Chesterfield High

Chesterfield High is a public high school in the small town of Chesterfield, SC, serving 485 students in grades 9-12 and operating within the Chesterfield 01 school district.

If you're looking at schools in this area, Chesterfield High stands out as a clear academic leader compared to its immediate neighbors. In the most recent school year, the school earned a 3-star rating and ranked in the 56th percentile statewide—a dramatic gap compared to Central High (17th percentile) and Cheraw High (18th percentile). This advantage shows up clearly in test scores. For example, on the English 1 end-of-course exam, Chesterfield students posted a 67.3% proficiency rate, while Central and Cheraw were at 42.6% and 37.8%, respectively. The school also has a much healthier attendance culture, with a chronic absenteeism rate of just 17.6% compared to 31.4% at Central and 22.4% at Cheraw. With a student-teacher ratio of 13.8 and per-student spending of $14,029, the school is investing solidly in its students.

However, there's a concerning paradox at Chesterfield High. While test scores are strong, the graduation rate has been slipping—from a high of 88-90% a few years ago down to 80.4%, now below the state average of 86.7%. The dropout rate has more than doubled to 4.1%, which is nearly double the state average and much higher than nearby schools. The school's performance with specific student groups has also been volatile from year to year, particularly with gifted students and African American students, where rankings have swung dramatically. For parents, this means Chesterfield High has a solid academic foundation and clearly knows how to prepare students for end-of-course exams, but the school needs to focus on keeping students enrolled through graduation to ensure that academic success translates into long-term outcomes.