Summary:
Zip code 29822 in Clearwater, South Carolina, is served by a single elementary school, Clearwater Elementary, which enrolls 338 students in grades PK through 5 within the Aiken 01 school district.
Clearwater Elementary is a school with solid resources—spending $14,515 per student and maintaining a favorable 12.3:1 student-teacher ratio—but it is struggling to convert those advantages into consistent academic gains. The school’s state ranking has slipped from the 36th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 22nd percentile in 2025-2026, a decline of 98 positions. The most pressing concern is a dramatic "math cliff": in 2024-2025, 57.1% of 3rd graders were proficient in math, but that figure plummeted to just 14.7% by 5th grade. While 5th grade math improved significantly in 2025-2026 (up to 28.9%), math proficiency across grades 4 and 5 remains far below state averages (28% vs. 52.3% for 4th grade). English Language Arts performance is comparatively stronger, with 3rd grade ELA proficiency improving to 59.6% in 2025-2026, nearly closing the gap with the state average. Science is another weak spot, with 4th grade proficiency at 30% versus a 51.6% state average, and that gap is widening.
Chronic absenteeism stands at 22.0%, which is on par with the state average (22.3%) and better than the district's 25.1%. The school’s declining ranking despite some test score improvements suggests that other schools in South Carolina are advancing at a faster pace. For parents, the key takeaway is that Clearwater Elementary offers small class sizes and strong early literacy gains, but families should be aware of the significant challenges in upper-grade math and science. Targeted intervention in these subjects, along with continued support for the promising 3rd grade ELA progress, will be critical for reversing the school's downward trajectory.
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