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Johnston Elementary

Q: Is Johnston Elementary a good school?

Johnston Elementary ranks 462 nd of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

462^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 661 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 30% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Johnston Elementary is a small, rural school in Johnston, SC, serving 276 students in grades PK through 5 as part of the Edgefield 01 school district. The most striking thing about this school is its remarkable academic turnaround. After ranking in the 5th percentile statewide in 2022-2023, the school has climbed to the 30th percentile in 2025-2026—a 25-percentile-point jump in just three years. This improvement is backed by real gains in test scores: 3rd-grade English Language Arts proficiency jumped from 21.9% to 58.7%, and 3rd-grade math rose from 21.9% to 54.4% over the same period. This isn't a one-year fluke; it's a school-wide shift in performance.

What makes this progress even more notable is the context. Johnston Elementary serves a student body where nearly 99% of students come from low socio-economic backgrounds, yet the school has still managed to post significant gains. The school also stands out compared to its direct district peer, Douglas Elementary, which has actually fallen to the 16th percentile in the same year. Johnston now outperforms Douglas in nearly every subject and grade level tested, despite both schools serving similar demographics. This suggests the positive changes at Johnston are the result of school-specific initiatives, not just district-wide trends.

Johnston Elementary also invests heavily in its students. It spends $19,037 per student—significantly more than W. E. Parker Elementary ($16,370) or Byrd Elementary ($11,143)—and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 11.1, allowing for more individualized attention. However, there are challenges to watch. Math scores in the upper grades remain a concern (5th-grade math proficiency is only 34.2%), and chronic absenteeism has risen from 7.8% in 2020-2021 to 26.6% in 2024-2025, now higher than both district and state averages. If you're considering this school, the recent academic momentum is encouraging, but it's worth asking how the school plans to sustain these gains and address attendance.

276

Students ?

11.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,228

Per pupil spending ?

80.0%

Directly certified for free meals (2023-24) ?

All students receive free meals (Community Eligibility, 2023-24)

514 Lee Street
Johnston, SC 29832

(803) 275-1755

District: Edgefield 01

Students who attend Johnston Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle
High:	Strom Thurmond High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

57.2%

White:

20.7%

Hispanic:

14.1%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Johnston Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 26th percentile in 2016 → 30th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (46% vs 58% meeting standards)

!Science scores 15 pts below the South Carolina average

!Near the bottom of Edgefield 01's ranking

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school46%

District avg55%

South Carolina avg58%

462^nd of 661

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 30%▲ up 4 pts since 2016

From bottom 26% (2016) to bottom 30% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 4Elementary Schools in the Edgefield 01

39^th of 75Edgefield 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
2026	30.0	462 of 661	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	17.9	539 of 639	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.5	596 of 643	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.5	609 of 644	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.1	551 of 625	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.3	524 of 622	15.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.1	459 of 643	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.1	471 of 624	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.3	508 of 639	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	29.8	458 of 619	26.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.1	574 of 638	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	20.2	565 of 630	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	13.1	558 of 599	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	5.6	578 of 594	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	11.0	565 of 597	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	21.1	525 of 589	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	31.7	439 of 580	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	34.2	430 of 577	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	52.2	297 of 566	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	52.6	297 of 559	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2005	37.1	390 of 557	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2004	19.3	489 of 550	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	16.8	485 of 542	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	46.1	197 of 384	48.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	25.2	317 of 380	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.1	323 of 369	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.4	388 of 394	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.7	375 of 393	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.3	326 of 350	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.3	363 of 421	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.5	332 of 412	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	39.6	367 of 599	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2025	14.6	523 of 580	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.9	488 of 588	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.8	455 of 570	20.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	38.6	404 of 634	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	19.7	529 of 612	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.1	595 of 602	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.2	588 of 608	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	17.6	521 of 600	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.3	510 of 580	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.8	472 of 600	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.6	433 of 588	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	23.3	458 of 591	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.3	517 of 585	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.4	505 of 579	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	47.4	317 of 590	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	30.1	409 of 571	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	29.2	355 of 472	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)49th percentile+19 vs school

Female (2026)39th percentile+9 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)36th percentile+6 vs school

White (2019)25th percentile-4 vs school

Male (2026)23rd percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts53%-12 vs state

Mathematics43%-11 vs state

Science36%-15 vs state

★

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Schools Near Johnston Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)						SC READY Mathematics (2026)						SC READY Science (2026)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2026)
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	Directly certified (2023-24)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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
Johnston Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	514 Lee Street	Johnston	29832	Edgefield County	Edgefield 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 275-1755	276	25	11.1	80.0%	57 (20.7%)	158 (57.2%)	39 (14.1%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	20 (7.2%)	30	462^nd of 661 public elementary schools	30.1%		17.9	539^th of 639 public elementary schools	15.6%	77	58.7	47.7	51.3				54.4	38.7	34.2				36.3		$18,228	$1,757	$996	$2,753	$13,938	$1,538	$15,476
Douglas Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	215 South East Diggs Road	Trenton	29847	Edgefield County	Edgefield 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 275-1752	215	21	10.0	77.8%	47 (21.9%)	93 (43.3%)	50 (23.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (11.6%)	17.9	556^th of 661 public elementary schools	15.9%		25.7	483^rd of 639 public elementary schools	24.4%	73	46.7	39.4	50.0				43.4	30.3	32.1				33.3		$19,172	$2,043	$820	$2,863	$14,207	$2,102	$16,309
W. E. Parker Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	41 Crest Road	Edgefield	29824	Edgefield County	Edgefield 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 637-4020	339	30	11.3	68.4%	129 (38.1%)	167 (49.3%)	25 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.3%)	60.4	251^st of 661 public elementary schools	62.0%		46.3	332^nd of 639 public elementary schools	48.0%	81	62.8	64.1	74.6				56.8	69.8	43.6				52.9		$17,095	$1,464	$869	$2,334	$13,132	$1,630	$14,762
Ridge Spring-Monetta Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	422 Hazzard Circle	Ridge Spring	29129	Saluda County	Aiken 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 685-2000	410	29	14.3	79.4%	159 (38.8%)	125 (30.5%)	90 (22.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (8.3%)	19.7	538^th of 661 public elementary schools	18.6%		25.1	491^st of 639 public elementary schools	23.2%	47	42.6	46.5	49.2				35.8	29.3	33.3				44.8		$14,287	$807	$684	$1,491	$11,558	$1,237	$12,796
Saluda Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	205 Matthews Drive	Saluda	29138	Saluda County	Saluda 01	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 445-2564	397	28	14.4	99.2%	70 (17.6%)	93 (23.4%)	224 (56.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.5%)	9.5	635^th of 661 public elementary schools	3.9%		9.1	609^th of 639 public elementary schools	4.7%	26	37.8	42.1	37.0				33.9	21.4	29.2				25.4		$10,415	$454	$388	$842	$8,106	$1,467	$9,573
Bettis Preparatory Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	69 Nicholson Road	Trenton	29847	Edgefield County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	No	No	(803) 663-7266	118	10	11.8	—	14 (11.9%)	96 (81.4%)	3 (2.5%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.5%)								(n/a)	28.5						33.3								$14,846	$1,118	$763	$1,881	$8,406	$4,559	$12,965
J. D. Lever Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2404 Columbia Highway	Aiken	29801	Aiken County	Aiken 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 641-2760	452	36	12.5	75.4%	193 (42.7%)	155 (34.3%)	61 (13.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (9.3%)	23.9	509^th of 661 public elementary schools	23.0%		25.3	487^th of 639 public elementary schools	23.8%	22	52.9	51.2	43.4				54.4	37.9	26.7				30.5		$13,480	$813	$630	$1,443	$10,973	$1,064	$12,037
Batesburg-Leesville Primary School	Public	PK, KG-2	800 Summerland Avenue	Batesburg-Leesville	29006	Lexington County	Lexington 03	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 532-4452	525	44	12.0	65.2%	258 (49.1%)	132 (25.1%)	89 (17.0%)	4 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (7.6%)								(n/a)															$17,035	$1,550	$825	$2,375	$13,166	$1,494	$14,660
Batesburg-Leesville Elementary School	Public	3-5	403 South Lee Street	Batesburg-Leesville	29070	Lexington County	Lexington 03	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 532-1155	429	36	11.9	48.7%	212 (49.4%)	122 (28.4%)	71 (16.6%)	4 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.7%)	31.7	446^th of 661 public elementary schools	32.5%		26.6	473^rd of 639 public elementary schools	26.0%	27	57.7	51.5	50.7				51.4	43.6	42.4				30.5		$16,476	$1,846	$890	$2,735	$12,030	$1,711	$13,741
Byrd Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1225 Weldon Way	Graniteville	29829	Aiken County	Aiken 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 663-4320	708	46	15.3	52.0%	251 (35.5%)	240 (33.9%)	152 (21.5%)	3 (0.4%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	59 (8.3%)	43.9	364^th of 661 public elementary schools	44.9%		50.3	307^th of 639 public elementary schools	52.0%	57	70.3	62.2	64.1				64.5	31.9	36.0				31.9		$11,463	$638	$649	$1,287	$9,202	$975	$10,176

Frequently Asked Questions about Johnston Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Johnston Elementary?

Students at Johnston Elementary are 57% African American, 21% White, 14% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races.

Is Johnston Elementary a good school?

Johnston Elementary ranks 462^nd of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What district is Johnston Elementary in?

Edgefield 01

What schools do graduates of Johnston Elementary attend?

Students who attend Johnston Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Johnston-Edgefield-Trenton Middle
High : Strom Thurmond High

How many students attend Johnston Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 276 students attended Johnston Elementary.

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 school spending dataNewOct 12, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 12, 2026

2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 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.