Best High Schools in Zip Code 29692

Zip code 29692 in Ware Shoals, SC, is served by a single high school, Ware Shoals High, which enrolls 265 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Greenwood 51 school district.

For parents, the most important takeaway is that Ware Shoals High offers a very small, intimate learning environment with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.6:1, which can mean more individual attention. The school also spends a relatively high $15,694 per student, suggesting a strong financial commitment to its pupils. However, academic results are mixed and show some concerning trends. The school's state ranking has slipped from the 29th percentile to the 21st percentile over the past year, now earning a 1-star rating. While the graduation rate of 83.8% is close to the state average, and the dropout rate of 1.9% is slightly better than average, chronic absenteeism is a major red flag at 32.3%—significantly higher than the state's 22.3%. This likely contributes to academic struggles, particularly in foundational courses. For instance, Algebra 1 proficiency is just 48%, far below the state average of 73.95%, and English 1 proficiency plummeted from 54.29% to 30.92% in a single year, a dramatic drop that warrants immediate attention from school leadership.

On a more positive note, the school shows strength in English 2, with 78.85% proficiency, nearly matching the state average, and U.S. History scores improved by about 9 points to 52.09%. This suggests that students who persist into later high school years can perform reasonably well. The high per-student spending combined with low test scores indicates that the issue may not be a lack of resources, but rather how those resources are used, or that external factors like absenteeism are undermining academic efforts. Since Ware Shoals High is the only school in the Greenwood 51 district, its performance directly defines the district's overall profile. Parents should be aware that while the school offers a supportive, small-school atmosphere, addressing chronic absenteeism and the sharp decline in early high school test scores will be critical to improving student outcomes.