Summary:
Zip code 29492 (Wando, SC) is home to just one middle school, Philip Simmons Middle, which serves grades 5 through 8 with an enrollment of 473 students in the Charleston metropolitan area.
Philip Simmons Middle is a standout performer that has shown consistent improvement, climbing from a 3-star to a 4-star rating and rising from 107th to 89th in the state rankings over three years. The school outperforms both its district, Berkeley 01, and the state average in English Language Arts at every grade level, with 7th graders leading at 74% proficiency. Its most remarkable achievement is a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 end-of-course exam—34 points above the state average. While math scores were previously a relative weakness, they have improved dramatically year-over-year, with 8th grade jumping 16.6 points to 46.2% proficiency. The school also maintains a favorable 15:1 student-teacher ratio and spends $13,927 per student, which appears to be used effectively given the strong outcomes.
Chronic absenteeism at 19.1% is better than both the district (23.9%) and state (22.3%), though it still affects nearly one in five students. The 7th grade cohort is the strongest overall, while 8th grade shows the most room for growth in ELA. Science proficiency in 6th grade (57.2%) also exceeds state averages. The school's ELA program appears mature and stable, while the rapid math improvements suggest recent instructional changes are yielding positive results. For parents, Philip Simmons Middle represents a strong, upwardly trending option within an upper-half district, with exceptional advanced math performance and consistent academic strength across most subjects.
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