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Whittaker Elementary

Q: Is Whittaker Elementary a good school?

Whittaker Elementary ranks 491 st of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-5

491^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 661 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 26% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Whittaker Elementary is a PK-5 public school in Orangeburg, SC, serving 325 students in a high-poverty area where 100% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school has a 1-star rating and ranks in the bottom quarter of South Carolina elementary schools, but the data reveals a more complex story than the overall ranking suggests.

Despite its low state ranking, Whittaker is actually a relative academic leader within the Orangeburg district. In the 2025-2026 school year, its state rank of 484 places it above nearby schools like Sheridan Elementary (586), Marshall Elementary (583), Edisto Elementary (571), and Bethune-Bowman Elementary (598). Only Brookdale Elementary (499) is comparable. Whittaker also shows a particular strength in 5th-grade math, with 44.5% proficiency in 2025-2026, significantly outpacing the district average of 33.3% and approaching the state average of 49.1%. The school also demonstrates notable effectiveness with its African American student population, ranking in the 59th percentile for this group—far above its overall 25th percentile ranking.

The school's biggest challenge is chronic absenteeism, which has climbed from 28.4% in 2022-2023 to a staggering 42.8% in 2023-2024, nearly double the state average. This is particularly concerning because test scores show a clear upward trajectory—3rd-grade ELA proficiency jumped from 28.3% to 50% in recent years. Interestingly, Brookdale Elementary, located just over a mile away, spends significantly more per student ($17,461 vs. $14,485) and has a much lower absenteeism rate (18.7%), yet achieves nearly identical results. This suggests Whittaker is achieving comparable outcomes with fewer resources, pointing to potential instructional strengths. The nearby Willie Jeffries School of Excellence, ranked dead last in the state, puts Whittaker's struggles into perspective—despite its challenges, Whittaker is performing significantly better than this nearby alternative.

325

Students ?

15.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,485

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

790 Whittaker Parkway
Orangeburg, SC 29115

(803) 534-6559

District: Orangeburg

Racial breakdown:

African American:

88.9%

Hispanic:

6.8%

White:

2.2%

See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

Compare Whittaker Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 20th percentile in 2022 → 26th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 6 percentile points since 2022

✓Among the top-ranked schools in Orangeburg

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (44% vs 58% meeting standards)

!High chronic absenteeism (38% vs 22% South Carolina)

!Science scores 18 pts below the South Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school44%

District avg39%

South Carolina avg58%

491^st of 661

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 26%▲ up 6 pts since 2022

From bottom 20% (2022) to bottom 26% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 12Elementary 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)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	25.7	491 of 661	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	21.1	522 of 639	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.7	483 of 643	24.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.7	492 of 644	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.0	501 of 625	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	53.4	158 of 384	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	42.9	223 of 380	41.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.0	153 of 369	58.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	48.9	190 of 394	51.8%	★★★☆☆
2022	48.5	191 of 393	51.4%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	30.2	424 of 599	29.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.2	434 of 568	23.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	23.5	456 of 580	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.2	445 of 573	22.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	33.9	437 of 634	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	27.6	467 of 612	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.8	411 of 602	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	25.6	484 of 608	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.5	472 of 600	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	25.3	442 of 591	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.3	459 of 585	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.0	421 of 571	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	446 of 582	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	17.3	485 of 579	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆

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 (2026)59th percentile+33 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)31st percentile+5 vs school

Female (2026)29th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2026)25th percentile~ school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts51%-14 vs state

Mathematics41%-13 vs state

Science33%-18 vs state

★

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Schools Near Whittaker Elementary

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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)		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 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
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	100.0%	7 (2.2%)	289 (88.9%)	22 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.8%)	25.7	491^st of 661 public elementary schools	25.7%		21.1	522^nd of 639 public elementary schools	18.3%	31	50.0	51.1	51.1				40.0	37.8	44.5				33.4		$14,485	$1,758	$1,059	$2,816	$9,720	$1,948	$11,668
Felton Laboratory Charter School	Public, Charter	K-8	115 Lance Street	Orangeburg	29116	Orangeburg County	School Public Charter School District	Yes	No	No	Yes	(803) 536-7034	279	13	20.8	100.0%	2 (0.7%)	238 (85.3%)	9 (3.2%)	15 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.4%)	31.6	447^th of 661 public elementary schools	32.4%		31.3	438^th of 639 public elementary schools	31.5%	9	39.3	65.5	39.5	72.4	57.2	47.2	57.1	24.1	23.7		28.6	25.0	41.4	41.4	$14,208	$1,309	$1,231	$2,540	$8,179	$3,489	$11,668
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	100.0%	6 (2.8%)	185 (86.0%)	18 (8.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	24.3	507^th of 661 public elementary schools	23.3%		21.6	517^th of 639 public elementary schools	19.1%	10	41.9	50.0	32.1				51.7	34.4	46.4				37.6		$17,461	$1,557	$1,271	$2,827	$12,681	$1,953	$14,634
Mellichamp Elementary	Public	3-5	350 Murray Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-8044	144	14	10.0	100.0%	9 (6.3%)	123 (85.4%)	9 (6.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	4.6	654^th of 661 public elementary schools	1.1%		5.1	631^st of 639 public elementary schools	1.3%	23	34.2	40.4	17.8				15.8	23.4	11.1				21.3		$25,614	$4,008	$1,991	$5,999	$16,849	$2,766	$19,615
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	100.0%	13 (2.1%)	557 (89.1%)	21 (3.4%)	15 (2.4%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.4%)	14.4	593^rd of 661 public elementary schools	10.3%		15.2	563^rd of 639 public elementary schools	11.9%	30	41.9	49.4	37.0				38.1	28.3	26.1				37.1		$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	100.0%	11 (2.4%)	380 (84.4%)	35 (7.8%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	16 (3.6%)	14.1	596^th of 661 public elementary schools	9.8%		11.2	591^st of 639 public elementary schools	7.5%	5	45.3	43.8	28.3				28.0	50.0	20.8				29.1		$14,393	$1,569	$1,337	$2,906	$9,878	$1,609	$11,487
Willie Jeffries School of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-7	3000 Five Chop Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 937-3400	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%)	2.6	659^th of 661 public elementary schools	0.3%					(n/a)	25.5	29.7	29.2	21.3	35.9		11.8	13.5	9.8	2.1	6.3		18.9	19.2
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	100.0%	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
Edisto Elementary	Public	3-5	136 Woodolive Lane	Orangeburg	29515	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 531-7646	419	27	15.2	100.0%	162 (38.7%)	196 (46.8%)	24 (5.7%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (7.4%)	15.7	582^nd of 661 public elementary schools	12.0%		17.8	541^st of 639 public elementary schools	15.3%	41	41.6	45.3	39.1				39.6	35.7	33.4				30.2		$14,392	$1,769	$1,435	$3,204	$9,579	$1,610	$11,189
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	100.0%	2 (0.8%)	220 (84.9%)	31 (12.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)	12.3	610^th of 661 public elementary schools	7.7%		9.8	601^st of 639 public elementary schools	5.9%	9	45.9	41.2	32.4				37.8	14.7	29.4				35.3		$15,024	$1,262	$1,102	$2,363	$10,874	$1,787	$12,661

Frequently Asked Questions about Whittaker Elementary

What district is Whittaker Elementary in?

Orangeburg

What schools do graduates of Whittaker Elementary attend?

Students who attend Whittaker Elementary usually go on to attend:

High : Orangeburg Wilkinson High

How many students attend Whittaker Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 325 students attended Whittaker Elementary.

Is Whittaker Elementary a good school?

Whittaker Elementary ranks 491^st of 661 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Whittaker Elementary?

Students at Whittaker Elementary are 89% African American, 7% Hispanic, 2% White, 2% Two or more races.

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Schools in Orangeburg, SC

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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.