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Denmark-Olar Elementary

Public Grades PK, KG-5

535^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 661 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Better than 19% of South Carolina elementary schools

Summary

Denmark-Olar Elementary is a small, rural school in Denmark, SC, serving 232 students in grades PK through 5 within the Bamberg 03 school district, where every student qualifies for free or reduced lunch.

The most encouraging news is the school's clear upward momentum. After ranking in the bottom 4% of South Carolina elementary schools just two years ago, Denmark-Olar jumped from the 12th percentile to the 19th percentile in the most recent school year. This improvement is driven by remarkable gains in 3rd grade, where reading proficiency jumped from 32% to 54% and math proficiency soared from 18% to 54% in a single year. The school also shows a notable strength in serving its African American students, ranking in the 45th percentile statewide for this group—far above its overall ranking. Additionally, 4th-grade science scores exceed the district average, suggesting a potential area of instructional strength. The school invests heavily in its students, spending over $23,000 per child and maintaining a low 12.8:1 student-teacher ratio, which is significantly more than its in-district peer, Richard Carroll Elementary.

However, challenges remain. Academic performance declines sharply as students move into upper grades—5th-grade math proficiency drops to just 26%, compared to 54% in 3rd grade. Chronic absenteeism is also a growing concern, rising to 24.4%, which is above both the district and state averages. While Denmark-Olar still trails Sheridan Elementary in several subjects, it outperforms Mellichamp Elementary in every grade and subject tested, despite Mellichamp spending even more per student. For parents, this is a school showing real signs of progress, with targeted investments and early-grade successes that could pave the way for sustained improvement.

232

Students ?

12.8

Student/teacher ratio ?

$23,042

Per pupil spending ?

100%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1437 Church St
Denmark, SC 29042

(803) 793-3112

District: Bamberg 03

Racial breakdown:

African American:

94.4%

Hispanic:

3.4%

White:

1.3%

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Compare Denmark-Olar Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 4th percentile in 2023 → 19th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 15 percentile points since 2023

Worth a look

!Test scores below the South Carolina average (40% vs 58% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (19th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 20 pts below the South Carolina average

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school40%

District avg46%

South Carolina avg58%

535^th of 661

South Carolina public elementary schools ?

Bottom 19%▲ up 15 pts since 2023

From bottom 4% (2023) to bottom 19% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of South Carolina Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 2Elementary Schools in the Bamberg 03

49^th of 75Bamberg 03 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	20.1	535 of 661	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	15.2	562 of 639	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.1	509 of 643	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	8.5	618 of 644	4.0%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	44.2	210 of 384	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.0	241 of 380	36.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	50.8	168 of 369	54.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	25.6	333 of 394	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	15.4	532 of 599	11.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	17.1	507 of 580	12.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	427 of 568	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	18.9	486 of 580	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2026	32.4	443 of 634	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	21.9	514 of 612	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	440 of 602	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	10.8	583 of 608	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	South Carolina percentile	Rating
2024	21.6	456 of 571	20.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	3.5	578 of 582	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)45th percentile+26 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)30th percentile+11 vs school

Male (2024)20th percentile~ school

Female (2026)11th percentile-8 vs school

By subject vs South Carolina (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts44%-20 vs state

Mathematics37%-16 vs state

Science33%-18 vs state

★

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Schools Near Denmark-Olar 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
Denmark-Olar Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1437 Church St	Denmark	29042	Bamberg County	Bamberg 03	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 793-3112	232	18	12.8	100.0%	3 (1.3%)	219 (94.4%)	8 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	20.1	535^th of 661 public elementary schools	19.1%		15.2	562^nd of 639 public elementary schools	12.1%	27	54.2	42.4	38.2				54.1	36.4	26.4				33.3		$23,042	$3,069	$1,425	$4,494	$15,615	$2,933	$18,548
Richard Carroll Elementary	Public	PK, KG-6	1980 Main Highway	Bamberg	29003	Bamberg County	Bamberg 03	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 245-3047	689	49	14.0	100.0%	300 (43.5%)	324 (47.0%)	20 (2.9%)	4 (0.6%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (5.7%)	37.4	416^th of 661 public elementary schools	37.1%		39.3	384^th of 639 public elementary schools	39.9%	32	70.2	59.2	65.2	46.4			49.4	28.0	44.2	25.0			27.9	48.8	$16,591	$1,691	$702	$2,393	$12,055	$2,144	$14,198
Macedonia Elementary-Middle	Public	PK, KG-8	556 Jones Bridge Road	Blackville	29817	Barnwell County	Barnwell	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 284-5800	349	24	14.5		40 (11.5%)	254 (72.8%)	25 (7.2%)	9 (2.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (5.4%)	4.3	655^th of 661 public elementary schools	0.9%					(n/a)	33.4	36.7	20.0	33.4	33.3	31.5	19.5	23.4	0.0	12.5	11.1	11.5	16.7	8.3
Hunter-Kinard-Tyler Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	7066 Norway Road	Neeses	29107	Orangeburg County	Orangeburg	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 263-4441	179	12	15.2	100.0%	38 (21.2%)	121 (67.6%)	7 (3.9%)	1 (0.6%)	2 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.6%)	14.4	595^th of 661 public elementary schools	10.0%		14.7	565^th of 639 public elementary schools	11.6%	30	53.8	32.3	34.8				46.2	19.4	26.0				32.3		$17,684	$1,022	$1,009	$2,032	$13,543	$2,110	$15,652
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
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
Barnwell Primary	Public	PK, KG-3	9286 Marlboro Avenue	Barnwell	29812	Barnwell County	Barnwell	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 541-1320	680	52	13.0	100.0%	360 (52.9%)	278 (40.9%)	22 (3.2%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (2.8%)								(n/a)	57.1						43.6
Kelly Edwards Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1071 Elko Street	Williston	29853	Barnwell County	Barnwell	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 266-3737	296	23	12.8		68 (23.0%)	190 (64.2%)	14 (4.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.8%)	40.8	394^th of 661 public elementary schools	40.4%					(n/a)	66.7	50.0	67.5				46.1	42.0	51.2				36.0
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
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

Frequently Asked Questions about Denmark-Olar Elementary

How many students attend Denmark-Olar Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 232 students attended Denmark-Olar Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Denmark-Olar Elementary?

Students at Denmark-Olar Elementary are 94% African American, 3% Hispanic, 1% White.

What district is Denmark-Olar Elementary in?

Bamberg 03

Is Denmark-Olar Elementary a good school?

Denmark-Olar Elementary ranks in the bottom 19.1% of South Carolina elementary schools.

Rate Denmark-Olar Elementary!

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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.