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Fairfield Central High

Q: Is Fairfield Central High a good school?

Fairfield Central High ranks 114 th of 248 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

114^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 248 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 54% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

Fairfield Central High in Winnsboro, SC, serves 619 students in grades 9-12 and is the sole high school in the Fairfield 01 district, which ranks in the mid-tier of South Carolina districts.

This school has shown remarkable, sustained improvement over the past several years. Its overall state ranking has climbed from the bottom quartile (10th percentile in 2018-2019) to a solidly middle-of-the-pack position (54th percentile in 2025-2026), and its star rating has risen from 1 to 3 stars. The most defining strength is its exceptional performance with African American students—in 2024-2025, the school ranked 17th out of 194 schools statewide (91st percentile, 5 stars) for this demographic, a distinction that nearby high-achieving schools like Chapin High and Dutch Fork High do not match. The school also invests heavily in its students, spending $26,459 per pupil—nearly double what Chapin High ($13,475) and Ridge View High ($13,235) spend—and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 11.6, compared to 16.3 at Chapin and 16.5 at Ridge View.

However, the picture is mixed. While English 2 proficiency (84.34%) is above the state average and competitive with top schools, U.S. History proficiency (48.82%) lags significantly behind the state average (62.57%) and is the lowest among nearby schools. The dropout rate is exceptionally low at 1.1% (state: 2.1%), yet chronic absenteeism (21.9%) is a concern, nearly matching the state average and far exceeding top performers like Spring Hill High (9.6%). This contrast suggests that while students stay enrolled, attendance challenges may be holding back academic outcomes. Despite spending the most and having the smallest classes, overall results remain mid-pack—a sign that the school is overcoming significant socioeconomic barriers (100% free/reduced lunch rate) that require substantial resources just to maintain its current standing.

619

Students ?

11.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$27,310

Per pupil spending ?

71.4%

Directly certified for free meals (2023-24) ?

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

836 US Highway 321 Bypass Sout
Winnsboro, SC 29180

(803) 635-1441

District: Fairfield 01

Feeder schools for Fairfield Central High:

Elementary:	Fairfield Elementary
	Fairfield Magnet for Math and Science
	Geiger Elementary
	Kelly Miller Elementary
	More...
	McCrorey-Liston School of Technology
Middle:	Fairfield Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

86.3%

White:

7.9%

Hispanic:

3.9%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare Fairfield Central High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 13th percentile in 2016 → 54th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 41 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the South Carolina median (54th percentile)

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

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

!U.S. History and the Constitution scores 14 pts below the South Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school69%

District avg69%

South Carolina avg69%

114^th of 248

South Carolina public high schools ?

Top 46%▲ up 41 pts since 2016

From bottom 13% (2016) to top 46% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

34^th of 75Fairfield 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	55.4	114 of 248	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	54.3	92 of 240	61.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	31.9	161 of 243	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.3	158 of 237	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.2	161 of 226	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.9	183 of 227	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.0	202 of 225	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.8	163 of 216	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.8	174 of 223	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.8	201 of 231	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.4	196 of 232	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	14.8	185 of 210	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	22.8	164 of 203	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	15.0	180 of 202	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	25.1	156 of 199	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	28.8	154 of 199	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	33.1	149 of 188	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	39.3	126 of 185	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	40.9	159 of 191	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	27.6	175 of 191	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2005	33.3	157 of 187	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	74.3	39 of 200	80.5%	★★★★☆
2025	81.5	17 of 196	91.3%	★★★★★
2024	63.5	57 of 197	71.1%	★★★★☆
2023	53.8	79 of 199	60.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	55.5	69 of 190	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2021	43.8	96 of 178	46.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	33.0	126 of 184	31.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	40.3	109 of 183	40.4%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	16.4	128 of 143	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	12.8	128 of 137	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.6	110 of 229	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	51.8	104 of 229	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	22.9	184 of 231	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	15.1	193 of 223	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.7	181 of 220	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.2	189 of 213	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.7	196 of 213	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	22.9	159 of 210	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	45.4	110 of 154	28.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.0	151 of 158	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.0	151 of 156	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	61.3	74 of 241	69.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	61.7	61 of 230	73.5%	★★★★☆
2024	36.7	146 of 235	37.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	44.5	112 of 226	50.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	31.7	155 of 220	29.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.6	164 of 213	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.2	193 of 217	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.8	151 of 214	29.4%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.5	110 of 233	52.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	55.4	90 of 228	60.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.5	131 of 234	44.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	46.4	105 of 229	54.1%	★★★☆☆
2022	29.8	154 of 224	31.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	23.5	160 of 215	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	13.1	190 of 218	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.9	172 of 213	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	2.8	189 of 191	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	14.5	165 of 185	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆

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)80th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)69th percentile+15 vs school

Male (2026)53rd percentile~ school

Female (2026)52nd percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2025)29th percentile-33 vs school

Disabled (2019)10th percentile~ school

White (2019)1st percentile-9 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English 284%~ state avg

Biology 1/Applied Biology 269%+8 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution49%-14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Fairfield Central High

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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)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2026)	EOCEP Biology 1/Applied Biology 2 (2026)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2026)	EOCEP English 2 (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	Free/reduced lunch (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 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP Biology 1/Applied Biology 2 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	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
Fairfield Central High	Public	9-12	836 US Highway 321 Bypass Sout	Winnsboro	29180	Fairfield County	Fairfield 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 635-1441	619	53	11.6	—	49 (7.9%)	534 (86.3%)	24 (3.9%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	55.4	114^th of 248 public high schools	54.0%		54.3	92^nd of 240 public high schools	61.7%	22									69.2	48.8	84.3	$27,310	$1,955	$1,111	$3,067	$19,284	$4,959	$24,243
Fairfield Career and Technology Center	Public	9-12	790 US Highway 321 North	Winnsboro	29180	Fairfield County	Fairfield 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 635-5506	0	14	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Blythewood High	Public	9-12	10901 Wilson Boulevard	Blythewood	29016	Richland County	Richland 02	No	No	No	No	(803) 691-4090	2,164	140	15.4	28.7%	666 (30.8%)	1,144 (52.9%)	178 (8.2%)	49 (2.3%)	4 (0.2%)	3 (0.1%)	114 (5.3%)	64.1	86^th of 248 public high schools	65.3%		64.8	65^th of 240 public high schools	72.9%	21								54.8	62.4	73.0	85.0	$13,302	$297	$595	$892	$10,020	$2,390	$12,410
Westwood High	Public, Magnet	9-12	180 Turkey Farm Road	Blythewood	29016	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 691-4049	1,743	106	16.4	55.1%	124 (7.1%)	1,378 (79.1%)	141 (8.1%)	16 (0.9%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	76 (4.4%)	35.7	161^st of 248 public high schools	35.1%		34.9	153^rd of 240 public high schools	36.3%	8								55.4	46.4	59.7	77.0	$14,325	$300	$572	$872	$10,297	$3,156	$13,453
Dutch Fork High	Public, Magnet	9-12	1400 Old Tamah Road	Irmo	29063	Richland County	Lexington 05	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 476-3300	1,703	122	13.9	50.9%	748 (43.9%)	639 (37.5%)	103 (6.0%)	84 (4.9%)	7 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	118 (6.9%)	69.3	67^th of 248 public high schools	73.0%		67.5	56^th of 240 public high schools	76.7%	11									63.9	64.2	92.9	$15,721	$484	$427	$911	$12,070	$1,829	$14,810
Center for Advanced Technical Studies	Public	9-12	916 Mount Vernon Church Road	Chapin	29036	Lexington County	Lexington 05	No	No	No	No	(803) 476-8600	0	20	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Spring Hill High	Public, Magnet	9-12	11629 Broad River Road	Chapin	29036	Lexington County	Lexington 05	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 476-8700	1,118	92	12.1	31.7%	771 (69.0%)	177 (15.8%)	70 (6.3%)	35 (3.1%)	2 (0.2%)	4 (0.4%)	59 (5.3%)	90.8	18^th of 248 public high schools	92.7%		83.2	20^th of 240 public high schools	91.7%	2									82.9	81.1	96.0	$15,047	$476	$465	$941	$11,539	$1,626	$14,106
Ridge View High	Public, Magnet	9-12	4801 Hard Scrabble Road	Columbia	29229	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 699-2999	1,631	99	16.5	49.0%	92 (5.6%)	1,298 (79.6%)	119 (7.3%)	18 (1.1%)	4 (0.2%)	3 (0.2%)	94 (5.8%)	48.1	132^nd of 248 public high schools	46.8%		41.4	135^th of 240 public high schools	43.8%	3								54.7	55.0	59.7	82.3	$14,653	$344	$763	$1,106	$10,575	$2,972	$13,546
Great Falls High	Public	6-12	409 Sunset Avenue	Great Falls	29055	Chester County	Chester 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 482-2210	375	35	10.7	85.4%	152 (40.5%)	151 (40.3%)	30 (8.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	36 (9.6%)	30.4	179^th of 248 public high schools	27.8%		35.8	151^st of 240 public high schools	37.1%	28	46.0	61.1	43.9	22.0	51.9	44.9	46.0		32.8	59.0	77.8	$20,810	$1,084	$633	$1,717	$14,453	$4,639	$19,092
W.J. Keenan High	Public, Magnet	9-12	361 Pisgah Church Road	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 714-2500	675	53	12.7	—	10 (1.5%)	610 (90.4%)	34 (5.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.0%)	27.7	187^th of 248 public high schools	24.6%		27.1	178^th of 240 public high schools	25.8%	9									33.3	53.4	79.9	$21,735	$1,101	$901	$2,002	$16,354	$3,379	$19,733

Frequently Asked Questions about Fairfield Central High

What district is Fairfield Central High in?

Fairfield 01

What schools feed into Fairfield Central High?

Fairfield Central High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Fairfield Elementary
Elementary : Fairfield Magnet for Math and Science
Elementary : Geiger Elementary
Elementary : Kelly Miller Elementary
Elementary : McCrorey-Liston School of Technology
Middle : Fairfield Middle

How many students attend Fairfield Central High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 619 students attended Fairfield Central High.

Is Fairfield Central High a good school?

Fairfield Central High ranks 114^th of 248 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Fairfield Central High?

Students at Fairfield Central High are 86% African American, 8% White, 4% Hispanic.

Rate Fairfield Central High!

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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.