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Bethune-Bowman Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

602^nd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 640 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 6% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Bethune-Bowman Elementary is a public elementary school in Rowesville, South Carolina, serving 271 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Orangeburg School District, which is ranked 66 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Bethune-Bowman Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of South Carolina elementary schools, with significantly lower academic performance than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2024-2025, the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts ranged from 35.1% to 36.4%, compared to the state average of 61.8% to 63.5%. The school's performance is particularly low in mathematics, with proficiency rates ranging from 20.5% to 35.1% in 2024-2025, compared to the state average of 48.1% to 56.3%. The school's performance is also below that of nearby schools in the Orangeburg district, such as Elloree Elementary, Edisto Elementary, and Sheridan Elementary.

Bethune-Bowman Elementary has a 100% free and reduced-price lunch rate, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among its student population. The school also has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 21.7% to 33.1% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. Despite the school's higher per-student spending and lower student-teacher ratios compared to some nearby schools, these resources do not appear to be translating into improved academic outcomes, suggesting the need for a comprehensive review of its instructional strategies and resource allocation.

259

Students ?

14.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,024

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4857 Charleston Highway
Rowesville, SC 29133

(803) 533-6371

District: Orangeburg

Students who attend Bethune-Bowman Elementary usually attend:

High:

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

84.9%

Hispanic:

12.0%

Two or more races:

2.3%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Bethune-Bowman Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 1st percentile in 2022 → 6th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2022

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (31% vs 56% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (6th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 27 pts below the South Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school31%

District avg37%

South Carolina avg56%

602^nd of 640

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 6%▲ up 5 pts since 2022

From bottom 1% (2022) to bottom 6% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

13^th of 14Elementary Schools in the Orangeburg

66^th of 75Orangeburg 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	9.8	602 of 640	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.2	585 of 638	8.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.5	593 of 644	7.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	6.0	617 of 625	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	26.7	308 of 381	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.4	285 of 369	22.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.3	308 of 394	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.2	343 of 393	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	9.6	552 of 581	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.2	576 of 580	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.1	552 of 573	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	13.8	564 of 613	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.4	563 of 599	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	547 of 608	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.7	583 of 600	2.8%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	9.5	531 of 568	6.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	13.2	518 of 582	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	4.8	573 of 579	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

African American (2025)19th percentile+13 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)8th percentile~ school

Male (2024)7th percentile~ school

Female (2025)5th percentile~ school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts36%-27 vs state

Mathematics28%-24 vs state

Science25%-24 vs state

★

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Schools Near Bethune-Bowman Elementary

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)		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 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	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
Bethune-Bowman Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4857 Charleston Highway	Rowesville	29133	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 533-6371	259	19	14.0		2 (0.8%)	220 (84.9%)	31 (12.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)	9.8	602^nd of 640 public elementary schools	5.9%		11.2	585^th of 638 public elementary schools	8.3%	17	35.1	36.1	36.4				35.1	30.6	20.5				25.0		$15,024	$1,262	$1,102	$2,363	$10,874	$1,787	$12,661
Willie Jeffries School of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-6	3000 Five Chop Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 250-5717	274	25	11.1		15 (5.5%)	243 (88.7%)	4 (1.5%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	9 (3.3%)								(n/a)
Whittaker Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	790 Whittaker Parkway	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-6559	325	21	15.4		7 (2.2%)	289 (88.9%)	22 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.8%)	21.1	523^rd of 640 public elementary schools	18.3%		25.7	478^th of 638 public elementary schools	25.1%	45	21.8	37.0	45.8				47.8	19.6	48.0				32.6		$14,485	$1,758	$1,059	$2,816	$9,720	$1,948	$11,668
Mellichamp Elementary	Public	3-5	350 Murray Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-8044	144	14	10.0		9 (6.3%)	123 (85.4%)	9 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	5.1	632^nd of 640 public elementary schools	1.3%		5.4	630^th of 638 public elementary schools	1.3%	2	29.2	20.0	33.9				29.3	16.0	23.7				10.0		$25,614	$4,008	$1,991	$5,999	$16,849	$2,766	$19,615
Brookdale Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	394 Brookdale Drive	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-5982	215	16	13.2		6 (2.8%)	185 (86.0%)	18 (8.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	21.6	518^th of 640 public elementary schools	19.1%		34.3	418^th of 638 public elementary schools	34.5%	100	37.5	44.2	42.4				50.0	26.5	45.5				26.4		$17,461	$1,557	$1,271	$2,827	$12,681	$1,953	$14,634
Felton Laboratory Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	115 Lance Street	Orangeburg	29117	Orangeburg County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(803) 536-7034	279	13	20.8		2 (0.7%)	238 (85.3%)	9 (3.2%)	15 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.4%)	31.3	439^th of 640 public elementary schools	31.4%		33.2	427^th of 638 public elementary schools	33.1%	12	76.2	41.7	69.6	50.0	73.3	53.6	28.5	19.5	39.1	20.6	16.7	31.8	33.3	41.2	$14,208	$1,309	$1,231	$2,540	$8,179	$3,489	$11,668
Edisto Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	3239 Cordova Road	Cordova	29039	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 536-4782	635	42	15.0		214 (33.7%)	328 (51.7%)	52 (8.2%)	5 (0.8%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (5.2%)								(n/a)															$14,114	$1,221	$1,184	$2,405	$10,004	$1,705	$11,709
Marshall Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1441 Marshall Street	Orangeburg	29118	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-7865	625	39	16.1		13 (2.1%)	557 (89.1%)	21 (3.4%)	15 (2.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.4%)	15.2	564^th of 640 public elementary schools	11.9%		9.8	605^th of 638 public elementary schools	5.2%	41	46.0	40.4	44.0				41.8	24.5	24.2				26.6		$13,038	$1,084	$1,111	$2,195	$9,302	$1,541	$10,843
Sheridan Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1139 Hillsboro Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-7504	450	32	13.8		11 (2.4%)	380 (84.4%)	35 (7.8%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	16 (3.6%)	11.2	592^nd of 640 public elementary schools	7.5%		10	600^th of 638 public elementary schools	6.0%	8	33.9	27.6	31.9				33.9	44.9	20.3				22.4		$14,393	$1,569	$1,337	$2,906	$9,878	$1,609	$11,487
Lockett Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1349 Dorange Road	Branchville	29432	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 274-8588	239	17	14.3		163 (68.2%)	63 (26.4%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.3%)	4 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.1%)	80.6	111^th of 640 public elementary schools	82.7%		68.6	194^th of 638 public elementary schools	69.6%	83	61.3	73.8	65.8				77.4	78.6	68.3				71.4		$14,651	$447	$827	$1,274	$11,456	$1,921	$13,377

Frequently Asked Questions about Bethune-Bowman Elementary

How many students attend Bethune-Bowman Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 259 students attended Bethune-Bowman Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Bethune-Bowman Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bethune-Bowman Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Bethune-Bowman Middle/High

Is Bethune-Bowman Elementary a good school?

Bethune-Bowman Elementary ranks in the bottom 5.9% of South Carolina elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of Bethune-Bowman Elementary?

Students at Bethune-Bowman Elementary are 85% African American, 12% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What district is Bethune-Bowman Elementary in?

Orangeburg

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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.