Summary:
Zip code 29164 is home to just one elementary school, Cyril B. Busbee Elementary, which serves grades PK through 5 in the Wagener, SC area as part of the Aiken 01 school district.
For parents considering this school, the most important takeaway is that Cyril B. Busbee Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 18th percentile of all South Carolina elementary schools over the past three years, earning a 1-star rating. The school serves 467 students with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.7, and per-student spending is a substantial $13,254. However, this investment has not translated into strong academic results. The school underperforms both the district and state averages in nearly every subject and grade level. The most concerning trend is in mathematics, where proficiency drops dramatically as students advance: 3rd grade math proficiency is 50.7%, but it falls to 28.0% in 4th grade and just 10.7% in 5th grade—a staggering 38.4 percentage points behind the state average. English Language Arts scores are also inconsistent, with 5th grade proficiency swinging from 61.9% in 2024-2025 down to 41.6% in 2025-2026.
A likely key driver of these struggles is chronic absenteeism, which stands at 28.6%—higher than both the district (25.1%) and state (22.3%) rates. With over a quarter of students chronically absent, it is difficult for even well-funded, small classes to achieve strong outcomes. While the school has positive structural factors like a low student-teacher ratio and high per-student spending, these resources are not currently overcoming the challenges of absenteeism and inconsistent academic performance. Parents should be aware that while the school has the resources to support students, the current academic results and attendance issues present significant concerns that may warrant further investigation.
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