Summary:
Zip code 29817, encompassing the Blackville, SC area, is served by two public schools within the Barnwell 01 school district, covering grades PK through 12 with a combined enrollment of just under 500 students.
There is a stark contrast between the two schools in this area. Blackville-Hilda High (grades 9-12) is the clear standout, performing significantly better than its district and showing relative strength in English. With a very low student-teacher ratio of 8.7:1, the school offers a highly personalized environment, and its English 2 proficiency rate of 75.9% is close to the state average. In contrast, Macedonia Elementary-Middle (grades PK-8) is in a state of crisis, ranking in the bottom 1% of all elementary/middle schools in South Carolina. Its overall academic performance is severely below state averages, with math proficiency averaging just 13% across all grades compared to roughly 31% in English Language Arts.
The most alarming data point is a 0% proficiency rate in 5th-grade math at Macedonia Elementary-Middle, meaning not a single student met the state standard that year. This is a glaring red flag that demands immediate investigation. While the high school shows signs of resilience and near-state-average performance in some areas, the elementary/middle school is deeply entrenched in academic struggles, particularly in mathematics. The district itself is ranked in the bottom 20% of the state, but the high school is managing to partially buck that trend. For parents, this data suggests that while the high school may offer a solid educational experience, the elementary and middle school years present significant challenges that will require close monitoring and potentially supplemental support, especially in math.
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