Summary:
Zip code 29209 in Columbia, SC is home to four elementary schools—Caughman Road Elementary, Meadowfield Elementary, Mill Creek Elementary, and Annie Burnside Elementary—all serving grades PK-5 within the Richland 01 school district, which ranks in the bottom third of South Carolina districts.
For parents, the standout choice is Annie Burnside Elementary, the smallest school in the area with 306 students. It leads the zip code in academic performance, with ELA proficiency rates of 69.7%, 68%, and 69.3% in grades 3, 4, and 5—the only school here to exceed state averages in all three grades. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism (16.9%) and has climbed from the 32nd to the 50th percentile in state rankings over two years. In contrast, Mill Creek Elementary shows the most concerning trends, with only 17.7% of 3rd graders proficient in math (41.5 points below the state average) and a ranking that has fallen to the 17th percentile. Caughman Road Elementary (715 students) and Meadowfield Elementary (615 students) sit in the middle, with Meadowfield posting the strongest math scores in the area (46.9% in 3rd grade) but struggling with chronic absenteeism at 24.1%.
A key takeaway is that spending does not predict success. Annie Burnside spends the most per student ($21,729) and performs best, but Mill Creek spends nearly as much ($20,636) with the weakest results. Math proficiency is a systemic weakness across all four schools, with scores lagging far behind ELA. Attendance clearly matters—the two schools with the lowest chronic absenteeism (Annie Burnside at 16.9% and Caughman Road at 17.6%) outperform the others. Finally, test scores fluctuate significantly year-to-year, especially at smaller schools, so parents should look at multi-year trends rather than a single year's results.
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