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L. W. Conder Elementary

Public, Magnet Grades PK, KG-5
584th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 661 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 12% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

L. W. Conder Elementary is a PK-5 school in Columbia, SC, serving 489 students within the Richland 02 district, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Parents should know that Conder currently holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the bottom 12th percentile of South Carolina elementary schools, with proficiency rates running 15-25 points below district averages in nearly every subject and grade. For example, only 30.7% of 3rd graders are proficient in math compared to 54.3% district-wide, and 5th grade math proficiency sits at just 27.9% versus 44.6% for the district. The school also faces a chronic absenteeism rate of 28.7%, significantly higher than the district's 18.3%. One bright spot: 4th grade ELA consistently outperforms other grades (49.2% proficient), suggesting a particularly effective teacher or approach at that level. However, female students rank in the 7th percentile statewide, a notable area of concern.

Despite spending $18,312 per student—roughly $2,500-$3,800 more than nearby schools—outcomes remain low. For comparison, L. B. Nelson Elementary (3.87 miles away) ranks in the 52nd percentile with 3 stars, achieving 15-25 points higher proficiency with less funding. Joseph Keels Elementary (1.76 miles) also outperforms Conder by 8-21 points. The contrast is stark with Brockman Elementary and Satchel Ford Elementary in Richland 01, both 5-star schools with 75-94% proficiency rates and far lower absenteeism. Performance has declined steadily over the past decade, from the 27th percentile in 2016-2017 to the current 12th percentile, suggesting that additional funding alone isn't translating into better outcomes. Parents may want to explore successful practices at nearby higher-performing schools or ask how Conder plans to address absenteeism and targeted support for struggling subgroups.

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 — 22nd percentile in 2016 → 12th in 2026
Strengths
Small classes — about 11 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (37% vs 58% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (12th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 10 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school37%
District avg55%
South Carolina avg58%
584th of 661
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 12%▼ down 10 pts since 2016
From bottom 22% (2016) to bottom 12% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
20th of 22Elementary Schools in the Richland 02
36th 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
202615.6584 of 66111.6%★☆☆☆☆
202515.7560 of 63912.4%★☆☆☆☆
202420.0527 of 64318.0%★☆☆☆☆
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
202644.3209 of 38445.6%★★☆☆☆
202544.0217 of 38042.9%★★☆☆☆
202445.8189 of 36948.8%★★☆☆☆
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
202618.991 of 10614.2%★☆☆☆☆
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
202612.6555 of 5997.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202511.8536 of 5807.6%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.9506 of 56810.9%★☆☆☆☆
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
202626.0125 of 15921.4%★☆☆☆☆
202521.1133 of 15614.7%★☆☆☆☆
202424.785 of 11425.4%★☆☆☆☆
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
202620.1548 of 63413.6%★☆☆☆☆
202521.9515 of 61215.8%★☆☆☆☆
202430.5438 of 60227.2%★☆☆☆☆
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
202618.1500 of 59115.4%★☆☆☆☆
202518.7490 of 58516.2%★☆☆☆☆
202424.5437 of 57123.5%★☆☆☆☆
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 (2026)46th percentile+34 vs school
Hispanic (2026)21st percentile+10 vs school
Male (2026)15th percentile+4 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)14th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)14th percentile~ school
Female (2026)7th percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts46%-19 vs state
Mathematics32%-22 vs state
Science28%-24 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about L. W. Conder Elementary

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

Middle : Dent Middle
High : Richland Northeast High

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

L. W. Conder Elementary ranks in the bottom 11.6% of South Carolina elementary schools.

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

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Latest South Carolina data All new data »
2025–26 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresAug 10, 2026
2024–25 school spending dataNov 3, 2025
2024–25 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNov 3, 2025
2024–25 EOCEP & SC READY test scoresSep 2, 2025


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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