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Bethune-Bowman Middle/High

Q: Is Bethune-Bowman Middle/High a good school?

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High ranks in the bottom 1.6% of South Carolina high schools.

Q: How many students attend Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 349 students attended Bethune-Bowman Middle/High.

Q: What is the racial makeup of Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

Students at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High are 77% African American, 16% Hispanic, 5% White.

Q: What schools feed into Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Bethune-Bowman Elementary

Public Grades 6-12

241^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 245 South Carolina High Schools

Better than 2% of South Carolina high schools

Summary

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High in Rowesville, SC, is a small combined middle and high school serving 349 students in grades 6-12 within the Orangeburg school district, where 100% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch.

The most striking thing about Bethune-Bowman is its graduation rate. Despite ranking in the bottom 2% of South Carolina high schools academically, the school consistently graduates students at rates well above both district and state averages—92.2% in 2024-2025 compared to the state's 86.7%. This suggests the school is very effective at keeping students on track to earn a diploma, even while test scores lag significantly behind state benchmarks. The school also keeps chronic absenteeism below the district average, though it has risen in recent years. There are some bright spots academically: English 2 proficiency reached 77.6% in 2024-2025, actually beating the district average, and Algebra 1 scores have been strong. However, middle school math remains a critical weakness, with only 15-23% of 6th-8th graders meeting proficiency standards.

Comparing Bethune-Bowman to Branchville High—a nearby school with nearly identical demographics, spending per student, and class sizes—reveals a dramatic gap. Branchville ranks in the 91st percentile statewide with 5 stars, while Bethune-Bowman sits near the bottom. For example, 6th grade math proficiency is 69.1% at Branchville versus 15.4% at Bethune-Bowman, and U.S. History proficiency is 81.4% versus 11.8%. This suggests that resources alone don't explain the difference; school leadership and instructional approaches likely play a major role. For parents, this means Bethune-Bowman offers strong support for graduating, but families should be prepared to supplement academic learning, particularly in math and history, and may want to explore why a similar school in the same district achieves far stronger results.

349

Students ?

14.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,558

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

4857 Charleston Highway
Rowesville, SC 29133

(803) 516-6011

District: Orangeburg

Feeder schools for Bethune-Bowman Middle/High:

Elementary:

Bethune-Bowman Elementary

Racial breakdown:

African American:

77.1%

Hispanic:

16.3%

White:

5.2%

See top rated South Carolina high schools

Compare Bethune-Bowman Middle/High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 24th percentile in 2021 → 2nd in 2026

Strengths

✓92% graduate in 4 years — above the South Carolina average (87%)

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (26% vs 56% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)

!Ranking has slipped — down 22 percentile points since 2021

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school26%

District avg36%

South Carolina avg56%

Middle school

322^nd of 335

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 4%▬ steady since 2022

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

241^st of 245

South Carolina public high schools ?

Bottom 2%▼ down 22 pts since 2021

From bottom 24% (2021) to bottom 2% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7High Schools in the Orangeburg

63^rd 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)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	8.5	322 of 335	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	6.6	314 of 320	1.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.5	324 of 325	0.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	7.1	318 of 325	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	9.7	297 of 310	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	28.1	210 of 257	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	14.4	242 of 252	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	16.3	234 of 248	5.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	242 of 253	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	23.9	210 of 249	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	300 of 305	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	7.0	291 of 295	1.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	6.4	291 of 294	1.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.1	286 of 299	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	11.1	273 of 290	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	9.9	308 of 320	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	8.7	300 of 307	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	8.4	305 of 307	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	9.3	306 of 313	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.5	279 of 300	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	6.9	294 of 306	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	5.1	294 of 296	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	7.5	289 of 294	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	6.7	299 of 303	1.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	8.8	284 of 292	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	2.7	241 of 245	1.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	16.7	202 of 235	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	6.6	227 of 235	3.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	23.7	175 of 237	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	10.2	207 of 226	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	21.7	173 of 227	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	6.7	193 of 198	2.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	34.7	140 of 194	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	14.4	182 of 194	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	42.1	106 of 199	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	26.3	151 of 190	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	4.7	221 of 227	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	33.5	151 of 225	32.9%	★★☆☆☆
2024	18.5	186 of 225	17.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	38.4	130 of 223	41.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	15.2	195 of 220	11.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	4.2	234 of 238	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	21.3	185 of 226	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	10.0	218 of 229	4.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	33.9	147 of 226	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2022	16.2	196 of 220	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	1.4	230 of 231	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.8	206 of 224	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.9	227 of 228	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.5	196 of 229	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	8.0	210 of 224	6.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Middle school

African American (2026)18th percentile+14 vs school

Male (2026)4th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)4th percentile~ school

Female (2026)2nd percentile~ school

High school

Female (2026)3rd percentile~ school

African American (2026)3rd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)2nd percentile~ school

Male (2026)<1st percentile~ school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English 262%-22 vs state

English 129%-32 vs state

English Language Arts28%-30 vs state

Mathematics20%-23 vs state

U.S. History and the Constitution12%-51 vs state

Science12%-40 vs state

5.0

1 rating · 1 written review

5★1

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3★0

2★0

1★0

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What people are saying

by a parent
Wednesday, August 19, 2026

This is very cool the fact that the african american culture is normalized here just makes me mesmerized. Close Quote

Schools Near Bethune-Bowman Middle/High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)			SC READY Mathematics (2026)			SC READY Science (2026)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2026)	EOCEP English 1 (2026)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2026)	EOCEP English 2 (2026)	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 (2024)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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	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
Bethune-Bowman Middle/High	Public	6-12	4857 Charleston Highway	Rowesville	29133	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 516-6011	349	25	14.0	100.0%	18 (5.2%)	269 (77.1%)	57 (16.3%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	2.7	241^st of 245 public high schools	1.6%		16.7	202^nd of 235 public high schools	14.0%	39	23.1	38.1	25.0	15.4	21.4	22.9	11.5		28.9	11.8	62.3	$15,558	$1,764	$1,521	$3,285	$10,428	$1,845	$12,273
Orangeburg Wilkinson High	Public	9-12	601 Bruin Parkway	Orangeburg	29118	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 534-6180	992	60	16.5	100.0%	20 (2.0%)	903 (91.0%)	47 (4.7%)	7 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.3%)	6.9	236^th of 245 public high schools	3.7%		5.3	227^th of 235 public high schools	3.4%	9								23.6	25.8	21.6	72.4	$17,547	$1,137	$2,786	$3,923	$11,413	$2,212	$13,624
Orangeburg High School for Health Professions	Public, Charter	9-12	130 Howard Hill Drive	Orangeburg	29118	Orangeburg County	Limestone Charters Association	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 535-1693	492	26	18.9	0.7%	4 (0.8%)	460 (93.5%)	4 (0.8%)	17 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.4%)	62.2	94^th of 245 public high schools	61.6%		53.7	95^th of 235 public high schools	59.6%	1									63.0	63.0	86.5	$12,899	$1,461	$429	$1,889	$7,424	$3,586	$11,010
The Orangeburg Career & Technology Center	Public	9-12	3720 Magnolia Street	Orangeburg	29118	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg 81	No	No	No	No	(803) 536-4473	0	13	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Branchville High	Public	6-12	1349 Dorange Road	Branchville	29432	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 274-8875	317	22	14.2	100.0%	228 (71.9%)	70 (22.1%)	2 (0.6%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.8%)	89.5	21^st of 245 public high schools	91.4%		69.1	50^th of 235 public high schools	78.7%	29	64.3	76.2	70.4	69.1	85.7	75.0	30.9		82.7	81.4	93.9	$15,767	$1,067	$1,401	$2,468	$11,467	$1,832	$13,299
Edisto High	Public	9-12	500 R.M. Foster Drive	Cordova	29039	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 536-1553	614	48	12.6	100.0%	227 (37.0%)	320 (52.1%)	45 (7.3%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.3%)	19.6	212^th of 245 public high schools	13.5%		17.5	199^th of 235 public high schools	15.3%	13								50.0	40.6	47.4	71.3	$18,528	$1,158	$2,688	$3,846	$12,275	$2,407	$14,682
Lake Marion Technology Center	Public	9-12	3656 Tee Vee Road	Santee	29142	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 854-9213	0	14	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Lake Marion High School	Public	9-12	3656 Tee Vee Road	Santee	29142	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 854-9213	692	41	17.0	100.0%	55 (7.9%)	591 (85.4%)	25 (3.6%)	6 (0.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.9%)	8	234^th of 245 public high schools	4.5%		11.4	217^th of 235 public high schools	7.7%	17								13.0	35.0	30.1	69.0	$19,192	$1,837	$1,747	$3,584	$13,475	$2,133	$15,608
Cope Area Career Center	Public	9-12	6052 Slab Landing Road	Cope	29038	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg 80	No	No	No	No	(803) 534-7661	0	11	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Bamberg-Ehrhardt High	Public	9-12	267 Red Raider Drive	Bamberg	29003	Bamberg County	Bamberg 03	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 245-3030	383	32	11.9	100.0%	147 (38.4%)	216 (56.4%)	13 (3.4%)	3 (0.8%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	50.2	122^nd of 245 public high schools	50.2%		46	118^th of 235 public high schools	49.8%	4								86.1	56.2	51.5	80.6	$19,508	$1,323	$1,082	$2,405	$14,356	$2,747	$17,103

Frequently Asked Questions about Bethune-Bowman Middle/High

What is the racial makeup of Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

Students at Bethune-Bowman Middle/High are 77% African American, 16% Hispanic, 5% White.

Is Bethune-Bowman Middle/High a good school?

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High ranks in the bottom 1.6% of South Carolina high schools.

What schools feed into Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

Bethune-Bowman Middle/High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Bethune-Bowman Elementary

What district is Bethune-Bowman Middle/High in?

Orangeburg

How many students attend Bethune-Bowman Middle/High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 349 students attended Bethune-Bowman Middle/High.

Rate Bethune-Bowman Middle/High!

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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.