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Robert E. Howard Middle

Public Grades 6-8

264^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 320 South Carolina Middle Schools

Better than 18% of South Carolina middle schools

Summary

Robert E. Howard Middle is a public middle school in Orangeburg, South Carolina, serving 413 students in grades 6-8. 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. Over the past few years, Robert E. Howard Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom third of South Carolina middle schools, with a ranking between 264-300 out of around 320 schools.

Academically, Robert E. Howard Middle consistently underperforms compared to state and district averages on standardized tests, with only 33% to 42.4% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, and just 12.8% to 22% proficient in math, far below the state averages. The school also experiences high rates of chronic absenteeism, with 42.2% of students chronically absent in the 2023-2024 school year. Despite spending significantly more per student ($14,435 in 2023-2024) than the state average, the school's academic outcomes remain poor.

Interestingly, while Robert E. Howard Middle as a whole struggles, the school's African American students and students with disabilities perform relatively better compared to their peers at the school. Additionally, the two nearby schools, Carver Edisto Middle and William J. Clark Middle, also face similar academic and demographic challenges, suggesting that the issues at Robert E. Howard Middle may be systemic within the Orangeburg School District.

396

Students ?

15.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$14,620

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1255 Belleville Road
Orangeburg, SC 29115

(803) 534-5470

District: Orangeburg

Students who attend Robert E. Howard Middle usually attend:

High:

Orangeburg Wilkinson High

Racial breakdown:

African American:

88.6%

Hispanic:

5.3%

Two or more races:

4.0%

See top rated South Carolina middle schools

Compare Robert E. Howard Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 3rd percentile in 2022 → 18th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 15 percentile points since 2022

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (30% vs 50% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (18th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (33% vs 22% South Carolina)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg30%

South Carolina avg50%

264^th of 320

South Carolina public middle schools ?

Bottom 18%▲ up 14 pts since 2022

From bottom 3% (2022) to bottom 18% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

1^st of 3Middle 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	18.7	264 of 320	17.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.0	270 of 325	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	14.7	283 of 325	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	9.3	300 of 310	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	43.7	150 of 252	40.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.0	145 of 248	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	37.1	163 of 253	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2022	22.4	216 of 249	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2023	32.1	130 of 187	30.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	15.8	253 of 295	14.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	16.5	251 of 294	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.3	253 of 299	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	6.3	290 of 290	0.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	23.9	247 of 307	19.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	24.6	244 of 307	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	20.7	257 of 313	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	11.0	293 of 300	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2025	21.6	242 of 296	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.9	237 of 294	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.6	268 of 303	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.0	265 of 292	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

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 (2025)40th percentile+23 vs school

Disabled (2023)30th percentile+18 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)20th percentile~ school

Male (2025)18th percentile~ school

Female (2025)14th percentile-3 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2024-2025) ?

Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 292%+18 vs state

English Language Arts39%-17 vs state

Science24%-24 vs state

Mathematics18%-17 vs state

★

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Schools Near Robert E. Howard Middle

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)	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 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 (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 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	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
Robert E. Howard Middle	Public	6-8	1255 Belleville Road	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 534-5470	396	26	15.4		7 (1.8%)	351 (88.6%)	21 (5.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.0%)	18.7	264^th of 320 public middle schools	17.5%		18	270^th of 325 public middle schools	16.9%	6	33.0	41.1	42.4	22.0	12.8	21.8	24.3	91.7	$14,620	$1,243	$1,160	$2,403	$10,328	$1,889	$12,217
William J. Clark Middle	Public	6-8	919 Bennett Avenue	Orangeburg	29115	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 531-2200	587	45	13.0		19 (3.2%)	514 (87.6%)	29 (4.9%)	10 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	13 (2.2%)	10.5	302^nd of 320 public middle schools	5.6%		13.2	293^rd of 325 public middle schools	9.8%	9	33.2	31.2	28.7	18.3	8.0	7.2	29.2	76.6	$15,460	$1,198	$1,075	$2,273	$11,363	$1,825	$13,187
Carver Edisto Middle	Public	6-8	2018 Carver School Road	Cope	29038	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	No	(803) 534-3554	439	34	12.7		148 (33.7%)	230 (52.4%)	36 (8.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (5.2%)	11.5	297^th of 320 public middle schools	7.2%		10.7	307^th of 325 public middle schools	5.5%	10	34.9	34.5	30.1	19.8	8.2	8.3	26.7	70.4	$15,823	$1,263	$1,536	$2,799	$11,200	$1,824	$13,024
Bamberg-Ehrhardt Middle	Public	7-8	897 North Street	Bamberg	29003	Bamberg County	Bamberg 03	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 245-3058	188	18	10.4		89 (47.3%)	88 (46.8%)	4 (2.1%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	29.7	230^th of 320 public middle schools	28.1%		45.9	162^nd of 325 public middle schools	50.2%	68		45.9	43.0		24.1	23.6			$19,476	$1,692	$1,464	$3,156	$13,772	$2,548	$16,320
Lake Marion Middle	Public	6-8	3656 Tee Vee Road	Santee	29412	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 496-5197	501	35	14.1		34 (6.8%)	430 (85.8%)	18 (3.6%)	6 (1.2%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	10 (2.0%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about Robert E. Howard Middle

Is Robert E. Howard Middle a good school?

Robert E. Howard Middle ranks in the bottom 17.5% of South Carolina middle schools.

What is the racial makeup of Robert E. Howard Middle?

Students at Robert E. Howard Middle are 89% African American, 5% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% White.

What high school do graduates of Robert E. Howard Middle attend?

Students who attend Robert E. Howard Middle usually go on to attend Orangeburg Wilkinson High

What district is Robert E. Howard Middle in?

Orangeburg

How many students attend Robert E. Howard Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 396 students attended Robert E. Howard Middle.

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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.