Best Public Schools in Zip Code 29038

Zip code 29038 is served by a single public middle school, Carver Edisto Middle, which enrolls 439 students in grades 6 through 8 and is part of the Orangeburg school district.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Carver Edisto Middle is a school on the rise, but it faces a serious challenge. The school has made a dramatic jump in its statewide ranking, moving from the 7th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 21st percentile in 2025-2026, now placing 264th out of 335 South Carolina middle schools. This improvement is driven by standout results in 6th-grade math, where 39.2% of students are proficient—nearly double the district average of 19.8% and close to the state's 40.9%. The school also excels in advanced coursework, with 70.36% of students passing the Algebra 1 end-of-course exam, outperforming the district's 64.01% and nearly matching the state's 73.95%. However, the school's biggest red flag is chronic absenteeism: 44.8% of students are chronically absent, which is more than double the state rate of 22.3% and significantly higher than the district's 30.9%. This means nearly half of the student body is missing enough school to jeopardize their learning, even as the school improves for those who attend regularly.

Academically, the school shows a clear "6th-grade peak" pattern. In both math and English language arts, proficiency is highest in 6th grade and drops sharply in 7th and 8th grades. For example, math proficiency falls from 39.2% in 6th grade to just 20.2% in 7th grade, while ELA proficiency hovers around 40-43% across all grades—consistently below state averages of roughly 56-59%. Science proficiency in 6th grade is 38.1%, well above the district's 26.2% but below the state's 51.9%. While Carver Edisto Middle generally outperforms its district peers, it still lags the state in nearly every subject. The school's success with advanced math students and its rapid ranking improvement are encouraging signs, but addressing the absenteeism crisis and the mid-school academic slump will be critical to sustaining this momentum.