Summary:
Zip code 29630 in Central, South Carolina, is served by a single high school, D. W. Daniel High, which enrolls 1,222 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Pickens 01 district.
D. W. Daniel High is a strong academic performer, consistently ranking among the top 50 high schools in South Carolina—most recently placing 35th out of 235 schools statewide. The school outperforms both its district and state averages in nearly every subject, with particularly impressive results in English 2, where nearly 90% of students demonstrate proficiency. English 1 and U.S. History also show strong advantages of roughly 7-9 percentage points over state averages. The school's graduation rate of 90.8% exceeds both district and state figures, while its dropout rate of just 1.4% is notably lower than the state average of 2.1%. With a student-teacher ratio of 17:1 and per-student spending of $11,554, the school achieves these results without exceptional resource allocation, suggesting efficient use of funds.
However, there are areas worth noting. Algebra 1 proficiency (75.01%) is only marginally above the state average and actually falls slightly below the district average, indicating math is a relative weakness compared to humanities subjects. More concerning is the school's chronic absenteeism rate of 26.1%, which is nearly 4 percentage points above the state average—a disconnect given the school's otherwise strong academic outcomes. This suggests that while the school excels academically, attendance challenges may be affecting certain student subgroups disproportionately. Year-over-year data shows minor fluctuations in test scores (English 1, English 2, and U.S. History all dipped slightly), but these changes are within normal variance. Overall, D. W. Daniel High serves as a reliable, above-average educational option for families in Central, SC, with its primary opportunity for improvement lying in addressing chronic absenteeism and bolstering math instruction.
Thank you for your feedback!