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Bates Middle

Public Grades 6-8

268^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 320 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 16% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Bates Middle is a public middle school located in Sumter, South Carolina, serving 525 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Sumter 01 School District, which is ranked 67 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Bates Middle has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of South Carolina middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Bates Middle faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, with students consistently underperforming compared to state and district averages across various subject areas and grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts (ELA) ranged from 37.4% to 41.5% at Bates Middle, compared to 42.3% to 46.1% for the Sumter 01 district and 56% to 58.2% for the state. In mathematics, the proficiency rates at Bates Middle ranged from 11.6% to 20.5%, significantly lower than the district (16.6% to 20.9%) and state (32.4% to 39.4%) averages. Additionally, Bates Middle has had high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 22.5% to 38.4% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

Despite the relatively high per-student spending of $12,451 in the 2023-2024 school year, Bates Middle's academic outcomes do not reflect the investment. The school's proximity to several other middle schools in the Sumter 01 district, such as Hillcrest Middle, Ebenezer Middle, Furman Middle, and Alice Drive Middle, which generally outperform Bates Middle on academic measures, suggests that the challenges faced by Bates Middle may be unique to the school itself rather than the broader district or geographic area. Addressing attendance issues and re-evaluating resource allocation could be key strategies for improving student outcomes at Bates Middle.

481

Students ?

13.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,974

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

715 Estate Street
Sumter, SC 29150

(803) 775-0711

District: Sumter 01

Students who attend Bates Middle usually attend:

High:

Sumter High School

Feeder schools for Bates Middle:

Elementary:	Kingsbury Elementary
	Wilder Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

69.4%

White:

20.2%

Two or more races:

5.2%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare Bates Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 21st percentile in 2015 → 16th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (29% vs 50% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (34% vs 22% South Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school29%

District avg35%

South Carolina avg50%

268^th of 320

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 16%▼ down 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 21% (2015) to bottom 16% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 6Middle Schools in the Sumter 01

67^th of 75Sumter 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	17.1	268 of 320	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	9.5	313 of 325	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	17.4	269 of 325	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.5	260 of 310	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.4	277 of 311	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.7	259 of 315	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.2	222 of 303	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	21.0	258 of 317	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	21.4	250 of 303	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	24.7	237 of 301	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	32.4	215 of 291	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	28.1	199 of 252	21.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	13.2	243 of 248	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	24.5	210 of 253	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	26.7	199 of 249	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.2	216 of 235	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	35.2	170 of 252	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	48.7	114 of 237	51.9%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.6	173 of 184	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	20.6	162 of 177	8.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	23.1	163 of 187	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	29.6	135 of 183	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.6	170 of 195	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.4	181 of 194	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	264 of 295	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.8	286 of 294	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.1	256 of 299	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.6	251 of 290	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.3	250 of 279	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	22.4	239 of 296	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.2	211 of 281	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Gifted and Talented

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	4.9	169 of 173	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	1.1	180 of 183	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.5	177 of 185	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	1.4	181 of 182	0.5%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	18.1	270 of 307	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	7.1	306 of 307	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	283 of 313	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.7	292 of 300	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	8.6	284 of 288	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.5	244 of 289	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	30.9	206 of 280	26.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.5	244 of 296	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	11.4	273 of 294	7.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.1	248 of 303	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.1	239 of 292	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	247 of 279	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	19.7	245 of 296	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.2	216 of 284	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.9	215 of 257	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	235 of 255	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	29.2	192 of 260	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.4	214 of 249	14.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.7	211 of 244	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	35.8	165 of 258	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.0	168 of 250	32.8%	★★☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)21st percentile+5 vs school

Male (2025)18th percentile~ school

White (2025)16th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)12th percentile-4 vs school

Female (2025)11th percentile-6 vs school

Disabled (2025)6th percentile-10 vs school

Gifted and Talented (2025)2nd percentile-14 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 297%+23 vs state

English Language Arts40%-17 vs state

Science20%-29 vs state

Mathematics17%-18 vs state

1.0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Avoid this school at all costs. Close Quote

Schools Near Bates Middle

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)			SC READY Mathematics (2025)			SC READY Science (2025)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 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	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 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
Bates Middle	Public	6-8	715 Estate Street	Sumter	29150	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 775-0711	481	37	13.1		97 (20.2%)	334 (69.4%)	18 (3.7%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	25 (5.2%)	17.1	268^th of 320 public middle schools	16.3%		9.5	313^th of 325 public middle schools	3.7%	45	37.4	40.4	41.5	17.6	11.6	20.5	19.7	96.6	$14,974	$1,022	$1,459	$2,482	$10,488	$2,004	$12,493
Alice Drive Middle	Public	6-8	40 Miller Road	Sumter	29150	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 775-0821	783	47	16.6		235 (30.0%)	439 (56.1%)	42 (5.4%)	25 (3.2%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (4.9%)	49.7	146^th of 320 public middle schools	54.4%		38.4	190^th of 325 public middle schools	41.5%	44	55.4	56.0	57.1	33.8	28.2	27.0	48.7	100.0	$12,758	$756	$1,028	$1,784	$9,615	$1,358	$10,974
Chestnut Oaks Middle	Public	6-8	1200 Oswego Road	Sumter	29153	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 775-7272	339	21	16.1		17 (5.0%)	276 (81.4%)	33 (9.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.2%)	6.5	315^th of 320 public middle schools	1.6%		6.6	323^rd of 325 public middle schools	0.6%	8	23.6	39.0	32.6	6.2	4.9	5.1	14.8		$16,083	$1,837	$2,270	$4,108	$9,158	$2,817	$11,975
Furman Middle	Public	6-8	3400 Bethel Church Road	Sumter	29154	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 481-8519	700	41	17.0		208 (29.7%)	406 (58.0%)	41 (5.9%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	38 (5.4%)	14.3	282^nd of 320 public middle schools	11.9%		20.7	259^th of 325 public middle schools	20.3%	23	40.5	43.2	34.2	18.0	14.1	5.7	21.5	63.6	$12,528	$912	$1,128	$2,040	$8,574	$1,913	$10,488
Ebenezer Middle	Public	6-8	3440 Ebenezer Road	Sumter	29153	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 469-8571	352	27	13.0		40 (11.4%)	278 (79.0%)	18 (5.1%)	2 (0.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.4%)	15.6	274^th of 320 public middle schools	14.4%		14.3	288^th of 325 public middle schools	11.4%	14	35.9	34.2	36.4	20.2	12.2	9.0	34.9		$13,950	$1,095	$2,050	$3,145	$9,095	$1,710	$10,805
Hillcrest Middle	Public	6-8	4355 Peach Orchard Road	Dalzell	29040	Sumter County	Sumter 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 499-3341	365	25	14.6		111 (30.4%)	191 (52.3%)	38 (10.4%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.5%)	18 (4.9%)	39	192^nd of 320 public middle schools	40.0%		28.7	233^rd of 325 public middle schools	28.3%	41	53.8	57.2	50.8	20.2	23.9	25.4	38.5	100.0	$13,183	$1,020	$1,467	$2,487	$9,298	$1,399	$10,696
Manning Junior High	Public	6-8	1101 W.L. Hamilton Road	Manning	29102	Clarendon County	Clarendon 06	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 435-8195	483	29	16.6		128 (26.5%)	320 (66.3%)	23 (4.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	30.8	227^th of 320 public middle schools	29.1%		36.7	198^th of 325 public middle schools	39.1%	29	38.4	55.5	49.2	20.6	22.4	23.7	34.6		$14,200	$2,260	$953	$3,213	$9,702	$1,284	$10,986
Scott's Branch Middle	Public	6-8	9253 Alex Harvin Highway	Summerton	29148	Clarendon County	Clarendon 06	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 574-2100	145	8	18.5		11 (7.6%)	125 (86.2%)	5 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.8%)	31.9	223^rd of 320 public middle schools	30.3%		21.6	255^th of 325 public middle schools	21.5%	32	34.2	59.1	55.3	25.7	11.4	25.0	20.6		$11,615	$2,691	$542	$3,234	$7,690	$692	$8,382

Frequently Asked Questions about Bates Middle

Is Bates Middle a good school?

Bates Middle ranks in the bottom 16.3% of South Carolina middle schools.

How many students attend Bates Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 481 students attended Bates Middle.

What is the racial makeup of Bates Middle?

Students at Bates Middle are 69% African American, 20% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

What high school do graduates of Bates Middle attend?

Students who attend Bates Middle usually go on to attend Sumter High School

What district is Bates Middle in?

Sumter 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.