Summary:
Zip code 29687 in Taylors, South Carolina, is served by a single middle school, Northwood Middle, which enrolls 823 students in grades 6-8 and operates within the highly-rated Greenville 01 school district.
Northwood Middle is a consistently high-performing school, ranking in the top 20% of South Carolina middle schools for the past three years, with a peak 5-star rating in 2023-2024. Its most impressive achievement is a perfect 100% proficiency rate on the Algebra 1 EOCEP exam, far surpassing the district (85.6%) and state (74.0%) averages. The school also demonstrates a notable "8th-grade surge" in math, with proficiency jumping to 68.2% in 2025-2026 compared to 51.9% in 6th grade and 47.6% in 7th grade, suggesting strong cumulative instruction and acceleration of advanced students. English Language Arts is a consistent strength across all grades, with 8th-grade ELA proficiency reaching 76.4% in the most recent testing year. However, the school shows year-over-year volatility in 7th-grade scores, with ELA dropping from 73.2% to 66.1% and math from 54.8% to 47.6%, which may reflect cohort differences or curriculum changes.
Despite its academic excellence, Northwood Middle has a chronic absenteeism rate of 23.2%, slightly above both the district (22.5%) and state (22.3%) averages—a disconnect worth monitoring given the school's strong performance. The school's ranking has slipped from 32nd to 56th statewide over three years, though this appears to reflect increased competition rather than declining achievement. With per-student spending of $12,380 and a 16.2:1 student-teacher ratio, the school maintains solid resources. Overall, Northwood Middle offers exceptional preparation in advanced mathematics and strong ELA instruction, making it a standout educational option in the Taylors community, with particular excellence that suggests even greater potential if attendance challenges were addressed.
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