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R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy

Public Grades PK, KG-8
637th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 649 South Carolina Elementary Schools
Better than 2% of South Carolina elementary schools
Summary

R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy is a PK-8 school in Sumter, SC, serving 391 students in the Sumter 01 district, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Despite its "College Preparatory" name, this school is currently ranked in the 2nd percentile statewide (637 out of 649 schools) for 2025-2026, continuing a multi-year trend of bottom-tier performance. Academic proficiency rates are dramatically below district and state averages—for example, only 20.6% of 4th graders are proficient in math compared to 52.3% statewide, and 6th grade math proficiency sits at just 13.9%. The school spends significantly more per student ($18,431) than nearby schools like Alice Drive Elementary ($14,710) or Pocalla Springs Elementary ($15,138), yet achieves far worse outcomes. A particularly instructive comparison is Walker-Gamble Elementary in the neighboring Clarendon 06 district—just 11 miles away, serving a similar demographic, it ranks in the 69th percentile with 62-72% ELA proficiency.

The most pressing challenge is a severe chronic absenteeism crisis: 42.7% of students are chronically absent (nearly double the state average of 22.3%), up sharply from 27.9% the prior year and 11.6% in 2020-2021. This likely drives the low achievement, creating a cycle where students fall behind and disengage. There are a few bright spots—8th grade math (40% proficiency) actually exceeds the district average, and 8th grade ELA (42.9%) nearly matches it—but these are exceptions. The school's ranking has declined steadily from the 26th percentile in 2016-2017 to its current position. Nearby Liberty STEAM Charter School (53rd percentile, 15.2% chronic absenteeism) demonstrates that better outcomes are achievable in the area, suggesting that targeted interventions around attendance and instruction could help turn things around.

391
Students ?
12.8
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,431
Per pupil spending ?
100%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 345 Eastern School Road
       Sumter, SC  29153

(803) 495-3247

District: Sumter 01


Students who attend R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy usually attend:

High:    Crestwood High
Racial breakdown:

African American:
83.1%
White:
10.2%
Hispanic:
5.6%
more
 See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

 Compare R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 16th percentile in 2016 → 2nd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the South Carolina average (27% vs 54% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (43% vs 22% South Carolina)
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school27%
District avg38%
South Carolina avg54%
Elementary school
637th of 649
South Carolina public elementary schools ?
Bottom 2%▼ down 14 pts since 2016
From bottom 16% (2016) to bottom 2% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
305th of 335
South Carolina public middle schools ?
Bottom 9%▼ down 1 pts since 2019
See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
12th of 13Elementary Schools in the Sumter 01
67th 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20266.2637 of 6491.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20257.9617 of 6403.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20249.6607 of 6384.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.4640 of 6440.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20226.3614 of 6251.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.3616 of 6221.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20199.4606 of 6435.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201817.1536 of 62414.1%★☆☆☆☆
201727.6472 of 63926.1%★☆☆☆☆
201621.1518 of 61916.3%★☆☆☆☆
201530.5479 of 63824.9%★☆☆☆☆
201422.9546 of 63013.3%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202617.3356 of 3796.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.6366 of 3813.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.0335 of 3699.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202310.7385 of 3942.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202211.0388 of 3931.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202114.6336 of 3504.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201924.1364 of 42113.5%★☆☆☆☆
201831.4320 of 41222.3%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20265.1583 of 5891.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202510.7546 of 5816.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.6558 of 5651.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20232.2580 of 5800.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20226.5555 of 5733.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20213.6554 of 5540.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20194.7581 of 5881.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.1515 of 5709.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20269.0613 of 6241.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202510.7587 of 6134.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202412.5562 of 5996.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.2604 of 6080.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.6591 of 6001.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20214.7578 of 5800.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201913.2556 of 6007.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201824.4480 of 58818.4%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20267.1570 of 5832.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20256.0572 of 5862.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.9573 of 5821.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.1540 of 5613.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201914.4531 of 59010.0%★☆☆☆☆
201827.0432 of 57124.3%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202614.4305 of 3359.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202514.0285 of 32010.9%★☆☆☆☆
20249.6311 of 3254.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20235.8325 of 3250.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20228.2307 of 3101.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202113.5275 of 31111.6%★☆☆☆☆
201913.1283 of 31510.2%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202630.3203 of 25721.0%★☆☆☆☆
202527.8201 of 25220.2%★☆☆☆☆
202424.6207 of 24816.5%★☆☆☆☆
202313.8247 of 2532.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202211.9249 of 2490.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202132.4164 of 23530.2%★★☆☆☆
201934.3176 of 25230.2%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202615.1272 of 30510.8%★☆☆☆☆
202516.5246 of 29516.6%★☆☆☆☆
20247.9285 of 2943.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20227.9285 of 2901.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20197.3286 of 2963.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
202618.0289 of 3209.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202517.8271 of 30711.7%★☆☆☆☆
202411.8296 of 3073.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20236.0312 of 3130.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20229.6298 of 3000.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202119.2246 of 28814.6%★☆☆☆☆
201915.4265 of 2898.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankSouth Carolina percentileRating
20245.8294 of 2940.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20234.4302 of 3030.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20217.1276 of 2791.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201923.0235 of 29620.6%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
African American (2026)6th percentile+4 vs school
Male (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)2nd percentile~ school
Female (2026)1st percentile~ school
Middle school
African American (2026)21st percentile+12 vs school
Female (2026)11th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)10th percentile~ school
Male (2024)<1st percentile-4 vs school
By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts32%-29 vs state
Mathematics25%-23 vs state
Science19%-33 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy

R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy ranks in the bottom 1.8% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Students who attend R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy usually go on to attend:

High : Crestwood High

Students at R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy are 83% African American, 10% White, 6% Hispanic, 1% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 391 students attended R. E. Davis College Preparatory Academy.

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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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