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J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet

Public, Magnet Grades 7-12

189^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 248 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 24% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet serves 385 students in grades 7-12 in Lake City, SC, a small town in the Florence 03 school district, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

The most impressive thing about this school is its commitment to making sure students actually finish high school. The graduation rate is 93.4%, which is significantly higher than the district average of 84% and the state average of 86.7%. The dropout rate is just 0.4%, compared to 2.1% statewide. This is especially notable when you compare it to Lake City High, located less than a mile away in the same district, which has an 80.1% graduation rate and a 30% chronic absenteeism rate. J. Paul Truluck's chronic absenteeism rate has also improved dramatically, dropping from 27.9% to 17.9% in just two years—now better than both the district and state averages. The school also shines in English 2, with 86.67% proficiency in 2025-2026, beating the state average of 83.79%.

However, there are real challenges. The school's overall state ranking has declined from the 43rd to the 23rd percentile in just two years. Math is the biggest concern—only 26.6% of 7th graders and 34.4% of 8th graders are proficient, well below state averages of 41.8% and 44.2%. That said, there's a bright spot: Algebra 1 scores have jumped from 63.92% to 83.64% proficiency, now exceeding the state average. The school also spends less per student ($15,425) than nearby Kingstree High ($18,605) while achieving far better graduation outcomes. For parents, this school offers a supportive environment that keeps kids on track to graduate, but you may want to pay extra attention to math support at home.

385

Students ?

13.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,425

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

319 Carlisle Street
Lake City, SC 29560

(843) 374-8685

District: Florence 03

Racial breakdown:

White:

48.3%

African American:

41.8%

Hispanic:

6.5%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 35th percentile in 2023 → 24th in 2026

Strengths

✓93% graduate in 4 years — above the South Carolina average (87%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (44% vs 59% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (24th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2023

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school44%

District avg42%

South Carolina avg59%

Middle school

234^th of 341

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 31%▼ down 18 pts since 2019

From bottom 49% (2019) to bottom 31% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

189^th of 248

South Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 24%▼ down 12 pts since 2023

From bottom 35% (2023) to bottom 24% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 2High Schools in the Florence 03

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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	31.6	234 of 341	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	28.4	237 of 321	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	37.1	195 of 322	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	23.7	249 of 325	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.1	228 of 310	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.1	209 of 311	32.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	46.4	160 of 315	49.2%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	57.7	90 of 258	65.1%	★★★☆☆
2025	52.8	104 of 251	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	59.9	72 of 246	70.7%	★★★★☆
2023	43.9	135 of 253	46.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	40.0	138 of 249	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	53.7	85 of 235	63.8%	★★★☆☆
2019	60.5	74 of 252	70.6%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	36.3	200 of 310	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	44.0	162 of 295	45.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.6	188 of 293	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.9	233 of 299	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.9	217 of 290	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.0	196 of 279	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2019	46.1	163 of 296	44.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	44.4	166 of 325	48.9%	★★☆☆☆
2025	36.1	201 of 308	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	48.0	143 of 304	53.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	35.1	205 of 313	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	32.7	196 of 300	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.7	152 of 288	47.2%	★★☆☆☆
2019	55.2	111 of 289	61.6%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	22.9	251 of 310	19.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	19.7	254 of 298	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	36.4	182 of 292	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.0	220 of 303	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.5	221 of 292	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	208 of 279	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	43.6	165 of 296	44.3%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	10.3	257 of 271	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	14.6	231 of 259	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.6	209 of 256	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	6.4	251 of 260	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.2	233 of 249	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	17.4	207 of 244	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	42.0	147 of 258	43.0%	★★☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	26.8	189 of 248	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	32.3	160 of 240	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	39.8	137 of 243	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.9	153 of 237	35.4%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	27.0	155 of 200	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	48.3	95 of 196	51.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	51.8	84 of 197	57.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	55.1	75 of 199	62.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	80.5	21 of 190	88.9%	★★★★☆
2021	50.4	73 of 178	59.0%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	8.9	218 of 229	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	24.1	178 of 229	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	38.4	144 of 231	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.1	163 of 223	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.2	123 of 220	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2021	42.1	119 of 213	44.1%	★★☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	13.9	146 of 156	6.4%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	29.4	177 of 241	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	42.3	130 of 230	43.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.2	119 of 235	49.4%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.2	109 of 226	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	55.3	77 of 220	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	50.7	84 of 213	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2019	39.2	113 of 217	47.9%	★★☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	18.4	205 of 233	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	44.3	119 of 228	47.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	42.4	124 of 234	47.0%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.9	125 of 229	45.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	49.4	98 of 224	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2021	36.5	132 of 215	38.6%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	28.5	156 of 200	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.0	138 of 202	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	17.7	167 of 197	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.8	128 of 192	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	41.3	110 of 189	41.8%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Middle school

African American (2026)65th percentile+34 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)49th percentile+18 vs school

Female (2026)35th percentile+4 vs school

Male (2026)19th percentile-12 vs school

White (2026)5th percentile-26 vs school

High school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)27th percentile+3 vs school

African American (2026)22nd percentile~ school

White (2025)22nd percentile-11 vs school

Male (2026)12th percentile-12 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2023)6th percentile-29 vs school

Female (2026)5th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English 287%+3 vs state

English Language Arts49%-10 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution39%-23 vs state

Biology 1/Applied Biology 234%-27 vs state

Mathematics31%-13 vs state

★

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Schools Near J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet

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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 (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 (2024)	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
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	100.0%	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	$15,425	$1,772	$1,211	$2,983	$9,067	$3,376	$12,443
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	100.0%	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	$18,544	$1,294	$1,438	$2,732	$11,810	$4,001	$15,811
Hannah Pamplico High School	Public	9-12	2055 South Pamplico Highway	Pamplico	29583	Florence County	Florence 02	No	No	No	No	(843) 493-5781	332	27	12.5	69.3%	186 (56.0%)	112 (33.7%)	19 (5.7%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.9%)	52.5	118^th of 248 public high schools	52.4%		53.2	99^th of 240 public high schools	58.8%	19								71.1	54.7	64.3	80.6	$16,665	$600	$589	$1,190	$12,068	$3,407	$15,475
East Clarendon Middle-High	Public	6-12	1171 Pope Street	Turbeville	29162	Clarendon County	Clarendon 06	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(843) 659-2185	722	38	19.0	100.0%	518 (71.7%)	159 (22.0%)	40 (5.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	69.7	65^th of 248 public high schools	73.8%		48.4	114^th of 240 public high schools	52.5%	49	66.7	56.1	53.1	64.0	45.9	39.8	65.3	78.0	71.6	50.6	92.8	$13,130	$1,836	$763	$2,599	$9,153	$1,378	$10,531
Kingstree High	Public	9-12	615 Martin Luther King Avenue	Kingstree	29556	Williamsburg County	Williamsburg 01	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(843) 355-6525	681	51	13.4	100.0%	39 (5.7%)	614 (90.2%)	11 (1.6%)	6 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.3%)	28.6	185^th of 248 public high schools	25.4%		50.5	109^th of 240 public high schools	54.6%	76								62.7	38.5	38.4	80.8	$18,605	$1,729	$2,206	$3,935	$12,143	$2,527	$14,670
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	70.6%	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	$12,574	$491	$890	$1,381	$9,459	$1,734	$11,193
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)
Turbeville High	Public	9-12	1578 Clarence Coker Highway	Turbeville	29162	Clarendon County	Dept Of Correction N04	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-3178	55	9	6.1	93.5%	12 (21.8%)	39 (70.9%)	4 (7.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Johnsonville High	Public	9-12	237 Georgetown Highway	Johnsonville	29555	Florence County	Florence 05	No	No	No	No	(843) 386-2707	325	27	12.2	100.0%	202 (62.2%)	98 (30.2%)	13 (4.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.4%)	40.9	153^rd of 248 public high schools	38.3%		45.7	121^st of 240 public high schools	49.6%	32								75.0	48.7	50.0	77.3	$15,192	$930	$1,310	$2,240	$10,300	$2,652	$12,952

Frequently Asked Questions about J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet

What district is J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet in?

Florence 03

How many students attend J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet?

In the 2024-25 school year, 385 students attended J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet.

What is the racial makeup of J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet?

Students at J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet are 48% White, 42% African American, 6% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

Is J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet a good school?

J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet ranks in the bottom 23.8% of South Carolina high schools.

Rate J. Paul Truluck Creative Arts and Science Magnet!

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »

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

2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 2025

2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 3, 2025

2024–25 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresSep 2, 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.