Summary:
Zip code 29150 in Sumter, South Carolina, is served by 10 schools—7 elementary, 2 middle, and 1 high school—enrolling about 5,765 students, with 9 schools in the Sumter 01 district (1-star rating) and one charter school in the School Public Charter School District (3-star rating).
The standout is Alice Drive Elementary, ranked 125th of 649 elementary schools statewide (81st percentile, 4 stars), and it outperforms every other school in the area by 20–35 percentage points in most subjects—for example, 4th grade math proficiency is 70% versus the state average of 52.3%. In contrast, Willow Drive Elementary is the lowest-ranked (20th percentile, 1 star), with 5th grade math at just 7.2% proficiency and chronic absenteeism at 52.8%. Liberty STEAM Charter School is the only school with below-state-average absenteeism (15.2% vs. 22.3%) and posts strong ELA scores (62–65% proficiency), though its math proficiency (44–50%) lags. Lakewood High has improved from the 4th to 28th percentile in two years, but its graduation rate (74.1%) remains well below the state's 86.7%.
Chronic absenteeism is the area's biggest challenge, averaging 35.8%—more than double the state average—and schools with rates above 40% (like Crosswell Drive Elementary, Lemira Elementary, and Lakewood High) rank in the bottom 11th percentile. Math proficiency also declines sharply from 3rd to 5th grade across all elementary schools, and both middle schools (Alice Drive Middle and Bates Middle) fall 15–25 points below state averages in math. Notably, higher spending doesn't guarantee results—Wilder Elementary and Lemira spend the most per student ($17,935 and $17,779) yet rank in the bottom third, while Alice Drive Elementary achieves top-quartile results at $14,710 per student.
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