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Ronald E. McNair Junior High

Public Grades 7-8

299^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 341 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 12% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Ronald E. McNair Junior High is a small middle school in Lake City, SC, serving 275 students in grades 7 and 8 within the Florence 03 school district.

This school faces significant academic challenges, particularly in mathematics. In the most recent school year, only about 14% of 7th graders and 19% of 8th graders were proficient in math—far below the state average of roughly 42-44%. To put this in perspective, Johnsonville Middle, a nearby school, had a 7th-grade math proficiency rate more than double that of McNair. The school also struggles with chronic absenteeism, with 37.5% of students missing significant school days, which is much higher than the state average of 22.3%. While the school spends a substantial $17,708 per student—more than nearby Southside Middle spends—the academic results have not matched that level of investment.

There are some encouraging signs, however. English Language Arts (ELA) performance is notably stronger than math, with nearly 48% of 7th graders proficient in reading, close to the district average. Additionally, the most recent data shows improvement across all subjects compared to the previous year, suggesting recent efforts may be gaining traction. There's also a positive trend for African American students, whose state ranking jumped dramatically from the 4th percentile to the 37th percentile in just two years. While the school remains in the bottom 12% of South Carolina middle schools overall, these improvements—combined with the school's relatively strong ELA scores—offer a glimmer of hope. Parents should know that while math achievement is a critical concern, the school appears to be making some progress, and the strong ELA results show that students can succeed when instruction is effective.

275

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,062

Per pupil spending ?

90.5%

Directly certified for free meals (2023-24) ?

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

≥ 96%

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

311 Carver Street
Lake City, SC 29560

(843) 374-8651

District: Florence 03

Students who attend Ronald E. McNair Junior High usually attend:

High:

Lake City High

Feeder schools for Ronald E. McNair Junior High:

Elementary:	J. C. Lynch Elementary
	Lake City Early Childhood Center
	Main Street Elementary
	Olanta Elementary
	More...
	Scranton Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

82.2%

White:

7.6%

Hispanic:

6.9%

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At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 14th percentile in 2017 → 12th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (31% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (39% vs 21% South Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school31%

District avg34%

South Carolina avg51%

299^th of 341

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 12%▼ down 1 pts since 2017

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

62^nd of 75Florence 03 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	16.7	299 of 341	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	11.2	301 of 321	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.9	316 of 322	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	10.8	306 of 325	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	10.7	293 of 310	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.2	299 of 311	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.7	310 of 315	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	9.9	285 of 303	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	16.3	274 of 317	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	39.5	160 of 258	38.0%	★★☆☆☆
2025	24.7	211 of 251	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	15.4	236 of 246	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.9	209 of 253	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	222 of 249	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	213 of 235	9.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.7	239 of 252	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	19.4	218 of 237	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.1	175 of 184	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	47.6	75 of 177	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2023	59.3	56 of 187	70.1%	★★★★☆
2022	30.9	131 of 183	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.8	152 of 164	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	16.2	189 of 195	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	183 of 194	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	26.6	229 of 310	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.1	262 of 295	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.5	287 of 293	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	8.8	289 of 299	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.9	269 of 290	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.5	271 of 279	2.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.0	287 of 296	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	11.6	258 of 281	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	25.2	263 of 325	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	16.3	282 of 308	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	298 of 304	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.9	293 of 313	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	281 of 300	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	10.4	275 of 288	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	7.0	287 of 289	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	12.2	260 of 280	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	11.6	287 of 310	7.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	9.3	285 of 298	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.1	283 of 292	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.6	267 of 303	11.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.6	286 of 292	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	9.1	270 of 279	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	5.6	293 of 296	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	8.0	277 of 284	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2021	4.2	242 of 244	0.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.7	258 of 258	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	6.5	244 of 250	2.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)38th percentile+26 vs school

Female (2026)26th percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)19th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2026)7th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2025)5th percentile~ school

White (2021)1st percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts46%-13 vs state

Mathematics16%-27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Ronald E. McNair Junior 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)			SC READY Science (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 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	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
Ronald E. McNair Junior High	Public	7-8	311 Carver Street	Lake City	29560	Florence County	Florence 03	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 374-8651	275	18	15.7	90.5%	21 (7.6%)	226 (82.2%)	19 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.9%)	16.7	299^th of 341 public middle schools	12.3%		11.2	301^st of 321 public middle schools	6.2%	2		47.9	43.2		14.4	18.6		≥ 96%		$18,062	$1,185	$1,911	$3,096	$12,058	$2,908	$14,966
Kingstree Middle Magnet	Public, Magnet	6-8	710 Third Avenue	Kingstree	29556	Williamsburg County	Williamsburg 01	No	Yes	No	Yes	(843) 355-1506	341	30	11.3	89.9%	23 (6.7%)	303 (88.9%)	4 (1.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.9%)	22.2	268^th of 341 public middle schools	21.4%		31.5	227^th of 321 public middle schools	29.3%	41	35.5	52.9	52.5	15.0	26.0	23.3	28.6	≥ 96%		$19,378	$1,827	$2,877	$4,703	$11,866	$2,808	$14,674
Southside Middle	Public	6-8	209 W. Jones Paul Road	Florence	29505	Florence County	Florence 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 664-8467	1,138	80	14.2	63.7%	365 (32.1%)	584 (51.3%)	72 (6.3%)	12 (1.1%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	101 (8.9%)	43.1	185^th of 341 public middle schools	45.7%		43.9	169^th of 321 public middle schools	47.4%	16	53.6	49.5	54.6	32.9	31.2	42.7	50.5	≥ 96%		$12,209	$484	$888	$1,372	$8,946	$1,890	$10,837
Johnsonville Middle	Public	6-8	415 Maple Street	Johnsonville	29555	Florence County	Florence 05	No	No	No	No	(843) 386-2066	281	21	13.3	72.4%	188 (66.9%)	66 (23.5%)	8 (2.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (6.4%)	51.6	151^st of 341 public middle schools	55.7%		52.2	133^rd of 321 public middle schools	58.6%	18	54.9	53.3	60.2	42.7	30.3	48.7	52.4	≥ 96%		$15,051	$984	$726	$1,710	$11,746	$1,595	$13,341

Frequently Asked Questions about Ronald E. McNair Junior High

What district is Ronald E. McNair Junior High in?

Florence 03

How many students attend Ronald E. McNair Junior High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 275 students attended Ronald E. McNair Junior High.

Is Ronald E. McNair Junior High a good school?

Ronald E. McNair Junior High ranks in the bottom 12.3% of South Carolina middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Ronald E. McNair Junior High?

Students at Ronald E. McNair Junior High are 82% African American, 8% White, 7% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of Ronald E. McNair Junior High attend?

Students who attend Ronald E. McNair Junior High usually go on to attend Lake City High

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

2025–26 graduation rates (updated)NewNov 2, 2026

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

2025–26 school spending dataOct 12, 2026

2025–26 attendance data & dropout ratesOct 12, 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.