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James M. Brown Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

491^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 23% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

James M. Brown Elementary is a public elementary school located in Walhalla, South Carolina, serving grades PK-5 with a total enrollment of 548 students. The school is part of the Oconee 01 school district, which is ranked 21 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While James M. Brown Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom half of South Carolina elementary schools, the school faces several challenges that contribute to its lower academic performance. The school's proficiency rates on state assessments are generally 10-20 percentage points lower than the district and state averages, and its performance on the SCPASS science assessment is particularly low, with a proficiency rate of only 30% compared to 46.8% for the district and 46.6% for the state. Additionally, the school has consistently high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 18.5% to 24.7%, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages.

In contrast, nearby schools within the Oconee 01 district, such as Walhalla Elementary, have consistently ranked in the top 25% of South Carolina elementary schools and outperform James M. Brown Elementary on state assessments by a significant margin. The school's high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, is likely a contributing factor to its lower academic performance, as evidenced by the stronger performance of nearby schools with lower percentages of students from low-income families.

558

Students ?

10.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,672

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

225 Coffee Road
Walhalla, SC 29691

(864) 886-4470

District: Oconee 01

Students who attend James M. Brown Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Walhalla Middle
High:	Walhalla High

Racial breakdown:

White:

59.7%

Hispanic:

34.1%

African American:

3.2%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare James M. Brown Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 32nd percentile in 2015 → 23rd in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (42% vs 56% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (23rd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2015

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school42%

District avg58%

South Carolina avg56%

491^st of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 23%▼ down 9 pts since 2015

From bottom 32% (2015) to bottom 23% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 10Elementary Schools in the Oconee 01

21^st of 75Oconee 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
2025	25.2	491 of 640	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	32.1	433 of 638	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	30.3	446 of 644	30.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.8	441 of 625	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	23.3	475 of 622	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.7	482 of 643	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.6	467 of 624	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	29.9	459 of 639	28.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	34.9	418 of 619	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2015	35.4	431 of 638	32.4%	★★☆☆☆
2014	45.2	380 of 630	39.7%	★★☆☆☆
2013	32.8	453 of 599	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	33.5	445 of 594	25.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	28.8	478 of 597	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	26.0	492 of 589	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	34.7	419 of 580	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	51.6	316 of 577	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2007	60.8	230 of 566	59.4%	★★★☆☆
2006	66.9	186 of 559	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2005	68.3	176 of 557	68.4%	★★★☆☆
2004	67.2	176 of 550	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2003	58.3	240 of 542	55.7%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	58.3	53 of 143	62.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.1	79 of 174	54.6%	★★★☆☆
2022	24.6	121 of 151	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	18.9	102 of 122	16.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.8	161 of 189	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.3	133 of 161	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	26.2	82 of 104	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.2	76 of 79	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.9	65 of 84	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	29.5	62 of 84	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.3	89 of 104	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.9	73 of 82	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	455 of 581	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	41.6	345 of 565	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.6	363 of 580	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.8	363 of 573	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.4	438 of 554	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.3	461 of 588	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.9	439 of 570	23.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	16.1	142 of 156	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.1	107 of 115	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	103 of 115	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	23.9	94 of 115	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	27.5	66 of 86	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.5	99 of 116	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.4	95 of 104	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	32.0	437 of 613	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	43.0	349 of 599	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.8	396 of 608	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2022	35.3	400 of 600	33.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.7	440 of 580	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.8	474 of 600	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	32.9	416 of 588	29.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	25.5	445 of 586	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.8	452 of 568	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.9	467 of 582	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.8	459 of 579	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	21.6	437 of 561	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	28.6	430 of 590	27.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	28.7	417 of 571	27.0%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.9	398 of 460	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.3	354 of 441	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.0	394 of 463	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.3	408 of 455	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	6.9	425 of 439	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	12.0	440 of 472	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.8	427 of 457	6.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2024)63rd percentile+31 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)29th percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)24th percentile~ school

Female (2025)22nd percentile~ school

English Language Learner (2025)21st percentile~ school

White (2025)13th percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2025)9th percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts49%-14 vs state

Science40%-9 vs state

Mathematics35%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near James M. Brown Elementary

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)			SC READY Mathematics (2025)			SC READY Science (2025)	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	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	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 Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Science 4th 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
James M. Brown Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	225 Coffee Road	Walhalla	29691	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 886-4470	558	53	10.5		333 (59.7%)	18 (3.2%)	190 (34.1%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	12 (2.2%)	25.2	491^st of 640 public elementary schools	23.3%		32.1	433^rd of 638 public elementary schools	32.1%	58	49.4	43.4	53.1	45.9	35.7	23.4	40.0	$16,672	$1,910	$307	$2,217	$12,571	$1,883	$14,454
Walhalla Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	508 Fowler Road	West Union	29696	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4480	612	45	13.6		471 (77.0%)	8 (1.3%)	111 (18.1%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.1%)	76.3	147^th of 640 public elementary schools	77.0%		68.7	192^nd of 638 public elementary schools	69.9%	45	76.2	68.0	71.3	65.3	60.0	62.4	64.0	$14,023	$650	$382	$1,032	$11,169	$1,822	$12,991
Westminster Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	206 Hamilton Street	Westminster	29693	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 886-4520	385	36	10.6		332 (86.2%)	12 (3.1%)	32 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.3%)	61.7	244^th of 640 public elementary schools	61.9%		67.7	201^st of 638 public elementary schools	68.5%	43	64.0	50.8	85.2	57.8	50.0	77.0	46.8	$16,331	$1,298	$404	$1,701	$12,351	$2,279	$14,630
Orchard Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	600 Toccoa Highway	Westminster	29693	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 886-4515	360	38	9.4		314 (87.2%)	17 (4.7%)	21 (5.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	6 (1.7%)	63	236^th of 640 public elementary schools	63.1%		45.1	352^nd of 638 public elementary schools	44.8%	116	77.3	68.1	49.1	75.0	70.9	15.8	63.9	$16,612	$2,424	$413	$2,838	$11,650	$2,124	$13,774
Keowee Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7051 Keowee School Road	Seneca	29672	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4475	305	28	10.8		267 (87.5%)	5 (1.6%)	21 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.9%)	82.8	98^th of 640 public elementary schools	84.7%		71.1	176^th of 638 public elementary schools	72.4%	78	73.9	67.3	85.1	76.1	63.8	68.1	70.7	$14,852	$1,007	$310	$1,317	$11,262	$2,273	$13,535
Northside Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	710 North Townville Street	Seneca	29678	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4445	616	49	12.4		342 (55.5%)	117 (19.0%)	93 (15.1%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (9.3%)	60.6	249^th of 640 public elementary schools	61.1%		64	219^th of 638 public elementary schools	65.7%	30	62.2	62.7	64.9	51.5	59.6	55.6	56.6	$13,983	$404	$286	$690	$11,413	$1,880	$13,293
Tamassee-Salem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	9950 North Highway 11	Tamassee	29686	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4540	204	18	11.2		176 (86.3%)	3 (1.5%)	16 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (4.4%)	48	319^th of 640 public elementary schools	50.2%		63.5	223^rd of 638 public elementary schools	65.0%	96	57.7	48.6	64.7	50.0	51.4	55.9	42.9	$19,609	$1,339	$349	$1,688	$15,560	$2,361	$17,921
Blue Ridge Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	995 South Oak Street	Seneca	29678	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	Yes	(864) 886-4550	579	52	11.1		260 (44.9%)	123 (21.2%)	103 (17.8%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	85 (14.7%)	34.4	421^st of 640 public elementary schools	34.2%		35.2	411^th of 638 public elementary schools	35.6%	10	57.0	47.1	50.6	47.7	42.5	38.2	44.8	$16,602	$2,670	$344	$3,014	$11,452	$2,136	$13,588
Ravenel Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	150 Ravenel School Road	Seneca	29678	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4450	530	41	12.9		298 (56.2%)	122 (23.0%)	53 (10.0%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	48 (9.1%)	63.7	233^rd of 640 public elementary schools	63.6%		51	304^th of 638 public elementary schools	52.4%	71	66.3	65.9	51.9	63.9	63.5	50.6	61.2	$14,435	$689	$294	$983	$11,304	$2,148	$13,452
Fair-Oak Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1964 Oakway Road	Westminster	29693	Oconee County	Oconee 01	No	No	No	No	(864) 886-4505	583	47	12.4		496 (85.1%)	11 (1.9%)	39 (6.7%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (5.3%)	61.9	242^nd of 640 public elementary schools	62.2%		60.5	242^nd of 638 public elementary schools	62.1%		75.5	63.3	58.4	64.9	55.6	41.6	60.0	$13,935	$828	$290	$1,117	$10,953	$1,865	$12,818

Frequently Asked Questions about James M. Brown Elementary

What district is James M. Brown Elementary in?

Oconee 01

Is James M. Brown Elementary a good school?

James M. Brown Elementary ranks in the bottom 23.3% of South Carolina elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of James M. Brown Elementary attend?

Students who attend James M. Brown Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Walhalla Middle
High : Walhalla High

What is the racial makeup of James M. Brown Elementary?

Students at James M. Brown Elementary are 60% White, 34% Hispanic, 3% African American, 2% Two or more races.

How many students attend James M. Brown Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 558 students attended James M. Brown Elementary.

Rate James M. Brown Elementary!

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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.