Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Lamar High

Public Grades 9-12
228th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 245 South Carolina High Schools
Better than 7% of South Carolina high schools
Summary

Lamar High is a small public high school in Lamar, South Carolina, serving roughly 268 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Darlington 01 school district.

Lamar High is currently facing significant academic challenges. The school's state ranking has fallen dramatically over the past three years, dropping from the 54th percentile to the 7th percentile. This decline is visible across every subject and student group. Most striking is the collapse in English 1 proficiency, which fell from an impressive 88% just a few years ago to just 28% today. Math and science scores have also dropped well below state averages. While the school spends more per student ($24,681) than most nearby high schools—including West Florence High ($11,418) and South Florence High ($12,574)—this investment has not translated into better outcomes. In fact, those neighboring schools in the Florence 01 district achieve more than double Lamar's English 1 proficiency rates while spending roughly half as much per student.

There are some bright spots worth noting. Lamar maintains strong graduation rates (88.7% in 2024-2025), exceeding both district and state averages, and its dropout rate of 1.1% is well below the state average. The school has also made significant progress reducing chronic absenteeism from 49% to 22% over the past few years. Additionally, English 2 proficiency remains relatively strong at 73.6%, and the school has historically performed well in Biology. Within the Darlington 01 district, Mayo High For Math Science & Technology stands out as a top-performing magnet school, while Darlington High and Hartsville High also face challenges. For parents, this picture suggests a school that keeps students in school and graduating, but where academic proficiency needs significant attention and improvement.

268
Students ?
12.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$24,681
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 216 North Darlington Avenue
       Lamar, SC  29069

(843) 326-5543

District: Darlington 01


Feeder schools for Lamar High:

Elementary:    Lamar-Spaulding Elementary
Middle:    Spaulding Middle
Racial breakdown:

African American:
48.9%
White:
38.4%
Two or more races:
8.6%
more
 See top rated South Carolina high schools

 Compare Lamar High to nearby high schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 25th percentile in 2016 → 7th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (47% vs 69% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 18 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school47%
District avg56%
South Carolina avg69%
228th of 245
South Carolina public high schools ?
Bottom 7%▼ down 18 pts since 2016
From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 7% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 4High Schools in the Darlington 01
47th of 75Darlington 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
202612.0228 of 2456.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202510.1221 of 2356.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202422.6181 of 23523.0%★☆☆☆☆
202348.1109 of 23754.0%★★★☆☆
202237.8136 of 22639.8%★★☆☆☆
202143.2120 of 22747.1%★★☆☆☆
201939.0115 of 22548.9%★★★☆☆
201840.8102 of 21652.8%★★★☆☆
201737.4117 of 22347.5%★★☆☆☆
201626.2174 of 23124.7%★☆☆☆☆
201532.8152 of 23234.5%★★☆☆☆
201449.8111 of 21047.1%★★☆☆☆
201331.9152 of 20325.1%★☆☆☆☆
201265.670 of 20265.3%★★★☆☆
201132.3142 of 19928.6%★☆☆☆☆
201054.897 of 19951.3%★★★☆☆
200971.850 of 18873.4%★★★★☆
200836.4135 of 18527.0%★☆☆☆☆
200750.9131 of 19131.4%★★☆☆☆
200637.9160 of 19116.2%★☆☆☆☆
200535.1153 of 18718.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202615.9185 of 1986.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202510.1187 of 1943.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202427.6155 of 19420.1%★☆☆☆☆
202348.093 of 19953.3%★★★☆☆
202254.372 of 19062.1%★★★☆☆
202158.753 of 17870.2%★★★★☆
201950.376 of 18458.7%★★★☆☆
201854.566 of 18363.9%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202613.0205 of 2279.7%★☆☆☆☆
202513.3205 of 2258.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202416.7192 of 22514.7%★☆☆☆☆
202322.4170 of 22323.8%★☆☆☆☆
202224.8172 of 22021.8%★☆☆☆☆
202138.8124 of 21341.8%★★☆☆☆
201931.7133 of 21337.6%★★☆☆☆
201828.5150 of 21028.6%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20267.7230 of 2383.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202512.7213 of 2265.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202427.4175 of 22923.6%★☆☆☆☆
202353.686 of 22661.9%★★★☆☆
202243.8116 of 22047.3%★★☆☆☆
202155.467 of 21368.5%★★★☆☆
201947.483 of 21761.8%★★★☆☆
201853.770 of 21467.3%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202611.7217 of 2316.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.5208 of 2247.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202430.5155 of 22832.0%★★☆☆☆
202365.662 of 22972.9%★★★★☆
202257.278 of 22465.2%★★★☆☆
202144.4111 of 21548.4%★★☆☆☆
201945.298 of 21855.0%★★★☆☆
201853.574 of 21365.3%★★★☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202610.2193 of 2014.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202520.4166 of 19615.3%★☆☆☆☆
202426.4152 of 19622.4%★☆☆☆☆
202374.742 of 19778.7%★★★★☆
202231.5130 of 19232.3%★★☆☆☆
202171.240 of 18978.8%★★★★☆
201943.589 of 19153.4%★★★☆☆
201878.113 of 18593.0%★★★★★
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)
Female (2026)10th percentile+3 vs school
African American (2026)7th percentile~ school
Male (2026)6th percentile~ school
White (2026)4th percentile-3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)3rd percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?
English 274%-10 vs state
U.S. History and the Constitution39%-24 vs state
English 128%-33 vs state

No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Lamar High and help other families decide.
Rate Lamar High
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Lamar High

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Lamar High

Students at Lamar High are 49% African American, 38% White, 9% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

In the 2024-25 school year, 268 students attended Lamar High.

Lamar High ranks in the bottom 6.9% of South Carolina high schools.

Lamar High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Lamar-Spaulding Elementary
Middle : Spaulding Middle

Rate Lamar High!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Lamar High!


Latest South Carolina data All new data »
2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 2025
2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 3, 2025
2024–25 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresSep 2, 2025


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.

Diagnostics