Summary:
Zip code 29935 is home to just one elementary school, Port Royal Elementary, which serves grades PK through 5 in the Beaufort 01 district, with a small enrollment of 179 students.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that this is a small, well-funded school showing strong signs of a turnaround. The school has an exceptional student-teacher ratio of 7.6:1 and spends $25,799 per student, which is remarkably high and suggests very personalized attention. Its state ranking has climbed dramatically, from the 27th percentile (1 star) in 2023-2024 to the 55th percentile (3 stars) in 2025-2026, a jump of 173 positions in just two years. Chronic absenteeism is also a bright spot at 12.0%, compared to 21.3% for the district and 22.3% for the state, indicating students are showing up ready to learn.
The main challenge is a clear grade-level disparity. In the most recent testing year, 3rd graders at Port Royal outperformed both district and state averages in ELA (68.9% proficient vs. 64.1% state) and math (62.1% vs. 59.2% state). However, 5th graders lagged behind in both subjects (54.2% ELA and 41.6% math, both below state averages). The prior year's 4th grade scores also fell below state benchmarks. This suggests the school's recent improvements are taking hold in the early grades, but upper-grade students have not yet caught up. The high spending and low class sizes have not yet translated into proficiency gains for older students, which may require more targeted interventions. The good news is that if the current high-performing 3rd grade cohort continues its trajectory, the school's overall ranking should keep rising as these students move up through the grades.
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