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South Florence High

Q: Is South Florence High a good school?

South Florence High ranks 106 th of 248 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

106^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 248 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 57% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

South Florence High in Florence, SC, serves approximately 1,580 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Florence 01 school district. The school has shown remarkable improvement over the past decade, climbing from a 1-star rating to a consistent 3-star rating and now ranking 105th out of 245 high schools statewide.

What makes South Florence stand out is its exceptional performance in key areas despite serving a student body where roughly 70-77% qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school's Algebra 1 proficiency rate of 90.62% in 2024-2025 dramatically outpaced the state average of 73.95%, and this strength has been consistent across multiple years. Graduation rates have remained above 92% for five consecutive years, with the 2024-2025 rate of 93.1% surpassing the state average by 6.4 percentage points. The dropout rate of 0.6% is 71% below the state average. The school also demonstrates notable effectiveness with its African American students, who perform at the 67-72nd percentile statewide—significantly better than the school's overall ranking would suggest. When compared to nearby schools, South Florence outperforms Darlington High (ranked 226th) and Lamar High (ranked 228th) in nearly every metric, and it edges out Wilson High (ranked 115th) in overall ranking, Algebra 1, and English 1 proficiency.

However, the school faces some notable challenges. Chronic absenteeism at 32.2% is significantly higher than the state average of 22.3%, and this has been a persistent issue for three years. The school also struggles with English 1 proficiency, where only 56.25% of students met standards in 2025-2026, below the state average. Perhaps most concerning is the underperformance of Gifted and Talented students, who ranked in the 23rd percentile statewide in 2024-2025—a paradox given the school's strong overall results. Within the Florence 01 district, South Florence sits between West Florence High (ranked 88th) and Wilson High, and it achieves these outcomes while spending less per student ($12,574) than many peers, including Hannah Pamplico High School ($16,665) and Lamar High ($24,681). This efficiency, combined with strong graduation and math outcomes, makes South Florence a compelling option for families seeking a school that delivers results despite socioeconomic challenges.

1,580

Students ?

15.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,805

Per pupil spending ?

70.6%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2023-24) ?

≥ 96%

Students (all grades) with required immunizations (2025-26)

3200 South Irby Street
Florence, SC 29505

(843) 664-8190

District: Florence 01

Feeder schools for South Florence High:

Elementary:	Dewey-Carter Elementary
	Greenwood Elementary
	McLaurin Elementary
	Savannah Grove Elementary
Middle:	Southside Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.7%

White:

36.0%

Two or more races:

7.3%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare South Florence High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 38th percentile in 2016 → 57th in 2026

Strengths

✓95% graduate in 4 years — above the South Carolina average (87%)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 19 percentile points since 2016

✓Above the South Carolina median (57th percentile)

Worth a look

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school70%

District avg70%

South Carolina avg69%

106^th of 248

South Carolina public high schools ?

Top 43%▲ up 19 pts since 2016

From bottom 38% (2016) to top 43% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 3High Schools in the Florence 01

29^th of 75Florence 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	57.1	106 of 248	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	52.4	102 of 240	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.2	127 of 243	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	34.6	147 of 237	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.8	129 of 226	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.1	115 of 227	49.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	31.5	136 of 225	39.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	19.6	164 of 216	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	21.8	167 of 223	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	35.5	143 of 231	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	36.1	142 of 232	38.8%	★★☆☆☆
2014	46.3	118 of 210	43.8%	★★☆☆☆
2013	46.4	115 of 203	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2012	39.7	135 of 202	33.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	42.4	123 of 199	38.2%	★★☆☆☆
2010	45.7	130 of 199	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2009	37.6	141 of 188	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	43.1	119 of 185	35.7%	★★☆☆☆
2007	54.8	114 of 191	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2006	49.3	137 of 191	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	61.8	89 of 187	52.4%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	62.4	66 of 200	67.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	61.9	56 of 196	71.4%	★★★★☆
2024	51.9	83 of 197	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.0	110 of 199	44.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	44.7	97 of 190	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	56.3	57 of 178	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	36.1	116 of 184	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	20.1	158 of 183	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	36.7	87 of 136	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	48.6	69 of 140	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	37.3	94 of 147	36.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.1	108 of 141	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	51.9	62 of 139	55.4%	★★★☆☆
2021	63.4	29 of 115	74.8%	★★★★☆
2019	34.8	94 of 143	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	28.3	105 of 137	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	51.8	113 of 229	50.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	64.1	71 of 229	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.8	132 of 231	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	33.2	145 of 223	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.7	131 of 220	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.2	107 of 213	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	33.4	124 of 213	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	20.6	166 of 210	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.1	87 of 155	43.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	43.0	119 of 154	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.2	135 of 158	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	44.7	114 of 156	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	55.8	53 of 124	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	70.5	29 of 122	76.2%	★★★★☆
2024	49.0	64 of 122	47.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.7	73 of 119	38.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	47.3	58 of 108	46.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	59.2	39 of 93	58.1%	★★★☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.5	110 of 241	54.4%	★★★☆☆
2025	51.5	97 of 230	57.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	43.4	122 of 235	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.6	136 of 226	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2022	38.3	129 of 220	41.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	45.6	109 of 213	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	29.1	147 of 217	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2018	18.6	172 of 214	19.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	57.1	98 of 233	57.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	38.5	134 of 228	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	43.6	117 of 234	50.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	34.4	139 of 229	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.9	123 of 224	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.2	113 of 215	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	31.5	132 of 218	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	19.8	164 of 213	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	58.2	30 of 61	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	39.0	45 of 59	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.9	34 of 53	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.3	42 of 57	26.3%	★★☆☆☆
2022	31.5	36 of 48	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.9	26 of 31	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.9	102 of 203	49.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	56.8	75 of 200	62.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.0	84 of 202	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	38.6	117 of 197	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	43.9	101 of 192	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	48.2	87 of 189	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2019	36.1	110 of 191	42.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	24.9	137 of 185	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆

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)67th percentile+10 vs school

Male (2026)58th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2026)57th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)54th percentile-3 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)51st percentile-6 vs school

Female (2026)51st percentile-7 vs school

White (2026)50th percentile-8 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2026)44th percentile-13 vs school

Disabled (2026)36th percentile-21 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English 283%~ state avg

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 279%+15 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution63%~ state avg

Biology 1/Applied Biology 256%-5 vs state

1.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a student
Thursday, October 25, 2012

Terrible. The teachers are the worst I've ever seen. There's no way to fire these awful people. Move if you need to be in a different district. It's that bad. Close Quote

Schools Near South Florence 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 Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)		SC READY Mathematics (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)	Vaccination (2025-26)		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 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th 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	Vaccination: Students (all grades) with required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	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
South Florence High	Public	9-12	3200 South Irby Street	Florence	29505	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 664-8190	1,580	104	15.2	58.1%	569 (36.0%)	786 (49.7%)	98 (6.2%)	10 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	116 (7.3%)	57.1	106^th of 248 public high schools	57.3%		52.4	102^nd of 240 public high schools	57.5%	4					79.2	56.3	62.8	82.6	≥ 96%		$14,805	$446	$678	$1,125	$11,773	$1,907	$13,680
Advantage Academy	Public	9-12	126 East Howe Springs Road	Florence	29505	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 664-8464	0	25	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
West Florence High	Public	9-12	221 North Beltline Drive	Florence	29501	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 664-8472	1,827	106	17.3	50.5%	677 (37.1%)	802 (43.9%)	158 (8.6%)	45 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	144 (7.9%)	63.3	89^th of 248 public high schools	64.1%		53.1	100^th of 240 public high schools	58.3%	11					78.2	63.7	67.0	83.6	≥ 96%		$14,476	$508	$700	$1,208	$10,936	$2,332	$13,268
Wilson High	Public	9-12	1411 Old Marion Highway	Florence	29506	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8440	1,373	92	14.9	70.6%	184 (13.4%)	956 (69.6%)	66 (4.8%)	53 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	113 (8.2%)	53.1	116^th of 248 public high schools	53.2%		47	117^th of 240 public high schools	51.3%	1					77.1	47.8	67.8	81.5	≥ 96%		$14,332	$643	$797	$1,439	$10,801	$2,091	$12,892
Mayo High For Math Science & Technology	Public, Magnet	9-12	405 Chestnut Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 398-2650	309	23	13.4	36.7%	167 (54.0%)	89 (28.8%)	19 (6.1%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (9.7%)	97.7	3^rd of 248 public high schools	98.8%		95.1	4^th of 240 public high schools	98.3%	1						96.6	97.5	100.0	≥ 96%		$19,374	$519	$944	$1,463	$15,548	$2,363	$17,911
Darlington High	Public, Magnet	9-12	525 Spring Street	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	Yes	No	No	(843) 398-5140	965	71	13.5	76.5%	189 (19.6%)	613 (63.5%)	46 (4.8%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	112 (11.6%)	13.9	228^th of 248 public high schools	8.1%		14.5	214^th of 240 public high schools	10.8%	14						33.2	36.4	74.9	≥ 96%		$17,704	$521	$716	$1,237	$14,303	$2,164	$16,467
Darlington County Institute of Technology	Public	9-12	160 Pinedale Drive	Darlington	29532	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 398-4796	0	19	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Lamar High	Public	9-12	216 North Darlington Avenue	Lamar	29069	Darlington County	Darlington 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 326-5543	268	21	12.7	66.8%	103 (38.4%)	131 (48.9%)	11 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (8.6%)	12.1	230^th of 248 public high schools	7.3%		10.1	224^th of 240 public high schools	6.7%	6						27.6	39.0	73.6	≥ 96%		$21,421	$595	$872	$1,467	$16,850	$3,103	$19,953
Lake City High	Public	9-12	652 North Matthews Road	Lake City	29560	Florence County	Florence 03	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 374-3321	492	35	13.9	78.1%	63 (12.8%)	393 (79.9%)	27 (5.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	21.8	208^th of 248 public high schools	16.1%		22.9	187^th of 240 public high schools	22.1%	21					60.5	32.0	30.7	74.8	≥ 96%		$20,191	$1,099	$1,494	$2,593	$13,517	$4,082	$17,598
J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet	Public, Magnet	7-12	319 Carlisle Street	Lake City	29560	Florence County	Florence 03	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 374-8685	385	28	13.6	63.8%	186 (48.3%)	161 (41.8%)	25 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.4%)	26.8	189^th of 248 public high schools	23.8%		32.3	160^th of 240 public high schools	33.3%	29	42.2	56.3	26.6	34.4		34.2	39.1	86.7	≥ 96%		$15,688	$898	$1,281	$2,179	$10,718	$2,792	$13,509

Frequently Asked Questions about South Florence High

What is the racial makeup of South Florence High?

Students at South Florence High are 50% African American, 36% White, 7% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic.

How many students attend South Florence High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,580 students attended South Florence High.

What district is South Florence High in?

Florence 01

Is South Florence High a good school?

South Florence High ranks 106^th of 248 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

What schools feed into South Florence High?

South Florence High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Dewey-Carter Elementary
Elementary : Greenwood Elementary
Elementary : McLaurin Elementary
Elementary : Savannah Grove Elementary
Middle : Southside Middle

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2024–25 through 2025–26 immunization ratesNewOct 20, 2026

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

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.