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Pickens Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
287th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 55% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Pickens Elementary is a public elementary school serving 501 students in grades PK-5 in Pickens, South Carolina. The school is part of the Pickens 01 school district, which is ranked 17 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Pickens Elementary has a higher per-student spending compared to the state average, its academic performance lags behind. The school's test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages across grade levels and subjects, with only 46.4% of 3rd graders proficient or better in ELA, compared to 63.5% for the district and 61.8% for the state. Pickens Elementary also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 20.2% to 31.7% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. The school's performance gaps for certain student subgroups, such as its White students ranking in the bottom 25% of all South Carolina elementary schools, are also concerning.

Interestingly, Pickens Elementary's performance lags behind several nearby schools in the same district, such as Ambler Elementary, Forest Acres Elementary, and McKissick Academy of Science and Technology, which have significantly higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. Additionally, Pickens Elementary's statewide ranking has declined from 228 out of 639 schools in 2016-2017 to 287 out of 640 schools in 2024-2025, suggesting the school is struggling to keep pace with improvements in other schools across the state.

493
Students ?
13.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,291
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 567 Hampton Avenue
       Pickens, SC  29671

(864) 397-2300

District: Pickens 01


Students who attend Pickens Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Pickens Middle
High:    Pickens High
Racial breakdown:

White:
81.3%
Hispanic:
7.7%
Two or more races:
7.1%
more
 See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Pickens Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 45th percentile in 2015 → 55th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 10 percentile points since 2015
Above the South Carolina median (55th percentile)
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Near the bottom of Pickens 01's ranking
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school56%
District avg61%
South Carolina avg56%
287th of 640
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Top 45%▲ up 10 pts since 2015
From bottom 45% (2015) to top 45% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
10th of 13Elementary Schools in the Pickens 01
17th of 75Pickens 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202553.3287 of 64055.2%★★★☆☆
202460.6241 of 63862.2%★★★☆☆
202353.3291 of 64454.8%★★★☆☆
202249.6310 of 62550.4%★★★☆☆
202142.3364 of 62241.5%★★☆☆☆
201948.5332 of 64348.4%★★☆☆☆
201850.9298 of 62452.2%★★★☆☆
201761.9228 of 63964.3%★★★☆☆
201636.7400 of 61935.4%★★☆☆☆
201545.1352 of 63844.8%★★☆☆☆
201448.2361 of 63042.7%★★☆☆☆
201358.3272 of 59954.6%★★★☆☆
201264.7217 of 59463.5%★★★☆☆
201156.3281 of 59752.9%★★★☆☆
201054.5287 of 58951.3%★★★☆☆
200952.6295 of 58049.1%★★☆☆☆
200863.0223 of 57761.4%★★★☆☆
200760.7233 of 56658.8%★★★☆☆
200668.2172 of 55969.2%★★★☆☆
200559.3250 of 55755.1%★★★☆☆
200459.2237 of 55056.9%★★★☆☆
200363.5204 of 54262.4%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202453.562 of 14356.6%★★★☆☆
201966.747 of 18975.1%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202546.0307 of 58147.2%★★☆☆☆
202461.5214 of 56562.1%★★★☆☆
202350.0286 of 58050.7%★★★☆☆
202253.2261 of 57354.5%★★★☆☆
202141.2326 of 55441.2%★★☆☆☆
201952.5288 of 58851.0%★★★☆☆
201854.9259 of 57054.6%★★★☆☆

Homeless

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202452.34 of 633.3%★★★☆☆
202328.55 of 50.0%★★★☆☆
202243.93 of 540.0%★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202555.7256 of 61358.2%★★★☆☆
202460.8228 of 59961.9%★★★☆☆
202350.0290 of 60852.3%★★★☆☆
202255.2263 of 60056.2%★★★☆☆
202149.2290 of 58050.0%★★★☆☆
201936.8407 of 60032.2%★★☆☆☆
201843.7331 of 58843.7%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202558.4243 of 58658.5%★★★☆☆
202455.2254 of 56855.3%★★★☆☆
202352.5270 of 58253.6%★★★☆☆
202244.0328 of 57943.4%★★☆☆☆
202138.7350 of 56137.6%★★☆☆☆
201940.9364 of 59038.3%★★☆☆☆
201845.8314 of 57145.0%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202529.9354 of 46023.0%★☆☆☆☆
202436.8310 of 44129.7%★☆☆☆☆
202328.3359 of 46322.5%★☆☆☆☆
202225.7358 of 45521.3%★☆☆☆☆
202112.2404 of 4398.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.1378 of 47219.9%★☆☆☆☆
201822.2371 of 45718.8%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Male (2025)59th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)58th percentile+3 vs school
Disabled (2024)57th percentile-6 vs school
Female (2025)47th percentile-8 vs school
Homeless (2024)33rd percentile-29 vs school
White (2025)23rd percentile-32 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?
Mathematics57%+5 vs state
English Language Arts57%-5 vs state
Science49%~ state avg

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Frequently Asked Questions about Pickens Elementary

Pickens Elementary ranks 287th of 640 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Students at Pickens Elementary are 81% White, 8% Hispanic, 7% Two or more races, 4% African American.

Students who attend Pickens Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Pickens Middle
High : Pickens High

In the 2024-25 school year, 493 students attended Pickens 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.





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