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L. W. Conder Elementary

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5
561st
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 12% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

L. W. Conder Elementary is a public magnet elementary school in Columbia, South Carolina, serving grades PK-5 with a student population of 472. The school is part of the Richland 02 school district, which is ranked 37 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite the school's magnet status, L. W. Conder Elementary consistently performs below the Richland 02 district and state averages on standardized tests. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 32.9% of 3rd graders were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 58.2% for Richland 02 and 61.8% statewide. The school also has high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 20.1% to 24.7% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, 100% of students at L. W. Conder are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty student population.

Comparing L. W. Conder to other nearby schools in the Richland 02 district, there is a clear performance gap. For example, Forest Lake Elementary and L. B. Nelson Elementary both outperform L. W. Conder on standardized tests by a significant margin. Despite the school's relatively high per-student spending of $19,638 and low student-teacher ratio of 11.4, these resources do not appear to be translating into improved academic outcomes for students.

489
Students ?
11.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,312
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 8040 Hunt Club Road
       Columbia, SC  29223

(803) 736-8720

District: Richland 02


Students who attend L. W. Conder Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Dent Middle
High:    Richland Northeast High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
53.0%
Hispanic:
38.0%
White:
3.7%
more
 See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

 Compare L. W. Conder Elementary to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 24th percentile in 2015 → 12th in 2025
Strengths
Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (35% vs 56% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 12 percentile points since 2015
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school35%
District avg55%
South Carolina avg56%
561st of 640
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 12%▼ down 12 pts since 2015
From bottom 24% (2015) to bottom 12% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
20th of 22Elementary Schools in the Richland 02
37th of 75Richland 02 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
202515.7561 of 64012.3%★☆☆☆☆
202420.0521 of 63818.3%★☆☆☆☆
202320.4529 of 64417.9%★☆☆☆☆
202216.7525 of 62516.0%★☆☆☆☆
202114.9528 of 62215.1%★☆☆☆☆
201924.5497 of 64322.7%★☆☆☆☆
201826.8463 of 62425.8%★☆☆☆☆
201728.5468 of 63926.8%★☆☆☆☆
201626.5482 of 61922.1%★☆☆☆☆
201529.8485 of 63824.0%★☆☆☆☆
201447.3366 of 63041.9%★★☆☆☆
201342.5374 of 59937.6%★★☆☆☆
201231.4461 of 59422.4%★☆☆☆☆
201133.7445 of 59725.5%★☆☆☆☆
201036.2421 of 58928.5%★☆☆☆☆
200925.6484 of 58016.6%★☆☆☆☆
200838.2403 of 57730.2%★★☆☆☆
200739.5392 of 56630.7%★★☆☆☆
200644.5351 of 55937.2%★★☆☆☆
200556.5267 of 55752.1%★★★☆☆
200463.1205 of 55062.7%★★★☆☆
200355.7265 of 54251.1%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202544.0218 of 38142.8%★★☆☆☆
202445.8190 of 36948.5%★★☆☆☆
202351.2177 of 39455.1%★★★☆☆
202249.5187 of 39352.4%★★★☆☆
202147.3171 of 35051.1%★★★☆☆
201953.6183 of 42156.5%★★★☆☆
201861.1129 of 41268.7%★★★☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202525.383 of 10420.2%★☆☆☆☆
202420.064 of 7919.0%★☆☆☆☆
202336.943 of 7240.3%★★☆☆☆
202217.171 of 8415.5%★☆☆☆☆
202110.884 of 840.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201933.472 of 10430.8%★★☆☆☆
201830.160 of 8226.8%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202511.8537 of 5817.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.9503 of 56511.0%★☆☆☆☆
202315.1517 of 58010.9%★☆☆☆☆
202217.7475 of 57317.1%★☆☆☆☆
202115.7476 of 55414.1%★☆☆☆☆
201916.6513 of 58812.8%★☆☆☆☆
201820.0477 of 57016.3%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202521.1133 of 15614.7%★☆☆☆☆
202424.785 of 11526.1%★☆☆☆☆
202330.582 of 11528.7%★★☆☆☆
202212.9110 of 1154.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202120.875 of 8612.8%★☆☆☆☆
201934.977 of 11633.6%★★☆☆☆
201839.767 of 10435.6%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202521.9516 of 61315.8%★☆☆☆☆
202430.5435 of 59927.4%★☆☆☆☆
202328.0468 of 60823.0%★☆☆☆☆
202225.2468 of 60022.0%★☆☆☆☆
202114.0528 of 5809.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201931.1438 of 60027.0%★☆☆☆☆
201834.5404 of 58831.3%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202518.7491 of 58616.2%★☆☆☆☆
202424.5435 of 56823.4%★☆☆☆☆
202324.4452 of 58222.3%★☆☆☆☆
202216.5490 of 57915.4%★☆☆☆☆
202111.8506 of 5619.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201935.3390 of 59033.9%★★☆☆☆
201835.8370 of 57135.2%★★☆☆☆
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)43rd percentile+30 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)20th percentile+8 vs school
Male (2025)16th percentile+4 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)16th percentile+3 vs school
Hispanic (2025)15th percentile~ school
Female (2025)8th percentile-5 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts40%-23 vs state
Science36%-13 vs state
Mathematics30%-23 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about L. W. Conder Elementary

L. W. Conder Elementary ranks in the bottom 12.3% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Students at L. W. Conder Elementary are 53% African American, 38% Hispanic, 4% White, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 489 students attended L. W. Conder Elementary.

Students who attend L. W. Conder Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Dent Middle
High : Richland Northeast High


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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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