{"id":5064,"date":"2026-08-22T10:06:17","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:06:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5064"},"modified":"2026-08-22T10:06:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:06:17","slug":"these-columbia-area-elementary-schools-are-among-scs-top-performers-whos-on-the-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5064","title":{"rendered":"These Columbia-area elementary schools are among SC\u2019s top performers. Who\u2019s on the list?"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The percentage of South Carolina elementary school students scoring proficient on standardized tests is increasing, and Midlands districts can take some of the credit.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5062\">\u2018I\u2019m doing this to honor Lindsey:\u2019 5 takeaways from Trump\u2019s SC rally<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In each of the past two years, all Richland and Lexington County school districts increased the proportion of students who met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and all but one increased the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in mathematics, according to SC READY data released by the South Carolina Department of Education.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Lexington School District 1 and Lexington-Richland School District 5, in particular, stand out among local districts as two of the highest achieving in the entire state.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div> <iframe aria-label=\"Table\" data-external=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"227\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-riLDI\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/riLDI\/1\/\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"% Students in grades 3-8 who meet or exceed expectations\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>But many excellent schools exist outside top-flight districts. And even within high-achieving districts, academic performance can vary widely between individual schools.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The State Media Co. analyzed 2025-26 SC Ready scores to determine which elementary schools in Richland and Lexington counties were the top performers, as measured by the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and math.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>For the purposes of this article, schools that served at least one elementary grade and ranked in the top 20% locally in student proficiency for either subject area were considered top performers.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Top English language arts performers<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Despite finishing slightly below the South Carolina average in both English language arts and math, Richland 2 boasted two of the highest-achieving elementary schools in the state.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The district\u2019s crown jewels are its Centers for Knowledge, two gifted and talented magnets on the sites of local middle schools that use the Core Knowledge curriculum and emphasize close relationships and \u201ccore values.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Center for Knowledge in northeast Columbia, located on the E.L. Wright Middle School campus off Two Notch Road, had the highest English language arts scores of any elementary school in Richland and Lexington counties last year, with nearly 95% of students in grades 3 through 5 meeting or exceeding expectations.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5061\">For the first time, a woman will lead USC\u2019s Board of Trustees<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Clocking in just behind the Center for Knowledge, and also among the best schools in the state for English language arts, was Brockman Elementary in Forest Acres.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>More than 94% of students at Brockman, a Richland 1 Montessori with about 290 students in grades K-5, met or exceeded expectations in English language arts last year, according to Department of Education data.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The only other local school where more than 90% of students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts was Richland 2\u2019s other Center for Knowledge campus, located at the Muller Road Middle School site in Blythewood.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div> <iframe aria-label=\"Table\" data-external=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"930\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-Kvtp2\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/Kvtp2\/1\/\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"% Students who met or exceeded expectations (ELA)\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Top math performers<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The Center for Knowledge North, as the Muller Road Middle School location is called, and Brockman Elementary also led the way in mathematics, as the only local schools where at least 80% of students met or exceeded expectations.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Just behind them, with nearly identical proficiency rates, were two schools with the same name \u2013 Lake Murray Elementary \u2013 located 17 miles apart on opposite ends of the man-made reservoir.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Lake Murray Elementary in Chapin, part of Lexington-Richland 5, had 79.8% of students meet or exceed expectations in math, while Lake Murray Elementary in Lexington, part of Lexington 1, had 79.7%.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Five other schools in four different Richland and Lexington County districts recorded at least 75% proficiency in math.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5059\">Imran Khan\u2019s party seeks contempt action over jailed leader\u2019s hospital move<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div> <iframe aria-label=\"Table\" data-external=\"1\" frameborder=\"0\" height=\"1031\" id=\"datawrapper-chart-dMkQk\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/datawrapper.dwcdn.net\/dMkQk\/2\/\" style=\"width: 0; min-width: 100% !important; border: none;\" title=\"% Students who met or exceeded expectations (Math)\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Local elementary schools in Richland and Lexington County are among the top performers in the state in English language arts and math, according to SC READY data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5063,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5064","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>These Columbia-area elementary schools are among SC\u2019s top performers. Who\u2019s on the list? - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=5064\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"These Columbia-area elementary schools are among SC\u2019s top performers. 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Dunbar reads 'First Day Jitters' by Julie Danneberg to her diverse class of fourteen students. Richland 2's Center for Knowledge program, which has been added at Muller Road Middle School, is a K-5 magnet center that is created around a curriculum based on the realization that children are able to learn at a rapid rate.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=5064#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"These Columbia-area elementary schools are among SC\u2019s top performers. 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