Summary:
Zip code 29053 in Gaston, SC, is served by two middle schools—Frances F. Mack Intermediate (grades 5-6) and Sandhills Middle (grades 7-8)—both part of the Lexington 04 district, which ranks in the bottom 10% of South Carolina districts.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that these schools face significant academic challenges, but there are meaningful differences between them. Frances F. Mack Intermediate is the stronger of the two, with notably higher math proficiency (26.1% in 5th grade and 20.9% in 6th grade) compared to Sandhills Middle (14.2% in 7th grade and 16.4% in 8th grade). ELA proficiency is more comparable, hovering around 40% at both schools. Frances F. Mack also shows positive momentum—5th-grade ELA jumped from 33.2% to 43.7% and math from 19.1% to 26.1% in one year—while Sandhills Middle has seen its state ranking decline for three straight years. The sharp drop in math proficiency from 6th to 7th grade suggests a difficult transition that parents should be aware of.
Both schools share a critical red flag: a chronic absenteeism rate of 33.9%, far above the state average of 22.3%. This likely drives much of the low performance. Interestingly, Frances F. Mack Intermediate spends significantly more per student ($15,010 vs. $12,734 at Sandhills Middle) despite similar student-teacher ratios (13.5 vs. 13.3), yet outcomes remain below state averages. The most urgent issue is math—proficiency is roughly half the state average at Frances F. Mack and even lower at Sandhills Middle. While literacy is also a concern, the math deficit is severe and requires immediate, targeted intervention. Parents should consider these trends carefully when evaluating school options in this area.
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