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Mill Creek Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5
587th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 8% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

Mill Creek Elementary is a public elementary school in Columbia, South Carolina, serving 329 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Richland 01 school district, which is ranked 52 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Academically, Mill Creek Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom half of South Carolina elementary schools, with low proficiency rates on state assessments that are significantly below the district and state averages. For example, in 2024-2025, only 40.4% of 3rd graders were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 53.9% in the district and 61.8% statewide. The school's performance is particularly low in mathematics, with only 23.4% of 4th graders and 25.5% of 5th graders proficient or better, compared to 42.3% and 36.5% in the district, respectively. Additionally, Mill Creek Elementary has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.5% to 31.1% over the past 5 years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby schools in the Richland 01 district, such as A.C. Moore Elementary, Brockman Elementary, and Rosewood Elementary, generally outperform Mill Creek Elementary on academic measures, with higher proficiency rates and better statewide rankings. These nearby schools also have lower chronic absenteeism rates and serve a more socioeconomically diverse student population. While the high spending per student at Mill Creek Elementary suggests that additional resources are being allocated, these resources may not be translating into improved student outcomes, and the school could benefit from a closer examination of its instructional practices and targeted interventions to address the high chronic absenteeism rates.

353
Students ?
15.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,636
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 925 Universal Drive
       Columbia, SC  29209

(803) 783-5553

District: Richland 01


Students who attend Mill Creek Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Hopkins Middle
High:    Lower Richland High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
90.4%
Two or more races:
4.2%
White:
2.8%
more
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 Compare Mill Creek Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → 8th in 2025
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (32% vs 56% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (8th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 13 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school32%
District avg48%
South Carolina avg56%
587th of 640
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 8%▼ down 13 pts since 2015
From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 8% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
24th of 27Elementary Schools in the Richland 01
52nd of 75Richland 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
202511.5587 of 6408.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202426.3472 of 63826.0%★☆☆☆☆
202325.7482 of 64425.2%★☆☆☆☆
202216.2526 of 62515.8%★☆☆☆☆
202119.0500 of 62219.6%★☆☆☆☆
201920.2523 of 64318.7%★☆☆☆☆
201829.0449 of 62428.0%★☆☆☆☆
201727.0477 of 63925.4%★☆☆☆☆
201641.6367 of 61940.7%★★☆☆☆
201527.2504 of 63821.0%★☆☆☆☆
201429.1491 of 63022.1%★☆☆☆☆
201329.4479 of 59920.0%★☆☆☆☆
201224.8505 of 59415.0%★☆☆☆☆
201119.6529 of 59711.4%★☆☆☆☆
201012.7552 of 5896.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200919.3514 of 58011.4%★☆☆☆☆
20089.2557 of 5773.5%☆☆☆☆☆
200743.9364 of 56635.7%★★☆☆☆
200622.4477 of 55914.7%★☆☆☆☆
200524.6461 of 55717.2%★☆☆☆☆
200435.0396 of 55028.0%★☆☆☆☆
200334.3387 of 54228.6%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202531.5283 of 38125.7%★☆☆☆☆
202453.2158 of 36957.2%★★★☆☆
202352.7171 of 39456.6%★★★☆☆
202241.2227 of 39342.2%★★☆☆☆
202144.3191 of 35045.4%★★☆☆☆
201948.6217 of 42148.5%★★☆☆☆
201857.8147 of 41264.3%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202520.9483 of 58116.9%★☆☆☆☆
202326.5440 of 58024.1%★☆☆☆☆
202128.5403 of 55427.3%★☆☆☆☆
201920.1487 of 58817.2%★☆☆☆☆
201830.3419 of 57026.5%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202510.4591 of 6133.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202433.0424 of 59929.2%★☆☆☆☆
202324.6487 of 60819.9%★☆☆☆☆
202216.7527 of 60012.2%★☆☆☆☆
202125.9445 of 58023.3%★☆☆☆☆
201920.8512 of 60014.7%★☆☆☆☆
201834.7402 of 58831.6%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20257.6563 of 5863.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202419.3470 of 56817.3%★☆☆☆☆
202328.0428 of 58226.5%★☆☆☆☆
202225.8437 of 57924.5%★☆☆☆☆
201918.7497 of 59015.8%★☆☆☆☆
201828.2421 of 57126.3%★☆☆☆☆
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)
African American (2025)26th percentile+17 vs school
Female (2025)17th percentile+9 vs school
Male (2025)4th percentile-4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)4th percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts42%-21 vs state
Mathematics26%-27 vs state
Science21%-28 vs state

1.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a parent
Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Open Quote my child is a student at millcreek. I find this school to be lacking in supervision and failing them when it comes to providing a proper learning environment. My child hardly comes home with any homework! She has been bullied constantly with physical and verbal abuse. She has constantly been told by faculty to let them know when these incidents occure and nothing is done. Recently someone wrote in her agenda book and called her an "ugly bitch". My child was in class crying. This matter was taken to the principal and i was never notified. Luckily we discuss how my childs day went and thats when i was made aware of this situation. This is not simple name calling, this is profanity! i felt that i should have been made aware of the situation immidiatly and kept informed of the disciplinary actions taken...if any. Last year i documented for months in my childs book that i needed for her home room teacher to contact me as well as leaving two messages for her at school.i was never cotnacted until i finally went up to school and spoke with the principal. He told me a lot of times teachers are reluctant to speak to parents for fear of confrintation. That is the most rediculous thing i have ever heard regarding a childs education! My child currently reieves after school tutoring to prepare for the standardize testing. I think if they would concentrate more on learing and teaching in class they could better prepare the students. When i asked my child what she they did in school that day or what was learned its almost nothing. I am extremely disappointed in the school system and can only hope my daughter will not have to attend Millcreek next year. Im worried this school is putting her behind and she will have a hard time once she reaches another district. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Mill Creek Elementary

Students who attend Mill Creek Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hopkins Middle
High : Lower Richland High

Mill Creek Elementary ranks in the bottom 8.3% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Students at Mill Creek Elementary are 90% African American, 4% Two or more races, 3% White, 2% Hispanic.

In the 2024-25 school year, 353 students attended Mill Creek 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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