Summary:
Zip code 29112 is home to a single elementary school, Dover Elementary, which serves 237 students in grades PK-5 within the Orangeburg school district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that Dover Elementary is a small school with a significant investment in resources that is not yet translating into strong academic results. The school spends a substantial $18,328 per student and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 15.2, suggesting smaller class sizes. However, its state ranking has been steadily declining, falling from the 45th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 29th percentile in 2025-2026, where it now ranks 461st out of 649 schools. The most glaring concern is a chronic absenteeism rate of 39.7% for the 2024-2025 school year—nearly double the state average of 22.3% and well above the district's 30.9%. This means almost 4 out of 10 students are regularly missing school, which likely undermines the benefits of the high spending and low class sizes.
Academically, the school shows a distinct pattern of a "3rd-grade peak" followed by a sharp decline in 4th grade. In the 2025-2026 school year, 3rd-grade math proficiency was a strong 57.8%, nearly matching the state average of 59.2% and far exceeding the district's 39%. However, 4th-grade math proficiency plummeted to just 28.6%, and 4th-grade ELA fell to 42.9%, both well below state averages. Science proficiency in 4th grade is also low at 35.7% versus the state's 51.6%. Year-over-year progress is inconsistent, with improvements in 3rd-grade ELA but declines in 4th-grade ELA and stagnation in 5th-grade math. For parents, this suggests that while the school invests heavily in its students, the combination of high absenteeism and inconsistent instructional outcomes across grade levels are the key challenges to watch.
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