Summary:
Zip code 29570 in McColl, South Carolina, is home to just one public school, McColl Elementary/Middle, which serves students in grades PK through 8 with an enrollment of 631 students within the Marlboro 01 district.
For parents considering this school, the most important takeaway is that McColl Elementary/Middle is a school of stark contrasts. On one hand, it posted a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 exam in 2024-2025, far exceeding the state average of 73.95%. On the other hand, proficiency in standard math and English Language Arts (ELA) for grades 3 through 8 generally lags behind state averages, with math proficiency ranging from a low of 21.3% in 6th grade to a high of 43.6% in 3rd grade. The school also shows significant grade-level variability, with 4th grade ELA proficiency at 54.7% while 5th grade sits at just 32.0%. While the school outperforms its district in nearly every subject, both the school and district remain well below state benchmarks. The most pressing concern is a chronic absenteeism rate of 40.9%, which is nearly double the state average of 22.3% and likely a major barrier to consistent academic progress.
Despite these challenges, there are signs of positive momentum. The school’s state ranking has improved over three years, moving from the 15th percentile to the 22nd percentile, and several grades saw substantial year-over-year gains in 2025-2026, including a 29.7-point jump in 4th grade ELA and a 24.5-point improvement in 4th grade science. With a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.2:1 and per-student spending of $10,903, the school has resources to work with. However, the volatile swings in test scores between grades and years suggest inconsistent instructional quality or high student mobility. For parents, this is a school with clear bright spots but also significant hurdles, and addressing the absenteeism crisis will be critical to unlocking its full potential.
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