	531 of 586	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.7	481 of 582	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	429 of 579	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.9	435 of 561	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.8	503 of 590	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.9	522 of 571	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	20.1	392 of 463	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	400 of 455	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	8.4	419 of 439	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.5	423 of 472	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.8	414 of 457	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)17th percentile~ school

White (2023)15th percentile-3 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2025)12th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2025)9th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Science40%-10 vs state

Mathematics38%-15 vs state

English Language Arts32%-30 vs state

5.0

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by a parent
Thursday, August 20, 2015

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Schools Near Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)						SC READY Mathematics (2025)						SC READY Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Chester Park School Elementary of Inquiry	Public	PK, KG-5	835-C Lancaster Highway	Chester	29706	Chester County	Chester 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 581-7282	355	29	12.2		41 (11.5%)	260 (73.2%)	25 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (8.2%)	15.9	559^th of 640 public elementary schools	12.7%		19.6	527^th of 638 public elementary schools	17.4%	32	38.9	54.0	46.0				24.1	42.0	14.0				22.0		$16,377	$2,625	$1,211	$3,836	$10,258	$2,283	$12,541
Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts	Public	PK, KG-5	835-A Lancaster Highway	Chester	29706	Chester County	Chester 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 581-7279	331	29	11.4		95 (28.7%)	163 (49.2%)	41 (12.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	30 (9.1%)	18.9	536^th of 640 public elementary schools	16.3%		21.3	506^th of 638 public elementary schools	20.7%	30	30.9	39.5	28.8				36.4	60.5	23.0				39.5		$15,915	$2,229	$815	$3,043	$10,498	$2,374	$12,872
Chester Park Elementary School of Literacy and Technology	Public	PK, KG-5	835-B Lancaster Highway	Chester	29706	Chester County	Chester 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 581-7275	300	22	13.6		54 (18.0%)	171 (57.0%)	44 (14.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (9.7%)	6.6	624^th of 640 public elementary schools	2.5%		10.5	594^th of 638 public elementary schools	6.9%	30	37.5	30.7	35.4				23.0	15.4	29.2				11.5		$16,772	$3,164	$831	$3,995	$10,322	$2,456	$12,778
Academy for Teaching and Learning	Public, Charter	K-8	109 Hinton Street	Chester	29706	Chester County	Chester 01	Yes	No	No	No	(803) 385-6334	329	28	11.7		263 (79.9%)	54 (16.4%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.4%)	40.5	373^rd of 640 public elementary schools	41.7%		48.1	335^th of 638 public elementary schools	47.5%	38	59.4	56.7	60.6	50.0	65.8	58.1	32.4	48.6	47.4	26.6	26.3	9.7	40.5	43.3	$14,498	$698	$591	$1,289	$10,454	$2,755	$13,209
Lewisville Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4006 Lewisville High School Ro	Richburg	29729	Chester County	Chester 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 789-5164	594	41	14.6		323 (54.4%)	151 (25.4%)	56 (9.4%)	9 (1.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (8.8%)	44	347^th of 640 public elementary schools	45.8%		60.4	244^th of 638 public elementary schools	61.8%	103	54.7	58.6	66.3				52.6	43.3	49.5				34.6		$13,880	$1,538	$726	$2,264	$9,531	$2,084	$11,615
Oakdale Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1129 Oakdale Road	Rock Hill	29730	York County	York 03	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 981-1585	487	36	13.5		106 (21.8%)	296 (60.8%)	37 (7.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	45 (9.2%)	58.7	264^th of 640 public elementary schools	58.8%		55.9	279^th of 638 public elementary schools	56.3%	15	68.2	67.9	57.0				56.9	60.3	38.7				61.5		$15,312	$1,111	$968	$2,079	$11,875	$1,357	$13,232
Mount Holly Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1800 Porter Road	Rock Hill	29730	York County	York 03	No	No	No	No	(803) 985-1650	514	36	14.2		237 (46.1%)	172 (33.5%)	57 (11.1%)	4 (0.8%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (8.0%)	53.7	283^rd of 640 public elementary schools	55.8%		56	276^th of 638 public elementary schools	56.7%	7	70.3	72.3	60.3				51.3	42.1	37.4				55.3		$14,991	$840	$863	$1,703	$11,767	$1,521	$13,288
Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies	Public	PK, KG-5	1036 Ogden Road	Rock Hill	29730	York County	York 03	No	No	No	No	(803) 981-1260	431	32	13.4		64 (14.8%)	307 (71.2%)	33 (7.7%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.6%)	43.2	355^th of 640 public elementary schools	44.5%		51	306^th of 638 public elementary schools	52.0%	49	68.3	63.4	62.0				52.3	26.8	45.6				32.9		$15,207	$1,134	$1,017	$2,152	$11,473	$1,582	$13,056
The Palmetto School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	386 East Black Street	Rock Hill	29730	York County	York 03	Yes	No	No	Yes	(803) 328-6555	63	8	8.4		18 (28.6%)	36 (57.1%)	3 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (9.5%)								(n/a)															$24,274	$2,165	$2,152	$4,317	$15,967	$3,989	$19,957
York Road Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2254 West Main Street	Rock Hill	29732	York County	York 03	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 981-1950	431	34	12.6		131 (30.4%)	206 (47.8%)	58 (13.5%)	4 (0.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	28 (6.5%)	14.8	565^th of 640 public elementary schools	11.7%		24	490^th of 638 public elementary schools	23.2%	75	46.0	40.3	48.5				31.1	28.3	31.5				16.4		$15,904	$642	$1,002	$1,645	$12,384	$1,876	$14,260

Frequently Asked Questions about Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts

How many students attend Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts?

In the 2024-25 school year, 331 students attended Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts.

What is the racial makeup of Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts?

Students at Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts are 49% African American, 29% White, 12% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts attend?

Students who attend Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts usually go on to attend:

Middle : Chester Middle
High : Chester Senior High

What district is Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts in?

Chester 01

Is Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts a good school?

Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts ranks in the bottom 16.3% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Rate Chester Park Elementary School for the Arts!

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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.