Summary:
Zip code 29596 is home to a single elementary school, Wallace Elementary/Middle, which serves grades PK through 8 and enrolls 411 students in the Wallace, SC area.
As the only school in this zip code, Wallace Elementary/Middle is the sole educational option for local families. The school operates within the Marlboro 01 district, which currently ranks in the 5th percentile statewide. The school itself has seen a concerning decline in its state ranking over the past three years, dropping from the 16th percentile to the 6th percentile. However, there are notable bright spots. Most striking is the 8th grade mathematics performance, where 50% of students are proficient—more than double the district rate of 22.2% and above the state average of 44.2%. English Language Arts performance is also relatively strong compared to the district, with the school meeting or exceeding district proficiency rates in five of six grade levels. The 8th grade ELA score of 45.9% exceeds the district by 7.5 points.
Despite these strengths, significant challenges remain. The school struggles most in 4th grade mathematics, where proficiency collapsed from 37.8% to just 11.6% in one year—less than half the district average. Chronic absenteeism affects 31.4% of students, which is better than the district's 38.7% rate but well above the state average of 22.3%. The school also shows considerable year-to-year volatility across subjects, likely due to small cohort sizes. With a 12:1 student-teacher ratio and $11,746 in per-student spending, resources appear adequate, yet academic outcomes remain below state averages. The PK-8 model appears to work well for older students, as evidenced by strong 8th grade performance, while younger grades face more significant academic struggles.
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