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Laurens Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

524^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 649 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Laurens Elementary is a PK-5 public school in Laurens, SC, serving 465 students in the Laurens 55 school district, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Laurens Elementary has experienced a significant decline in its statewide ranking over the past several years. The school was consistently ranked in the 51st-54th percentile with a 3-star rating in the late 2010s, but has fallen to the 19th percentile (1-star) in recent years. This is not a single-year dip but a sustained downward shift. One bright spot is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 13.0%, which is notably better than both the district average (17.7%) and state average (22.3%)—meaning students are showing up to school, but academic outcomes aren't following. The most pressing academic concern is math: proficiency rates in 2025-2026 were just 34.4% (3rd), 36.7% (4th), and 26.5% (5th), all below state and district averages. In contrast, English Language Arts shows a positive trend, with proficiency rates of 50% (3rd), 53.5% (4th), and 54.4% (5th), at or above district averages and improving from the prior year.

Comparing Laurens Elementary to nearby schools reveals stark differences within the same district. Waterloo Elementary, just 10 miles away, consistently ranks in the 60th-67th percentile with 4th-grade math proficiency at 83.9% versus Laurens' 36.7%. Similarly, Eastside Elementary in the neighboring Laurens 56 district ranks in the 73rd percentile with ELA proficiency in the 70s. These comparisons suggest that high performance is achievable in this region, and that school-level leadership and instructional strategies—not just demographics—play a critical role. While Laurens Elementary spends a relatively high $15,289 per student, the return on that investment in terms of academic outcomes raises important questions for parents to explore.

465

Students ?

10.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,289

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

301 Henry Street
Laurens, SC 29360

(864) 984-3067

District: Laurens 55

Students who attend Laurens Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Laurens Middle
High:	Laurens District 55 High

Racial breakdown:

White:

45.6%

African American:

39.4%

Hispanic:

11.4%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Laurens Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 51st percentile in 2016 → 19th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (40% vs 58% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 32 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school40%

District avg46%

South Carolina avg58%

524^th of 649

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▼ down 32 pts since 2016

From top 49% (2016) to bottom 19% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Laurens 55

60^th of 75Laurens 55 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	20.3	524 of 649	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.1	548 of 640	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.7	447 of 638	29.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	22.7	508 of 644	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.1	450 of 625	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.6	457 of 622	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	50.4	318 of 643	50.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	52.3	288 of 624	53.8%	★★★☆☆
2017	52.0	303 of 639	52.6%	★★★☆☆
2016	51.5	301 of 619	51.4%	★★★☆☆
2015	46.8	343 of 638	46.2%	★★☆☆☆
2014	62.6	243 of 630	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2013	43.2	371 of 599	38.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	41.7	391 of 594	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2011	33.9	441 of 597	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.3	370 of 589	37.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	57.2	261 of 580	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2008	48.4	341 of 577	40.9%	★★☆☆☆
2007	42.7	372 of 566	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2006	49.0	319 of 559	42.9%	★★☆☆☆
2005	63.1	224 of 557	59.8%	★★★☆☆
2004	60.1	229 of 550	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2003	45.7	327 of 542	39.7%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.0	281 of 379	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	11.2	373 of 381	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	21.2	331 of 369	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.4	366 of 394	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	336 of 393	14.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	330 of 350	5.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	65.5	123 of 421	70.8%	★★★★☆
2018	59.5	137 of 412	66.7%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	71.4	38 of 189	79.9%	★★★★☆
2018	62.5	41 of 161	74.5%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	23.8	478 of 589	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.5	525 of 581	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	28.7	413 of 565	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	506 of 580	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.8	423 of 573	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.9	447 of 554	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	46.1	326 of 588	44.6%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.9	290 of 570	49.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	22.2	518 of 624	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	11.9	581 of 613	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.3	524 of 599	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	570 of 608	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.1	495 of 600	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.7	469 of 580	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	54.4	286 of 600	52.3%	★★★☆☆
2018	54.0	259 of 588	56.0%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	16.6	510 of 583	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	22.8	464 of 586	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.3	408 of 568	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.2	416 of 582	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	28.0	421 of 579	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	28.0	412 of 561	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	50.3	300 of 590	49.2%	★★☆☆☆
2018	53.2	259 of 571	54.6%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	10.0	426 of 454	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	18.5	400 of 460	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	46.0	261 of 441	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	38.3	308 of 463	33.5%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.1	311 of 455	31.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.5	314 of 439	28.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	44.7	284 of 472	39.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	41.2	288 of 457	37.0%	★★☆☆☆

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)

Disabled (2019)80th percentile+29 vs school

African American (2026)26th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2026)19th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)17th percentile~ school

Male (2026)13th percentile-7 vs school

White (2026)6th percentile-13 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts53%-12 vs state

Mathematics33%-21 vs state

Science24%-28 vs state

★

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Schools Near Laurens Elementary

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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)		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 3rd Grade	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 3rd 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	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
Laurens Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	301 Henry Street	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-3067	465	45	10.3	100.0%	212 (45.6%)	183 (39.4%)	53 (11.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.2%)	20.3	524^th of 649 public elementary schools	19.3%		17.1	548^th of 640 public elementary schools	14.4%	24	50.0	53.5	54.4				34.4	36.7	26.5				23.9		$15,289	$1,603	$453	$2,056	$10,543	$2,690	$13,233
E. B. Morse Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	200 Parkview Drive	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-7777	447	37	12.0	100.0%	164 (36.7%)	240 (53.7%)	28 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.7%)	20.4	523^rd of 649 public elementary schools	19.4%		24.1	497^th of 640 public elementary schools	22.3%	26	58.0	43.7	37.7				43.6	32.4	39.6				26.8		$15,009	$1,351	$459	$1,810	$10,385	$2,814	$13,199
Ford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	601 Lucas Avenue	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-3986	423	42	10.0	100.0%	121 (28.6%)	93 (22.0%)	186 (44.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.4%)	13.6	589^th of 649 public elementary schools	9.2%		8.5	613^th of 640 public elementary schools	4.2%	24	42.2	40.0	43.4				35.9	28.4	39.1				25.0		$15,791	$1,436	$456	$1,893	$11,084	$2,813	$13,898
Hickory Tavern Elementary/Middle	Public	PK, KG-8	163 Neely Ferry Road	Gray Court	29645	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 575-2126	623	51	12.2	100.0%	530 (85.1%)	43 (6.9%)	38 (6.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.8%)	49.7	315^th of 649 public elementary schools	51.5%		40.7	371^st of 640 public elementary schools	42.0%	56	60.0	65.1	52.1	48.5	51.5	49.3	49.1	53.9	37.7	40.6	42.5	30.8	66.7	57.8	$14,926	$1,280	$454	$1,734	$10,682	$2,510	$13,192
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle	Public	PK, KG-8	9210 Highway 14	Gray Court	29645	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 876-2131	715	68	10.5	100.0%	379 (53.0%)	117 (16.4%)	176 (24.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	8 (1.1%)	33 (4.6%)	30.5	449^th of 649 public elementary schools	30.8%		16.6	554^th of 640 public elementary schools	13.4%	105	58.7	48.0	38.9	37.5	49.3	44.1	62.7	44.0	31.9	23.4	19.7	30.8	46.6	37.5	$14,778	$1,293	$429	$1,722	$10,446	$2,609	$13,055
Clinton Elementary	Public	K-5	800 Chestnut Street	Clinton	29325	Laurens County	Laurens 56	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 833-0812	422	29	14.5	100.0%	144 (34.1%)	203 (48.1%)	36 (8.5%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (7.8%)	19.4	529^th of 649 public elementary schools	18.5%		22.9	506^th of 640 public elementary schools	20.9%	23	41.3	41.2	52.3				50.6	20.6	36.9				30.9		$14,827	$1,825	$1,639	$3,464	$9,867	$1,497	$11,363
Waterloo Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	10457 Highway 221 South	Waterloo	29384	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 677-5610	254	30	8.5	100.0%	186 (73.2%)	39 (15.4%)	10 (3.9%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (6.7%)	63.8	227^th of 649 public elementary schools	65.0%		66.5	214^th of 640 public elementary schools	66.6%	13	53.8	87.1	78.3				51.9	83.9	65.2				58.1		$17,444	$1,448	$595	$2,043	$12,332	$3,069	$15,401
Eastside Elementary	Public	K-5	103 Old Colony Road	Clinton	29325	Laurens County	Laurens 56	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 833-0827	462	31	14.9	100.0%	229 (49.6%)	156 (33.8%)	44 (9.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (6.7%)	72.5	173^rd of 649 public elementary schools	73.3%		75.3	157^th of 640 public elementary schools	75.5%	16	76.0	74.3	71.9				64.0	59.5	54.4				59.5		$14,193	$1,965	$1,611	$3,576	$9,277	$1,340	$10,617
Ware Shoals Primary	Public	PK, KG-4	15269 Indian Mound Road	Ware Shoals	29692	Greenwood County	Greenwood 51	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 861-2261	385	29	13.2	100.0%	276 (71.7%)	54 (14.0%)	22 (5.7%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.5%)	35.7	419^th of 649 public elementary schools	35.4%		33.8	429^th of 640 public elementary schools	33.0%	10	57.7	61.9					40.9	44.4					42.9
Woodruff Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	200 Lucy P. Edwards Road	Woodruff	29388	Spartanburg County	Spartanburg 04	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 476-3174	776	49	15.6	100.0%	490 (63.1%)	103 (13.3%)	91 (11.7%)	5 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	86 (11.1%)								(n/a)															$11,304	$1,555	$675	$2,230	$7,933	$1,141	$9,073

Frequently Asked Questions about Laurens Elementary

What is the racial makeup of Laurens Elementary?

Students at Laurens Elementary are 46% White, 39% African American, 11% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

Is Laurens Elementary a good school?

Laurens Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.3% of South Carolina elementary schools.

How many students attend Laurens Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 465 students attended Laurens Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Laurens Elementary attend?

Students who attend Laurens Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Laurens Middle
High : Laurens District 55 High

What district is Laurens Elementary in?

Laurens 55

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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.