Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Clear Dot Charter School

Q: Is Clear Dot Charter School a good school?

Clear Dot Charter School ranks in the bottom 4.4% of South Carolina alternative schools.

Q: How many students attend Clear Dot Charter School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 474 students attended Clear Dot Charter School.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Clear Dot Charter School?

Students at Clear Dot Charter School are 81% African American, 12% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

Public, Charter, Alternative Grades PK, KG-11

612^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Alternative Schools

Better than 4% of South Carolina alternative schools

Summary

Clear Dot Charter School is an alternative public charter school located in Columbia, South Carolina, serving grades PK-10 with a total enrollment of 418 students. The school is part of the Charter Institute at Erskine district, which is ranked 40 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Clear Dot Charter School has a relatively low student-teacher ratio and high spending per student, the school is underperforming academically compared to nearby schools like American Leadership Academy South Carolina-Lexington Campus, School Connections Academy, and South Carolina Virtual Charter School. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are significantly below the Charter Institute at Erskine district and the state of South Carolina. Additionally, Clear Dot Charter School has experienced high dropout rates and chronic absenteeism, which may be contributing factors to its lower academic performance.

The high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch at Clear Dot Charter School, ranging from 90.82% to 99.28%, suggests that the school serves a population with significant economic challenges. While the school is allocating significant resources towards its operations, with a high spending per student and a low student-teacher ratio, this investment does not seem to be translating into improved academic outcomes for the students. Addressing the underlying causes of chronic absenteeism and developing targeted interventions to support student success could be crucial steps in improving the school's performance.

474

Students ?

11.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,810

Per pupil spending ?

99.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2015 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201

(803) 567-3075

District: Charter Institute at Erskine

Racial breakdown:

African American:

80.8%

White:

11.6%

Two or more races:

4.2%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Clear Dot Charter School to nearby alternative schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 13th percentile in 2021 → 4th in 2025

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 11 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (26% vs 55% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (4th percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2021

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school26%

District avg48%

South Carolina avg55%

Elementary school

612^th of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 4%▼ down 8 pts since 2021

From bottom 13% (2021) to bottom 4% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

Middle school

306^th of 320

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 4%▲ up 2 pts since 2021

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

12^th of 12Alternative Schools in the Charter Institute at Erskine

40^th of 75Charter Institute at Erskine 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	8.7	612 of 640	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.5	565 of 638	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.9	525 of 644	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.1	535 of 625	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.6	542 of 622	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	17.3	355 of 381	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	26.2	300 of 369	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	33.6	268 of 393	31.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.9	304 of 350	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	3.9	579 of 581	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	10.4	592 of 613	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	14.9	545 of 599	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	27.6	471 of 608	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.3	493 of 600	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.6	503 of 580	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	6.1	571 of 586	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.1	535 of 568	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	9.4	306 of 320	4.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.9	304 of 325	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.1	305 of 325	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	13.7	279 of 310	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	7.6	304 of 311	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.5	220 of 252	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.8	220 of 248	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.2	188 of 249	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	13.2	288 of 307	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.4	274 of 307	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.1	295 of 313	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	18.2	265 of 300	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	5.4	288 of 288	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Elementary school

African American (2025)7th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Female (2025)<1st percentile-4 vs school

Middle school

African American (2025)13th percentile+8 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)6th percentile~ school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English 260%-26 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution46%-16 vs state

English Language Arts36%-24 vs state

Science17%-31 vs state

Mathematics16%-28 vs state

English 110%-52 vs state

1.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★2

Rate Clear Dot Charter School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, May 22, 2023

the school is not parent friendly! You hardly here from teachers unless you contact them. Only current parents are allowed in the school! Most of the employees are family in someway or another. The school is and high school is very unorganized or supervised ! They seem to care more about sports then the other students that don’t play sports. You would think being a smaller school they could watch the kids better but the kids seem to take this school to play with! The parents at this school also let there kids get away with everything, phones, talking back, and cursing and running in and out of classes. And when the coaches attempt to discipline they have been jumped on physically by parents! I wouldn’t recommend this school, it has a good idea but not the people running it, more about money the kids ! Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, May 19, 2023

This is a very unprofessional school, most of the employees are family in someway or another. Only certain parents are allowed to go in the school, middle school and high school students are allowed to have there phones during school. Students are poorly supervised.. Reports by students of students engaging in unsupervised activities in class! Extra school funds are put on to sports . This is more for show and hen caring about the students! This school starts our promising a lot then at the end nothing!!! Close Quote

Schools Near Clear Dot Charter School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				SC READY English Language Arts (2025)						SC READY Mathematics (2025)						SC READY Science (2025)		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 ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	SC READY Science 6th Grade	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
Clear Dot Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-11	2015 Marion Street	Columbia	29201	Richland County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	No	Yes	(803) 567-3075	474	42	11.2		55 (11.6%)	383 (80.8%)	15 (3.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.2%)								(n/a)	46.1	24.5	40.0	39.5	37.0	26.9	25.6	14.3	27.5	5.3	11.1	7.7	18.3	15.8		9.5	45.8	60.0	$12,810	$2,409	$1,018	$3,427	$6,273	$3,110	$9,383
Pendergrass Fairwold School	Public, Alternative	K-12	5935 Token Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 735-3435	46	14	3.2		4 (8.7%)	37 (80.4%)	3 (6.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.3%)								(n/a)																			$68,847	$4,265	$1,123	$5,389	$58,171	$5,288	$63,459
South Carolina Virtual Charter School	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2023 Platt Springs Road	West Columbia	29169	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 253-6222	2,180	126	17.2		1,210 (55.5%)	585 (26.8%)	177 (8.1%)	14 (0.6%)	5 (0.2%)	4 (0.2%)	185 (8.5%)								(n/a)	68.0	60.0	58.4	56.2	58.2	53.8	31.2	28.3	23.9	23.3	26.0	12.7	36.0	38.1	61.0	62.6	53.4	87.1	$9,690	$540	$48	$588	$7,296	$1,806	$9,102
School Connections Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	201 Executive Center Drive Sui	Columbia	29210	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 212-4712	6,152	268	22.9		3,858 (62.7%)	1,255 (20.4%)	526 (8.6%)	33 (0.5%)	26 (0.4%)	8 (0.1%)	446 (7.2%)								(n/a)	44.8	46.0	55.4	59.0	57.4	60.4	23.2	22.5	20.3	17.4	20.8	17.9	33.4	38.9	42.5	53.3	49.1	87.4	$8,987	$494	$01	$494	$3,154	$5,338	$8,492
Carolus Online Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	101 Westpark Boulevard Suite C	Columbia	29210	Lexington County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(866) 968-7512	1,786	64	27.9		846 (47.4%)	633 (35.4%)	155 (8.7%)	4 (0.2%)	19 (1.1%)	7 (0.4%)	122 (6.8%)								(n/a)	23.8	26.5	24.6	34.9	30.4	26.9	9.5	8.3	4.0	4.5	3.2	1.3	9.1	14.9	14.4	21.2	29.5	77.2	$9,912	$67	$173	$240	$2,607	$7,064	$9,671
SCDJJ Evaluation and Detention Center	Public, Alternative	4-12	5000 Broad River Road	Columbia	29212	Richland County	Dept of Juvenile Justice	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-9037	417	38	11.1		82 (19.7%)	316 (75.8%)	15 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)								(n/a)
American Leadership Academy South Carolina-Lexington Campu	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	109 Innovation Drive	Lexington	29072	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 756-2724	1,979	157	12.6		1,305 (65.9%)	271 (13.7%)	189 (9.6%)	88 (4.4%)	7 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	118 (6.0%)								(n/a)	69.3	74.9	66.1	63.9	65.5	60.0	51.6	61.3	44.1	39.2	33.0	25.7	54.9	63.4	68.6	61.1	52.8	98.3	$11,553		$157	$157	$5,086	$6,310	$11,396
Swansea High Freshman Academy	Public, Alternative	9	1195 I. W. Hutto Road	Swansea	29160	Lexington County	Lexington 04	No	No	No	No	(803) 490-7006	274	18	15.2		122 (44.5%)	58 (21.2%)	75 (27.4%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.8%)								(n/a)															97.4

Frequently Asked Questions about Clear Dot Charter School

What district is Clear Dot Charter School in?

Charter Institute at Erskine

What is the racial makeup of Clear Dot Charter School?

Students at Clear Dot Charter School are 81% African American, 12% White, 4% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

Is Clear Dot Charter School a good school?

Clear Dot Charter School ranks in the bottom 4.4% of South Carolina alternative schools.

How many students attend Clear Dot Charter School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 474 students attended Clear Dot Charter School.

Rate Clear Dot Charter School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

SCSouth Carolina Alternative School Rankings

SCSouth Carolina District Rankings

Schools in Columbia, SC

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Clear Dot Charter School!

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.