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Sanders Middle

Public Grades 6-8

318^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 335 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 5% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Sanders Middle in Laurens, SC, serves approximately 250 students in grades 6-8 as part of the Laurens 55 school district, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Over the past decade, Sanders Middle has seen a steady decline in its statewide ranking, falling from the 34th percentile in 2015-2016 to the 5th percentile in 2025-2026—its lowest performance on record. Academic proficiency rates are significantly below district and state averages across all subjects. In mathematics, only about 1 in 7 students meets proficiency standards, placing the school roughly 25-30 percentage points below state averages. English Language Arts proficiency ranges from 30.7-34.5%, compared to the state average of 56.3-59.5%. The school spends more per student ($18,411) than any comparable school in the area and maintains an exceptionally low student-to-teacher ratio of 8.3:1, yet outcomes remain low. By contrast, Ralph Chandler Middle in Greenville 01 spends 37% less per student yet achieves proficiency rates that are often double or triple those of Sanders. Even Laurens Middle, just 1.88 miles away in the same district, outperforms Sanders in both ELA and math, ranking in the 19th percentile statewide compared to Sanders' 5th percentile.

There is one notable bright spot: chronic absenteeism has been cut dramatically from 43.8% in 2021-2022 to 22.6% in 2024-2025, now essentially at the state average. This improvement suggests that attendance initiatives are gaining traction. However, the school continues to struggle across all student subgroups, with performance declining across the board. The contrast with nearby schools like Ware Shoals Elementary Middle (69th percentile) and Clinton Middle (38th percentile) indicates that the challenges at Sanders are not inherent to the region but rather specific to the school's instructional implementation. With substantial resources already in place, the path forward likely requires fundamental changes to teaching and learning rather than additional funding.

250

Students ?

8.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$18,411

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

609 Green Street
Laurens, SC 29360

(864) 984-0354

District: Laurens 55

Students who attend Sanders Middle usually attend:

High:

Laurens District 55 High

Feeder schools for Sanders Middle:

Elementary:	E. B. Morse Elementary
	Ford Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

45.6%

White:

34.0%

Hispanic:

16.0%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare Sanders Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 34th percentile in 2016 → 5th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 8 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (25% vs 51% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (5th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 29 percentile points since 2016

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school25%

District avg34%

South Carolina avg51%

318^th of 335

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 5%▼ down 29 pts since 2016

From bottom 34% (2016) to bottom 5% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Middle 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	9.5	318 of 335	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	16.4	271 of 320	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.4	269 of 325	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	245 of 325	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.9	277 of 310	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.7	265 of 311	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	30.3	221 of 315	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2018	25.7	228 of 303	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	27.2	236 of 317	25.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	36.8	201 of 303	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2015	34.3	209 of 301	30.6%	★★☆☆☆
2014	41.4	179 of 291	38.5%	★★☆☆☆
2013	47.2	157 of 276	43.1%	★★☆☆☆
2012	46.8	158 of 271	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	19.7	238 of 269	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	19.1	232 of 261	11.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	19.9	218 of 249	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	25.3	205 of 244	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	34.2	173 of 236	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	32.3	172 of 231	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	30.5	174 of 230	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	48.2	131 of 230	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2003	47.1	127 of 225	43.6%	★★☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	16.5	239 of 257	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	30.1	190 of 252	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.5	221 of 248	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.5	188 of 253	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	245 of 249	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	15.2	228 of 235	3.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.2	209 of 252	17.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.4	198 of 237	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2019	26.2	159 of 195	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	12.7	284 of 305	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.2	263 of 295	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.1	263 of 294	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.2	242 of 299	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	13.8	259 of 290	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.5	247 of 279	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.4	222 of 296	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.0	227 of 281	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	13.3	302 of 320	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	22.1	255 of 307	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.0	254 of 307	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	31.8	217 of 313	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	18.5	264 of 300	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.0	237 of 288	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.0	225 of 289	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.0	226 of 280	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	9.3	291 of 306	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	21.4	245 of 296	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.7	221 of 294	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	35.1	191 of 303	37.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.1	262 of 292	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.2	230 of 279	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.1	208 of 296	29.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	31.4	199 of 284	29.9%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	4.5	264 of 268	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	12.6	234 of 257	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.2	228 of 255	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.9	201 of 260	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.2	239 of 249	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	12.6	220 of 244	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	29.3	188 of 258	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.6	196 of 250	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆

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)18th percentile-11 vs school

African American (2026)7th percentile~ school

Female (2026)7th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)6th percentile~ school

Male (2026)5th percentile~ school

White (2026)1st percentile-4 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

Science34%-18 vs state

English Language Arts32%-26 vs state

Mathematics15%-27 vs state

★

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Schools Near Sanders 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)	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 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 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th 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
Sanders Middle	Public	6-8	609 Green Street	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-0354	250	30	8.3	100.0%	85 (34.0%)	114 (45.6%)	40 (16.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	10 (4.0%)	9.5	318^th of 335 public middle schools	5.1%		16.4	271^st of 320 public middle schools	15.3%	47		30.7	30.8	34.5		14.5	12.8	18.5	33.9	$18,411	$1,559	$510	$2,069	$13,511	$2,831	$16,342
Laurens Middle	Public	6-8	1035 West Main Street	Laurens	29360	Laurens County	Laurens 55	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 984-2400	373	33	11.3	100.0%	151 (40.5%)	124 (33.2%)	87 (23.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.7%)	21.3	271^st of 335 public middle schools	19.1%		20.9	258^th of 320 public middle schools	19.4%	13		42.1	44.1	47.8		21.1	26.9	29.1	23.6	$14,605	$1,249	$498	$1,747	$10,243	$2,616	$12,858
Clinton Middle	Public	6-8	800 North Adair Street	Clinton	29325	Laurens County	Laurens 56	No	No	No	No	(864) 833-0807	580	50	11.4	100.0%	300 (51.7%)	215 (37.1%)	34 (5.9%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (5.0%)	38.9	209^th of 335 public middle schools	37.6%		40.5	188^th of 320 public middle schools	41.3%	21		50.6	50.2	56.6		32.3	31.1	34.7	44.5	$14,964	$1,011	$1,326	$2,338	$10,671	$1,954	$12,626
Ware Shoals Elementary Middle	Public	5-8	45 West Main Street	Ware Shoals	29692	Greenwood County	Greenwood 51	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 456-2711	238	18	13.6	100.0%	166 (69.7%)	34 (14.3%)	23 (9.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (6.3%)	64.2	103^rd of 335 public middle schools	69.3%		57.1	117^th of 320 public middle schools	63.4%	14	60.0	58.2	64.8	65.8	40.0	43.6	46.3	42.4	56.4			$27,077
Woodruff Middle	Public	6-8	205 S. J. Workman Highway	Woodruff	29388	Spartanburg County	Spartanburg 04	No	No	No	No	(864) 476-3150	701	42	16.5	65.7%	440 (62.8%)	111 (15.8%)	86 (12.3%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	57 (8.1%)	55.4	138^th of 335 public middle schools	58.8%		58.9	114^th of 320 public middle schools	64.4%	24		45.7	59.6	55.7		45.1	49.0	54.9	43.5	$12,335	$1,132	$602	$1,734	$9,433	$1,169	$10,601
Ralph Chandler Middle	Public	6-8	4231 Fork Shoals Road	Simpsonville	29680	Greenville County	Greenville 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 452-0300	763	46	16.7	45.5%	568 (74.4%)	80 (10.5%)	71 (9.3%)	3 (0.4%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (4.8%)	79.1	59^th of 335 public middle schools	82.4%		73.2	76^th of 320 public middle schools	76.3%	17		69.8	63.3	76.7		49.8	49.2	61.8	63.8	$11,509	$939	$736	$1,676	$9,030	$803	$9,834
Brewer Middle	Public, Magnet	6-8	1000 Emerald Road	Greenwood	29646	Greenwood County	Greenwood 50	No	Yes	No	No	(864) 941-5500	600	52	11.4	100.0%	156 (26.0%)	312 (52.0%)	102 (17.0%)	6 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	21 (3.5%)	45.6	174^th of 335 public middle schools	48.1%		27.9	237^th of 320 public middle schools	25.9%	63		43.3	57.4	59.6		39.7	38.7	49.4	32.5	$14,240	$1,614	$882	$2,496	$10,490	$1,254	$11,744

Frequently Asked Questions about Sanders Middle

Is Sanders Middle a good school?

Sanders Middle ranks in the bottom 5.1% of South Carolina middle schools.

How many students attend Sanders Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 250 students attended Sanders Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Sanders Middle?

Students at Sanders Middle are 46% African American, 34% White, 16% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races.

What district is Sanders Middle in?

Laurens 55

What high school do graduates of Sanders Middle attend?

Students who attend Sanders Middle usually go on to attend Laurens District 55 High

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Schools in Laurens, SC

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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.