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Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 29720

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its South Carolina rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

3,968

Students

5-star school

Top rankedBuford Elementary49^th of 649 South Carolina elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Clinton Elementary up 101 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Clinton Elementary 12 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

2★

1★

0★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked South Carolina schools →

Summary:

Zip code 29720 in Lancaster, SC, is served by 8 elementary schools within the Lancaster 01 district, educating roughly 3,968 students from Pre-K through 4th or 5th grade.

Families in this area will find a dramatic split in school quality. Buford Elementary and Van Wyck Elementary are the clear standouts, ranking in the 92nd and 90th percentiles statewide respectively. Buford is the only 5-star school in the zip code, with an extraordinary 91.4% proficiency in 3rd-grade math, while Van Wyck leads in ELA with 83.6% average proficiency. Both schools have shown consistent improvement over the past three years. On the other end, Erwin Elementary (8th percentile) and Brooklyn Springs Elementary (18th percentile) are struggling significantly, with Erwin's 4th-grade math proficiency at just 16.2%. North Elementary and McDonald Green Elementary sit in the middle, while Clinton Elementary ranks in the 27th percentile. Discovery Charter of Lancaster has no recent ranking data, making its current performance unclear.

One of the most striking findings is the inverse relationship between spending and performance. The top schools (Buford and Van Wyck) spend the least per student (around $12,100-$12,400), while the lowest-performing schools (Clinton at $17,848 and Erwin at $16,705) spend the most. Chronic absenteeism appears to be a key factor, with Clinton's rate of 38.4% more than triple Van Wyck's 11.5%. The data also reveals a massive 75-point gap in 3rd-grade math proficiency between Buford (91.4%) and Brooklyn Springs (43.1%), highlighting significant inequities in early math instruction. Science proficiency lags behind ELA and math across all schools, even at the top performers. For parents, this means school choice within this zip code dramatically impacts outcomes, and attendance and early math support may be the highest-leverage areas for improvement at the struggling schools.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SC READY English Language Arts (2026)			SC READY Mathematics (2026)			SC READY Science (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2024)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Science 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Discovery Charter of Lancaster	Public, Charter	K-5	302 West Dunlap Street	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	Yes	No	No	No	(803) 285-8430	146	10	15.0	73.1%	64 (43.8%)	47 (32.2%)	29 (19.9%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (3.4%)								(n/a)								$13,257	$221	$236	$458	$10,385	$2,415	$12,800
Brooklyn Springs Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1637 Billings Drive	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 283-8471	398	30	13.3	100.0%	93 (23.4%)	178 (44.7%)	107 (26.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (4.8%)	19.4	531^st of 649 public elementary schools	18.2%		11.6	586^th of 640 public elementary schools	8.4%	55	51.7	48.1	45.7	43.1	27.0	35.1	28.9	$16,109	$1,541	$294	$1,835	$11,982	$2,292	$14,274
Buford Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1906 North Rocky River Road	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 286-0026	792	48	16.6	66.2%	657 (83.0%)	46 (5.8%)	45 (5.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	42 (5.3%)	90.2	49^th of 649 public elementary schools	92.4%		85.1	85^th of 640 public elementary schools	86.7%	36	84.5	78.1	76.8	91.4	88.3	74.6	67.1	$12,139	$574	$142	$715	$9,491	$1,933	$11,424
Clinton Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	110 Clinton School Road	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 285-5395	412	34	12.0	100.0%	80 (19.4%)	238 (57.8%)	70 (17.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (5.8%)	27.2	474^th of 649 public elementary schools	27.0%		13.5	575^th of 640 public elementary schools	10.2%	101	50.0	45.8	39.2	64.0	39.6	27.4	41.7	$17,848	$2,085	$575	$2,660	$12,212	$2,976	$15,188
Erwin Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1477 Locustwood Avenue	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 285-8484	418	32	13.1	100.0%	130 (31.1%)	165 (39.5%)	88 (21.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (8.1%)	11.8	600^th of 649 public elementary schools	7.6%		13.7	571^st of 640 public elementary schools	10.8%	29	52.6	26.5	41.5	47.4	16.2	20.0	22.1	$16,705	$1,417	$656	$2,072	$12,178	$2,455	$14,633
McDonald Green Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	2763 Lynwood Drive	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 285-7416	337	25	13.4	100.0%	135 (40.1%)	125 (37.1%)	51 (15.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (7.4%)	42.5	376^th of 649 public elementary schools	42.1%		49.1	313^th of 640 public elementary schools	51.1%	63	45.1	50.8	62.1	54.9	52.4	59.1	36.5	$17,243	$1,194	$260	$1,454	$13,142	$2,648	$15,789
North Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1100 Roddey Drive	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 283-9918	645	43	15.0	100.0%	191 (29.6%)	278 (43.1%)	121 (18.8%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (7.6%)	43.5	366^th of 649 public elementary schools	43.6%		38.5	392^nd of 640 public elementary schools	38.8%	26	53.3	62.8	53.0	55.5	60.3	42.2	43.6	$13,468	$799	$247	$1,046	$10,513	$1,909	$12,422
Van Wyck Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	4945 Charlotte Highway	Lancaster	29720	Lancaster County	Lancaster 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 313-6650	820	55	14.9	28.3%	488 (59.5%)	102 (12.4%)	126 (15.4%)	45 (5.5%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (6.7%)	88.4	66^th of 649 public elementary schools	89.8%		85.8	79^th of 640 public elementary schools	87.7%	13	87.9	79.2		88.0	72.3		63.5	$12,373	$279	$234	$513	$10,141	$1,719	$11,859

Cities Near Zip Code 29720

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Lancaster	0.64 mi	17	110^th
Heath Springs	9.16 mi	1	87^th
Great Falls	11.73 mi	2	138^th
Richburg	12.72 mi	3	91^st
Kershaw	13.11 mi	6	75^th

See the top SC South Carolina cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.