Summary:
Middle Schools in zip code 29520 consist of a single school, Long Middle, serving grades 6 through 8 in Cheraw, SC, with an enrollment of 406 students.
For parents considering Long Middle, the most important takeaway is that this school shows a clear split between its strengths and challenges. The school is part of the Chesterfield 01 district, which ranks in the bottom third of South Carolina districts. Long Middle itself ranks 250th out of 335 middle schools in the state, placing it in the 25th percentile. The school’s biggest bright spot is its 7th-grade cohort, which posted strong results in English Language Arts (58.4% proficient) and mathematics (34.5% proficient), nearly matching or far exceeding district averages. However, this success does not carry across all grades. Sixth-grade math proficiency sits at just 17.3%, less than half the state average of 40.9%, and 8th-grade math remains critically low at 24.6% despite a big jump from the prior year. English Language Arts scores are more consistent, with 8th grade at 49.2% and 6th grade at 36.4%, but still below state averages.
A major concern for parents is the school’s chronic absenteeism rate of 29.4%, meaning nearly one in three students misses significant school days. This rate is well above both the district (24.1%) and state (22.3%) averages. Interestingly, the school has a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.3 to 1 and spends $14,309 per student, which is above average, suggesting resources are available. Yet the high absenteeism likely undermines these advantages. The data also shows significant year-to-year swings in test scores, indicating performance is heavily tied to specific student cohorts. Overall, the clearest priority for Long Middle is improving mathematics proficiency across all grades while tackling the absenteeism problem, as these two factors appear to be the biggest barriers to stronger outcomes.
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