Summary:
Zip code 29684 in Starr, South Carolina, is served by a single elementary school, Starr Elementary, which enrolls 525 students in grades PK through 5 within the highly-rated Anderson 03 school district.
Starr Elementary is a consistent academic standout, ranking in the top 15% of all South Carolina elementary schools for three straight years, including a 92nd percentile finish in both 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 before a slight dip to the 86th percentile in 2025-2026. The school outperforms state averages in every subject and grade level tested, and it also exceeds its already-strong district in nearly all categories. The most remarkable pattern is the school's 4th-grade performance: in 2025-2026, 4th graders posted an 82.9% proficiency rate in math—more than 30 percentage points above the state average—along with 83% in ELA and 79.2% in science. The previous year, 4th grade math proficiency hit 87%, a 33-point gap over the state. This consistent excellence suggests a particularly effective instructional focus at that grade level.
While the school remains elite, 2025-2026 showed some softening in 3rd grade scores, with ELA dropping from 80.1% to 69.3% and math falling from 88.8% to 70.4%, likely reflecting cohort differences rather than systemic issues. The relative weak spot is 5th grade math, though at 67.1% proficiency it still sits 18 points above the state. Notably, chronic absenteeism stands at 21.2%, which is better than both the district (25.3%) and state (22.3%) rates. With a student-teacher ratio of 14.5:1 and per-student spending of $13,001, Starr Elementary efficiently converts resources into exceptional outcomes, making it an outstanding educational option for families in this area.
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