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St. James Middle

Q: Is St. James Middle a good school?

St. James Middle ranks 70 th of 341 South Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 7-8

70^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 341 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 79% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

St. James Middle is a mid-sized school in Myrtle Beach, SC, serving 913 students in grades 7 and 8 as part of the Horry 01 school district, which ranks among the top districts in the state.

St. James Middle is a solid academic choice with clear strengths, particularly in English Language Arts (ELA). In 7th grade, 73% of students are proficient in ELA, compared to 66.3% district and 59.5% state averages. The school also shines in advanced math, with 98.86% of students passing the Algebra 1 End-of-Course exam—well above the state average of 73.95%. However, standard math proficiency is more moderate, with 8th grade math at 48.5% proficiency, which trails nearby Ocean Bay Middle (71.2%) and Socastee Middle (64.2%). The school also demonstrates strong support for students from low socio-economic backgrounds and disabled students, ranking in the 89th and 80th percentiles respectively for those subgroups.

One area of concern is chronic absenteeism, which has more than doubled from 9.2% in 2020-2021 to 22.7% in 2024-2025—higher than the district average of 19.4% and significantly above Ocean Bay Middle (14.8%) and Waccamaw Middle (14.6%). The school's state ranking has also slipped from 31st (5 stars) in 2021-2022 to 67th (4 stars) in 2025-2026, while Ocean Bay Middle now ranks 30th and Waccamaw Middle ranks 11th. Despite spending less per student ($12,683) than many nearby schools, St. James achieves strong results, suggesting efficient resource use. The school benefits from a well-aligned feeder pipeline with St. James Intermediate, which prepares students well for middle school.

913

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,774

Per pupil spending ?

44.3%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2023-24) ?

9775 St. James Road
Myrtle Beach, SC 29588

(843) 650-5543

District: Horry 01

Students who attend St. James Middle usually attend:

High:

St. James High

Feeder schools for St. James Middle:

Elementary:	Burgess Elementary
	Seaside Elementary
	St. James Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

71.6%

Hispanic:

13.4%

Two or more races:

7.2%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare St. James Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 90th percentile in 2016 → 79th in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the South Carolina average (61% vs 51% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 21% of South Carolina middle schools

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 11 percentile points since 2016

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

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school61%

District avg56%

South Carolina avg51%

70^th of 341

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Top 21%▼ down 10 pts since 2016

From top 10% (2016) to top 21% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 12Middle Schools in the Horry 01

9^th of 75Horry 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	76.6	70 of 341	79.5%	★★★★☆
2025	73.6	73 of 321	77.3%	★★★★☆
2024	81.0	54 of 322	83.2%	★★★★☆
2023	84.0	47 of 325	85.5%	★★★★☆
2022	88.3	31 of 310	90.0%	★★★★★
2021	84.2	43 of 311	86.2%	★★★★☆
2019	85.0	41 of 315	87.0%	★★★★☆
2018	85.4	35 of 303	88.4%	★★★★☆
2017	85.2	38 of 317	88.0%	★★★★☆
2016	87.2	31 of 303	89.8%	★★★★★
2015	82.6	38 of 301	87.4%	★★★★☆
2014	82.6	39 of 291	86.6%	★★★★☆
2013	83.9	36 of 276	87.0%	★★★★☆
2012	88.0	16 of 271	94.1%	★★★★★
2011	88.1	16 of 269	94.1%	★★★★★
2010	84.3	25 of 261	90.4%	★★★★★
2009	83.0	28 of 249	88.8%	★★★★☆
2008	85.5	20 of 244	91.8%	★★★★★
2007	87.4	16 of 236	93.2%	★★★★★
2006	85.4	23 of 231	90.0%	★★★★★
2005	87.7	17 of 230	92.6%	★★★★★
2004	82.5	32 of 230	86.1%	★★★★☆
2003	81.3	35 of 225	84.4%	★★★★☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	64.9	58 of 258	77.5%	★★★★☆
2023	76.7	38 of 253	85.0%	★★★★☆
2022	90.8	13 of 249	94.8%	★★★★★
2021	83.2	21 of 235	91.1%	★★★★★
2019	59.0	78 of 252	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	63.3	53 of 237	77.6%	★★★★☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	69.0	38 of 192	80.2%	★★★★☆
2025	55.9	63 of 184	65.8%	★★★☆☆
2024	77.2	19 of 177	89.3%	★★★★☆
2023	90.6	5 of 187	97.3%	★★★★★
2022	77.9	19 of 183	89.6%	★★★★★
2021	48.9	62 of 164	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	89.7	10 of 195	94.9%	★★★★★
2018	89.3	7 of 194	96.4%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	52.3	46 of 113	59.3%	★★★☆☆
2025	29.6	77 of 110	30.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.3	45 of 104	56.7%	★★★☆☆
2023	45.0	49 of 95	48.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.7	33 of 97	66.0%	★★★☆☆
2021	86.6	4 of 87	95.4%	★★★★★
2019	72.0	29 of 117	75.2%	★★★★☆
2018	87.9	10 of 93	89.2%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	75.8	58 of 310	81.3%	★★★★☆
2025	76.9	56 of 295	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	80.4	48 of 293	83.6%	★★★★☆
2023	81.5	48 of 299	83.9%	★★★★☆
2022	89.8	24 of 290	91.7%	★★★★★
2021	85.7	32 of 279	88.5%	★★★★☆
2019	83.9	43 of 296	85.5%	★★★★☆
2018	88.2	27 of 281	90.4%	★★★★★

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	69.1	49 of 197	75.1%	★★★★☆
2025	67.0	62 of 173	64.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.2	74 of 184	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2023	72.1	50 of 185	73.0%	★★★★☆
2022	76.7	26 of 182	85.7%	★★★★☆
2021	70.7	45 of 179	74.9%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	46.2	82 of 159	48.4%	★★☆☆☆
2025	60.1	55 of 156	64.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	77.8	24 of 144	83.3%	★★★★☆
2023	71.6	30 of 141	78.7%	★★★★☆
2022	88.6	11 of 129	91.5%	★★★★★
2021	76.3	19 of 111	82.9%	★★★★☆
2019	83.5	16 of 139	88.5%	★★★★☆
2018	83.5	21 of 123	82.9%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	79.6	37 of 325	88.6%	★★★★☆
2025	73.4	54 of 308	82.5%	★★★★☆
2024	88.0	22 of 304	92.8%	★★★★★
2023	92.3	17 of 313	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	94.5	10 of 300	96.7%	★★★★★
2021	92.4	13 of 288	95.5%	★★★★★
2019	94.2	14 of 289	95.2%	★★★★★
2018	94.7	12 of 280	95.7%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	74.1	71 of 310	77.1%	★★★★☆
2025	68.9	83 of 298	72.1%	★★★★☆
2024	79.4	51 of 292	82.5%	★★★★☆
2023	84.9	41 of 303	86.5%	★★★★☆
2022	86.3	36 of 292	87.7%	★★★★☆
2021	82.2	42 of 279	84.9%	★★★★☆
2019	86.2	35 of 296	88.2%	★★★★☆
2018	82.4	40 of 284	85.9%	★★★★☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	54.1	30 of 65	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2025	35.0	41 of 63	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	59.2	15 of 52	71.2%	★★★★☆
2023	59.9	19 of 58	67.2%	★★★☆☆
2022	74.3	7 of 44	84.1%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	63.4	91 of 271	66.4%	★★★☆☆
2025	58.6	96 of 259	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.9	89 of 256	65.2%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.7	66 of 260	74.6%	★★★★☆
2022	74.1	54 of 249	78.3%	★★★★☆
2021	67.2	74 of 244	69.7%	★★★★☆
2019	73.3	67 of 258	74.0%	★★★★☆
2018	73.5	59 of 250	76.4%	★★★★☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)89th percentile+9 vs school

Female (2026)81st percentile~ school

Disabled (2026)80th percentile~ school

African American (2026)78th percentile~ school

Male (2026)77th percentile~ school

Gifted and Talented (2026)75th percentile-4 vs school

White (2026)66th percentile-13 vs school

English Language Learner (2026)59th percentile-20 vs school

Multi-racial (2026)54th percentile-26 vs school

Hispanic (2026)48th percentile-31 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts73%+13 vs state

Mathematics49%+6 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

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What people are saying

by a citizen
Saturday, December 3, 2011

Two of my granddaughters attend St. James Middle School and they are both doing excellent, high grades, in band and I and their parents are very happy with the school district. Close Quote

Schools Near St. James Middle

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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)	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 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 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	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 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
St. James Middle	Public	7-8	9775 St. James Road	Myrtle Beach	29588	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 650-5543	913	58	15.7	44.3%	654 (71.6%)	56 (6.1%)	122 (13.4%)	13 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	66 (7.2%)	76.6	70^th of 341 public middle schools	79.5%		73.6	73^rd of 321 public middle schools	77.3%	3				73.0	72.2				50.0	48.5				$13,774	$405	$355	$759	$11,401	$1,614	$13,015
St. James Intermediate	Public	5-6	9641 Scipio Lane	Myrtle Beach	29588	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 903-6005	883	53	16.6	45.1%	637 (72.1%)	57 (6.5%)	104 (11.8%)	27 (3.1%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	54 (6.1%)								(n/a)		73.0	73.8				59.2	60.3				77.1		$13,328	$731	$437	$1,168	$10,628	$1,533	$12,161
Socastee Middle	Public	6-8	151 Sheffield Road	Myrtle Beach	29588	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 903-6051	527	37	14.2	42.6%	351 (66.6%)	38 (7.2%)	74 (14.0%)	13 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	48 (9.1%)	82.7	47^th of 341 public middle schools	86.2%		87.6	35^th of 321 public middle schools	89.1%	12			67.6	71.8	72.8			54.6	61.1	64.2		61.0		$15,107	$502	$466	$967	$12,378	$1,762	$14,140
Forestbrook Middle	Public	6-8	4430 Gator Lane	Myrtle Beach	29588	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 236-7300	816	53	15.5	52.6%	436 (53.4%)	76 (9.3%)	252 (30.9%)	8 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	40 (4.9%)	67.4	94^th of 341 public middle schools	72.4%		57	119^th of 321 public middle schools	62.9%	25			64.4	65.2	62.4			46.9	46.2	48.8		56.6		$14,138	$698	$449	$1,147	$11,483	$1,507	$12,990
Waccamaw Middle	Public	7-8	247 Wildcat Way	Pawleys Island	29585	Georgetown County	Georgetown 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 237-0106	329	24	13.7	46.7%	245 (74.5%)	53 (16.1%)	27 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	97.2	12^th of 341 public middle schools	96.5%		93.5	18^th of 321 public middle schools	94.4%	6				85.0	84.4				75.1	82.7				$16,335	$971	$749	$1,720	$12,178	$2,438	$14,616
Waccamaw Intermediate	Public	4-6	320 Wildcat Way	Pawleys Island	29585	Georgetown County	Georgetown 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 237-7071	415	29	14.3	44.6%	319 (76.9%)	63 (15.2%)	26 (6.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)								(n/a)	81.1	77.4	74.9			74.9	68.8	60.9			58.5	74.2		$15,620	$888	$815	$1,703	$12,037	$1,880	$13,917
Myrtle Beach Middle	Public	6-8	3101 North Oak Street	Myrtle Beach	29577	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 448-3932	1,146	71	16.2	—	383 (33.4%)	259 (22.6%)	391 (34.1%)	16 (1.4%)	6 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	89 (7.8%)	44.5	182^nd of 341 public middle schools	46.6%		39.9	189^th of 321 public middle schools	41.1%	7			54.0	58.0	48.0			34.5	37.5	37.9		49.2		$13,058	$824	$461	$1,285	$10,157	$1,617	$11,773
Ten Oaks Middle	Public	6-8	150 Revolutionary War Way	Myrtle Beach	29579	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 488-8896	1,264	80	15.8	44.7%	737 (58.3%)	137 (10.8%)	235 (18.6%)	46 (3.6%)	6 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	103 (8.1%)	83.9	45^th of 341 public middle schools	86.8%		85.3	41^st of 321 public middle schools	87.2%	4			71.0	76.9	70.8			55.9	56.2	58.6		67.7		$13,099	$586	$402	$989	$10,585	$1,525	$12,111
Black Water Middle	Public	6-8	900 East Cox Ferry Road	Conway	29526	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	Yes	(843) 903-8440	789	51	15.4	65.1%	338 (42.8%)	154 (19.5%)	225 (28.5%)	10 (1.3%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.2%)	53.6	145^th of 341 public middle schools	57.5%		49.2	148^th of 321 public middle schools	53.9%	3			58.0	61.1	57.4			38.6	41.8	39.4		49.7		$13,963	$1,049	$591	$1,640	$10,412	$1,911	$12,323
Ocean Bay Middle	Public	6-8	905 International Drive	Myrtle Beach	29579	Horry County	Horry 01	No	No	No	No	(843) 903-8420	801	49	16.5	31.5%	558 (69.7%)	70 (8.7%)	108 (13.5%)	18 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (5.9%)	89.2	32^nd of 341 public middle schools	90.6%		92.5	21^st of 321 public middle schools	93.5%	11			70.2	76.7	78.4			57.2	67.8	71.2		68.4		$13,466	$708	$413	$1,121	$10,700	$1,645	$12,345

Frequently Asked Questions about St. James Middle

What is the racial makeup of St. James Middle?

Students at St. James Middle are 72% White, 13% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 6% African American, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of St. James Middle attend?

Students who attend St. James Middle usually go on to attend St. James High

How many students attend St. James Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 913 students attended St. James Middle.

What district is St. James Middle in?

Horry 01

Is St. James Middle a good school?

St. James Middle ranks 70^th of 341 South Carolina middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate St. James Middle!

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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.