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J. L. Cain Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

528^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 18% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

J. L. Cain Elementary is a public elementary school in Darlington, South Carolina, serving 569 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Darlington 01 School District, which is ranked 47 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

J. L. Cain Elementary consistently performs below the state and district averages on standardized tests, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics significantly lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels. The school also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.5% to 35.7% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's performance on standardized tests varies greatly among different student subgroups, with African American students and students with disabilities performing particularly poorly compared to their peers.

Interestingly, the nearby Brockington Elementary and St. John's Elementary, which are also part of the Darlington 01 School District, perform significantly better than J. L. Cain Elementary on standardized tests and have lower chronic absenteeism rates. Additionally, J. L. Cain Elementary's statewide ranking has steadily declined over the past few years, from 550 out of 625 elementary schools in 2021-2022 to 528 out of 640 in 2024-2025, indicating that the school is not making significant progress in improving student outcomes.

533

Students ?

12.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,930

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

607 First Street
Darlington, SC 29532

(843) 398-2450

District: Darlington 01

Students who attend J. L. Cain Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Darlington Middle
High:	Darlington High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

71.9%

White:

16.5%

Two or more races:

8.1%

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Compare J. L. Cain Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 12th percentile in 2021 → 18th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2021

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (38% vs 56% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school38%

District avg48%

South Carolina avg56%

528^th of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 18%▲ up 6 pts since 2021

From bottom 12% (2021) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 8Elementary Schools in the Darlington 01

47^th 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	20.5	528 of 640	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	538 of 638	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.6	538 of 644	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	550 of 625	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.0	548 of 622	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	33.6	271 of 381	28.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.6	241 of 369	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.6	291 of 394	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.9	303 of 393	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.0	257 of 350	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	4.5	145 of 147	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.8	480 of 581	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.8	459 of 565	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.9	504 of 580	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.3	505 of 573	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.2	499 of 554	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	24.4	500 of 613	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.3	464 of 599	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.1	492 of 608	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.7	533 of 600	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.9	501 of 580	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	19.2	486 of 586	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.6	498 of 568	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.8	475 of 582	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.5	504 of 579	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.7	494 of 561	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2022	5.0	446 of 455	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)29th percentile+11 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)18th percentile~ school

Female (2025)17th percentile~ school

Male (2025)17th percentile~ school

White (2022)2nd percentile-10 vs school

Disabled (2025)1st percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts43%-19 vs state

Mathematics37%-15 vs state

Science24%-26 vs state

★

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Schools Near J. L. Cain Elementary

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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Science 4th 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
J. L. Cain Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	607 First Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-2450	533	43	12.3		88 (16.5%)	383 (71.9%)	18 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (8.1%)	20.5	528^th of 640 public elementary schools	17.5%		18.4	538^th of 638 public elementary schools	15.7%	10	46.7	45.0	36.8	58.7	24.7	25.0	23.5	$14,930	$1,660	$1,294	$2,953	$10,562	$1,415	$11,976
St. John's Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	140 Park Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-5130	596	39	15.2		195 (32.7%)	308 (51.7%)	29 (4.9%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	58 (9.7%)	30.5	446^th of 640 public elementary schools	30.3%		35.9	406^th of 638 public elementary schools	36.4%	40	50.6	53.7	38.9	57.2	48.4	25.9	33.3	$17,078	$2,150	$1,429	$3,579	$11,957	$1,542	$13,500
Brockington Elementary	Public, Magnet	3-5	413 Brockington Road	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 398-2500	303	23	13.2		64 (21.1%)	190 (62.7%)	21 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (9.2%)	42.8	358^th of 640 public elementary schools	44.1%		34.3	419^th of 638 public elementary schools	34.3%	61	49.2	49.5	58.8	60.7	47.5	56.5	35.6	$16,987	$2,731	$1,275	$4,006	$11,137	$1,844	$12,981
Pate Elementary	Public	PK, KG-2	1010 Indian Branch Road	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 398-5070	397	29	13.8		94 (23.7%)	233 (58.7%)	26 (6.5%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	39 (9.8%)								(n/a)								$16,034	$2,394	$1,444	$3,839	$10,736	$1,460	$12,196
Lucy T. Davis Elementary	Public	K-5	201 Westfield Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 665-5977	632	44	14.3		226 (35.8%)	312 (49.4%)	32 (5.1%)	31 (4.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (4.9%)	74.7	160^th of 640 public elementary schools	75.0%		72.5	169^th of 638 public elementary schools	73.5%	9	69.6	66.3	72.0	74.7	63.1	56.8	57.9	$14,171	$655	$1,107	$1,762	$10,925	$1,485	$12,409
Carver Elementary	Public	K-5	515 North Cashua Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8156	615	44	14.1		245 (39.8%)	281 (45.7%)	21 (3.4%)	26 (4.2%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (6.3%)	80.8	110^th of 640 public elementary schools	82.8%		78.9	129^th of 638 public elementary schools	79.8%	19	70.4	78.7	67.5	69.9	73.7	59.4	72.9	$13,840	$675	$884	$1,559	$10,641	$1,641	$12,282
North Vista Elementary	Public	K-5	1200 North Irby Street	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8159	446	36	12.3		5 (1.1%)	404 (90.6%)	11 (2.5%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.9%)	46.1	335^th of 640 public elementary schools	47.7%		45.7	348^th of 638 public elementary schools	45.5%	13	65.0	55.9	46.9	67.6	52.0	37.3	41.6	$21,826	$921	$2,246	$3,168	$16,742	$1,916	$18,658
Delmae Heights Elementary	Public	K-5	1211 South Cashua Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8448	988	63	15.6		269 (27.2%)	458 (46.4%)	111 (11.2%)	57 (5.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	93 (9.4%)	66.6	212^th of 640 public elementary schools	66.9%		68	199^th of 638 public elementary schools	68.8%	13	73.6	62.1	68.0	68.4	52.8	57.7	50.4	$12,415	$834	$941	$1,774	$9,161	$1,480	$10,641
Royall Elementary	Public	K-5	1101 Cheraw Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8167	512	40	12.8		216 (42.2%)	199 (38.9%)	38 (7.4%)	13 (2.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (8.6%)	83.2	93^rd of 640 public elementary schools	85.5%		95.3	22^nd of 638 public elementary schools	96.6%	71	66.6	83.4	86.0	70.3	69.2	72.1	56.4	$15,720	$1,184	$813	$1,997	$12,114	$1,610	$13,724
Briggs Elementary	Public	K-5	1012 Congaree Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8169	451	34	13.4		216 (47.9%)	168 (37.3%)	22 (4.9%)	6 (1.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.4%)	71	192^nd of 640 public elementary schools	70.0%		78.6	132^nd of 638 public elementary schools	79.3%	60	75.3	72.1	69.5	54.8	61.6	47.2	66.3	$14,690	$562	$925	$1,487	$11,546	$1,657	$13,203

Frequently Asked Questions about J. L. Cain Elementary

What district is J. L. Cain Elementary in?

Darlington 01

What schools do graduates of J. L. Cain Elementary attend?

Students who attend J. L. Cain Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Darlington Middle
High : Darlington High

What is the racial makeup of J. L. Cain Elementary?

Students at J. L. Cain Elementary are 72% African American, 17% White, 8% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

How many students attend J. L. Cain Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 533 students attended J. L. Cain Elementary.

Is J. L. Cain Elementary a good school?

J. L. Cain Elementary ranks in the bottom 17.5% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Rate J. L. Cain Elementary!

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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.