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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 29203

At a glance

Schools

1,889

Students

Top rankedA. J. Lewis Greenview Elementary563^rd of 661 South Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Hyatt Park Elementary up 28 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Arden Elementary 11.3 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

1★

0★

See the top-ranked South Carolina schools →

Summary:

Zip code 29203 in Columbia, SC is home to 7 elementary schools serving grades PK-5 (with one exception through 6th grade), all part of the Richland 01 school district, which currently holds a 1-star rating and ranks 55th out of 75 districts statewide.

For parents exploring this area, the standout story is Hyatt Park Elementary, which has shown the most dramatic improvement—climbing from the 2nd percentile to the 12th percentile over two years. It now leads the zip code in 3rd-grade ELA (56%) and math (52%) proficiency, and boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 16.9%, better than the state average. In contrast, Edward E. Taylor Elementary is the most concerning option, with a 38.3% chronic absenteeism rate and a ranking collapse to 646th out of 649 schools—only 5% of its 4th graders are proficient in math and science. Forest Heights Elementary spends the least per student ($20,567) yet achieves the highest average ELA proficiency (49.5%), while A. J. Lewis Greenview Elementary is the only school where math proficiency improves from 3rd to 5th grade (23.9% to 41.3%). J. P. Thomas Elementary and Arden Elementary cluster in the middle, with ELA averages around 46% and math around 30%. Carolina School for Inquiry, the smallest school with 114 students and a 9.5:1 student-teacher ratio, lacks recent test data but historically performed better.

The most pressing pattern across all schools is a steep decline in math proficiency from 3rd to 5th grade—Hyatt Park drops 36 points, J.P. Thomas drops 24 points, and Forest Heights drops 19 points. Every school in this zip code falls below state averages in nearly every subject, with gaps of 30-40 percentage points in math and science. Chronic absenteeism averages 28%, well above the state's 22.3%, and correlates strongly with lower performance. Higher per-student spending (ranging from $20,567 to $29,885) does not reliably predict better outcomes, making attendance and grade-level math support the most critical areas for parents to investigate when choosing a school here.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)			SC READY Mathematics (2026)			SC READY Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2024)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Forest Heights Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2500 Blue Ridge Terrace	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 691-3780	435	36	12.0	100.0%	18 (4.1%)	314 (72.2%)	77 (17.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.0%)	15.4	586^th of 661 public elementary schools	11.3%		20.5	528^th of 639 public elementary schools	17.4%	58	53.6	50.0	44.9	37.7	24.6	19.0	27.9	$20,567	$2,644	$1,341	$3,985	$14,101	$2,481	$16,582
Arden Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1300 Ashley Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-3400	216	19	11.3	100.0%	2 (0.9%)	126 (58.3%)	73 (33.8%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.1%)	17.1	565^th of 661 public elementary schools	14.5%		21.3	520^th of 639 public elementary schools	18.6%	45	37.8	47.3	52.9	40.5	27.7	32.3	30.6	$24,750	$2,750	$1,452	$4,202	$17,462	$3,087	$20,548
A. J. Lewis Greenview Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	726 Easter Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-3417	358	24	15.2	100.0%	1 (0.3%)	325 (90.8%)	25 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.0%)	17.3	563^rd of 661 public elementary schools	14.8%		16.6	552^nd of 639 public elementary schools	13.6%	11	40.4	47.7	52.2	23.9	25.6	41.3	28.8	$22,558	$2,904	$1,712	$4,616	$14,919	$3,024	$17,943
Hyatt Park Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4200 Main Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-3421	317	27	11.7	100.0%	9 (2.8%)	280 (88.3%)	12 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (5.0%)	15.7	580^th of 661 public elementary schools	12.3%		9.3	608^th of 639 public elementary schools	4.9%	28	56.0	46.2	36.0	52.0	23.0	16.0	15.4	$29,885	$5,348	$1,789	$7,137	$19,560	$3,189	$22,749
J. P. Thomas Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6001 Weston Avenue	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 735-3430	346	28	12.3	100.0%	14 (4.0%)	298 (86.1%)	11 (3.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	20 (5.8%)	15.4	585^th of 661 public elementary schools	11.5%		17.3	544^th of 639 public elementary schools	14.9%	41	48.1	48.7	43.1	44.3	25.6	20.4	28.2	$24,815	$3,835	$1,532	$5,366	$16,819	$2,629	$19,448
Edward E. Taylor Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	200 McRae Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 343-2974	217	19	11.4	100.0%	0 (0.0%)	188 (86.6%)	18 (8.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.1%)	2.8	658^th of 661 public elementary schools	0.5%		17.4	543^rd of 639 public elementary schools	15.0%	115	32.5	20.0	37.0	21.0	5.0	14.8	5.0	$26,586	$3,770	$1,701	$5,471	$17,926	$3,188	$21,115

Cities Near Zip Code 29203

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Columbia	0.68 mi	83	151^st
Blythewood	5.77 mi	10	67^th
West Columbia	7.29 mi	16	108^th
Irmo	8.07 mi	9	65^th
Cayce	8.12 mi	4	172^nd

See the top SC South Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.