Summary:
Zip code 29501 in Florence, South Carolina, is home to six elementary schools serving grades K-5 within the Florence 01 school district, which ranks in the 61st percentile statewide.
For parents, the standout choice is Royall Elementary, which leads the area with an 89th percentile state ranking and exceptional English Language Arts scores—89% of 3rd graders and 87.5% of 5th graders are proficient, far exceeding state averages. Carver Elementary and Lucy T. Davis Elementary are also solid 4-star options, ranking in the 74th and 72nd percentiles respectively. Delmae Heights Elementary and Briggs Elementary fall in the middle with 3-star ratings, while North Vista Elementary is the clear outlier, ranking in the 39th percentile with a 2-star rating and significantly lower test scores across all subjects.
A striking finding is that North Vista Elementary receives the highest per-student funding at $21,826—76% more than Delmae Heights Elementary ($12,415)—yet performs the worst, suggesting money alone doesn't drive success. Chronic absenteeism appears closely tied to achievement: the top three schools all have rates around 15-16%, while North Vista has a 31% rate. Parents should also note that 5th grade math is a consistent weakness across all six schools, with even Royall seeing a 12-point drop in proficiency. Finally, year-over-year scores are volatile, with schools like Carver improving 12 points in 5th grade ELA while dropping 7 points in 4th grade ELA, indicating that cohort differences and inconsistent instructional strategies may be at play.
Thank you for your feedback!