Summary:
Zip code 29585, covering the Pawleys Island area of South Carolina, is home to just one high school, Waccamaw High, which serves grades 9 through 12 with an enrollment of 808 students.
Waccamaw High is a standout performer that significantly outpaces its home district, Georgetown 01, which ranks in the bottom third of South Carolina districts. The school has earned a 4-star rating for three consecutive years and has climbed from a state rank of 64 to 26 over the past two years, now placing it in the top 11% of all high schools in the state. Its graduation rate of 94.5% is nearly 8 points higher than the state average, and its dropout rate of just 1.0% is half the state figure. Chronic absenteeism also stands at a healthy 13.7% compared to the state's 22.3%, indicating strong student engagement.
Academically, the school excels in English and history. In the most recent testing year, proficiency in U.S. History reached 85.6%, a remarkable 23 points above the state average, while English 2 proficiency hit 93.0% (9 points above the state) and English 1 hit 75.1% (14 points above the state). The one relative weakness is Algebra 1, where proficiency was 68.8% in the prior year, slightly below the state average. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.9:1 and per-student spending of $13,730, the school achieves top-quartile results without exceptional resources, suggesting efficient use of funds. For parents, Waccamaw High offers a rapidly improving, well-rounded education with particular strengths in literacy and social studies, though families should be aware of the need for additional support in math.
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