Summary:
Zip code 29123 is home to a single middle school, Pelion Middle, which serves grades 6-8 with 513 students in the highly-rated Lexington 01 school district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Pelion Middle is a school on a clear upward trajectory, though it still faces significant hurdles. The school has improved its state ranking dramatically over two years, jumping from 253rd to 189th in South Carolina. The most impressive academic highlight is its Algebra 1 proficiency rate of 92.11%, which far exceeds both the district (78.25%) and state (73.95%) averages. However, this stands in stark contrast to general 8th-grade math scores, which sit at just 39.3% proficiency—suggesting that only a select group of advanced students may be taking Algebra 1. The school also showed a remarkable 27.5-point improvement in 8th-grade math year-over-year, and strong gains in 6th-grade science and 8th-grade ELA. Still, Pelion Middle trails state averages in most subjects, with the largest gaps in 7th-grade ELA (-10.6 points) and 6th-grade math (-10.4 points).
The most critical concern is chronic absenteeism, which sits at a staggering 40.8%—nearly double the state average of 22.3%. This likely explains why the school, despite having a favorable 11.4:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $15,624, hasn't translated its resources into stronger overall outcomes. There's also a consistent pattern where 6th-grade performance is strongest and 7th-grade is weakest, possibly indicating a challenging transition year. While the school is clearly improving and shows capacity for excellence, addressing the attendance crisis will be essential for closing remaining achievement gaps and ensuring the upward trend continues.
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