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W.J. Keenan High

Q: Is W.J. Keenan High a good school?

W.J. Keenan High ranks 175 th of 235 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public, Magnet Grades 9-12

175^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 235 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 26% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

W.J. Keenan High is a public magnet high school serving grades 9-12 in Columbia, South Carolina, with a student population of 719. 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.

Despite its magnet status, W.J. Keenan High has consistently ranked in the bottom 25% of South Carolina high schools over the past 10 years, with rankings ranging from 175 to 214 out of 235-237 schools. The school's academic performance, as measured by end-of-course exam proficiency rates, is significantly below the state and district averages across multiple subjects, including Algebra, English, and U.S. History. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's Algebra proficiency rate was 54.3% compared to the state average of 73.95% and the district average of 69.75%. Additionally, W.J. Keenan High has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.5% to 38.9% over the past few years, and its four-year graduation rate has ranged from 79.3% to 85.4%, which is lower than the state and district averages.

When compared to other high schools in the Richland 01 district and the neighboring Richland 02 district, W.J. Keenan High consistently underperforms. For instance, A.C. Flora High and Spring Valley High, both in Richland 02, have significantly higher academic proficiency rates, graduation rates, and lower chronic absenteeism. Additionally, W.J. Keenan High's performance is particularly concerning for certain student subgroups, such as male students and students with disabilities, whose rankings are in the bottom 10-15% of South Carolina high schools.

675

Students ?

12.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,423

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

361 Pisgah Church Road
Columbia, SC 29203

(803) 714-2500

District: Richland 01

Feeder schools for W.J. Keenan High:

Elementary:	A. J. Lewis Greenview Elementary
	Burton Pack Elementary
Middle:	W. G. Sanders Middle

Racial breakdown:

African American:

90.4%

Hispanic:

5.0%

Two or more races:

3.0%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare W.J. Keenan High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 21st percentile in 2015 → 26th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (54% vs 71% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (36% vs 22% South Carolina)

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school54%

District avg61%

South Carolina avg71%

175^th of 235

South Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 26%▲ up 4 pts since 2015

From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 26% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 7High Schools in the Richland 01

52^nd 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	27.1	175 of 235	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.6	214 of 235	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.2	209 of 237	11.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	197 of 226	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.0	149 of 227	34.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.4	186 of 225	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	13.4	184 of 216	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.5	187 of 223	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	19.3	196 of 231	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	23.9	183 of 232	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	33.6	143 of 210	31.9%	★★☆☆☆
2013	35.0	138 of 203	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	32.2	149 of 202	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	21.2	166 of 199	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	35.3	144 of 199	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	43.1	132 of 188	29.8%	★★☆☆☆
2008	13.4	170 of 185	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	27.3	177 of 191	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	38.6	159 of 191	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	27.7	167 of 187	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	43.3	113 of 194	41.8%	★★☆☆☆
2024	25.4	160 of 194	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	30.6	140 of 199	29.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	34.3	123 of 190	35.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	54.9	59 of 178	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	42.4	93 of 184	49.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	39.1	112 of 183	38.8%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.8	124 of 139	10.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.0	127 of 145	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	139 of 141	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	12.6	127 of 139	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	41.0	81 of 143	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2018	29.9	99 of 137	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.1	178 of 225	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	23.2	177 of 225	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.6	189 of 223	15.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.9	186 of 220	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	44.5	113 of 213	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	16.1	180 of 213	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.7	179 of 210	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	24.2	138 of 153	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.7	139 of 157	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	22.3	142 of 156	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	30.5	168 of 226	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.4	210 of 229	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.2	196 of 226	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	19.9	182 of 220	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	41.2	119 of 213	44.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	22.5	169 of 217	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	21.9	165 of 214	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	27.5	171 of 224	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	5.3	224 of 228	1.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	207 of 229	9.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.0	194 of 224	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.8	155 of 215	27.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.9	175 of 218	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	14.8	181 of 213	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)42nd percentile+16 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)26th percentile~ school

Male (2025)24th percentile~ school

Female (2025)21st percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2025)11th percentile-15 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)10th percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English 292%+5 vs state

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 254%-20 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution45%-17 vs state

English 131%-31 vs state

★

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Schools Near W.J. Keenan High

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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 (2025)				Ranking (2024)				EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2025)	EOCEP English 1 (2025)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2025)	EOCEP English 2 (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	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	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
W.J. Keenan High	Public, Magnet	9-12	361 Pisgah Church Road	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 714-2500	675	53	12.7		10 (1.5%)	610 (90.4%)	34 (5.0%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.0%)	27.1	175^th of 235 public high schools	25.5%		11.6	214^th of 235 public high schools	8.9%	39	54.3	30.8	44.7	91.9	$22,423	$1,390	$1,218	$2,608	$16,274	$3,541	$19,815
Manning High	Public	9-12	502 Beckman Road	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Dept Of Correction N04	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 935-7203	2	4	.5		0 (0.0%)	1 (50.0%)	1 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
School Whitmore School	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	501 Commerce Drive NE	Columbia	29223	Richland County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 476-6416	431	15	28.7		309 (71.7%)	81 (18.8%)	26 (6.0%)	8 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.6%)	23.4	183^rd of 235 public high schools	22.1%		26.8	175^th of 235 public high schools	25.5%	8	29.1	45.1	48.0	80.6	$8,616	$246	$450	$695	$6,020	$1,900	$7,920
Richland Northeast High	Public, Magnet	9-12	7500 Brookfield Road	Columbia	29223	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 699-2800	1,340	101	13.3		112 (8.4%)	857 (64.0%)	296 (22.1%)	19 (1.4%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.3%)	50 (3.7%)	15.8	205^th of 235 public high schools	12.8%		13.3	211^th of 235 public high schools	10.2%	6	42.9	44.7	44.2	74.5	$16,712	$1,045	$593	$1,638	$11,424	$3,651	$15,075
Samuel A. Heyward Career and Technology Center	Public	9-12	3560 Lynhaven Drive	Columbia	29204	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 735-3343	0	23	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Westwood High	Public, Magnet	9-12	180 Turkey Farm Road	Blythewood	29016	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 691-4049	1,743	106	16.4		124 (7.1%)	1,378 (79.1%)	141 (8.1%)	16 (0.9%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	76 (4.4%)	34.9	151^st of 235 public high schools	35.7%		32.5	152^nd of 235 public high schools	35.3%	1	51.5	47.5	51.5	85.8	$13,394	$759	$561	$1,320	$9,437	$2,637	$12,073
Eau Claire High	Public	9-12	4800 Monticello Road	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-7600	542	47	11.6		7 (1.3%)	438 (80.8%)	72 (13.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	21 (3.9%)	6.9	225^th of 235 public high schools	4.3%		6.7	226^th of 235 public high schools	3.8%	1	54.4	26.5	36.6	69.4	$23,182	$2,212	$1,531	$3,742	$16,261	$3,179	$19,440
C. A. Johnson High	Public	9-12	2219 Barhamville Road	Columbia	29204	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 253-7092	344	38	9.0		2 (0.6%)	319 (92.7%)	12 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.2%)	26.5	177^th of 235 public high schools	24.7%		9.7	217^th of 235 public high schools	7.7%	40	67.0	45.4	31.2	85.6	$29,536	$1,508	$1,904	$3,412	$21,293	$4,831	$26,124
A. C. Flora High	Public	9-12	1 Falcon Drive	Columbia	29204	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 738-7300	1,328	85	15.6		602 (45.3%)	523 (39.4%)	113 (8.5%)	24 (1.8%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	63 (4.7%)	43.5	128^th of 235 public high schools	45.5%		57.3	83^rd of 235 public high schools	64.7%	45	42.2	49.0	62.2	90.6	$16,591	$996	$1,045	$2,041	$12,067	$2,483	$14,550
Spring Valley High	Public, Magnet	9-12	120 Sparkleberry Lane	Columbia	29229	Richland County	Richland 02	No	Yes	No	No	(803) 699-3500	2,230	125	17.8		413 (18.5%)	1,209 (54.2%)	337 (15.1%)	151 (6.8%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	113 (5.1%)	43.9	126^th of 235 public high schools	46.4%		60.1	76^th of 235 public high schools	67.7%	50	62.8	57.0	62.3	86.0	$12,832	$815	$430	$1,245	$9,028	$2,559	$11,587

Frequently Asked Questions about W.J. Keenan High

Is W.J. Keenan High a good school?

W.J. Keenan High ranks 175^th of 235 South Carolina high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What schools feed into W.J. Keenan High?

W.J. Keenan High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : A. J. Lewis Greenview Elementary
Elementary : Burton Pack Elementary
Middle : W. G. Sanders Middle

What is the racial makeup of W.J. Keenan High?

Students at W.J. Keenan High are 90% African American, 5% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 1% White.

How many students attend W.J. Keenan High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 675 students attended W.J. Keenan High.

What district is W.J. Keenan High in?

Richland 01

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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.