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Charter school students, like students enrolled in traditional public schools, improved their performance on standardized tests last academic year.
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More than 60% of charter school students in grades 3 through 8 met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and nearly 42% met or exceeded expectations in mathematics, according to 2025-26 SC READY results released by the S.C. Department of Education.
While those proficiency rates are slightly below the state average in both subject areas, South Carolina’s burgeoning charter school sector still boasts plenty of high-performing schools.
Last year’s top-achieving charters, as measured by the percentage of students who met or exceeded expectations in English language arts and math, spanned the state from Beaufort to Rock Hill and were sponsored by three statewide authorizers and three local districts.
For the purposes of this article, schools that ranked in the top 20% in student proficiency out of all charter schools tested were considered top performers.
What are charter schools?
Charter schools are privately-operated public schools that have more flexibility in their financial, personnel and curriculum choices.
Unlike traditional public schools, charters enter into a contract, or charter, with an authorizing agency that outlines the roles, responsibilities and performance expectations for each party.
In South Carolina, authorizers can be either local school districts, the legislatively-created Public Charter School District or institutions of higher education.
Of the 111 charter schools in operation during the 2025-26 school year, 45 were authorized by the Public Charter School District, 28 by the Charter Institute at Erskine, 17 by the Limestone Charter Association and 21 by local districts. (Limestone has since closed and its schools have either transferred to other authorizers or closed).
Top elementary school performers
Only three charter schools in the state exceeded 80% proficiency in both English language arts and mathematics for elementary school students — Orange Grove Charter School in Charleston, East Link Academy in Greenville and the Greenville campus of GREEN Charter School.
Orange Grove, in particular, had some of the highest marks in the state.
The West Ashley charter, which converted from a traditional public school two decades ago, ranked first among all charters in math proficiency for grades 3 through 5 and second in English language arts.
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Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success in Myrtle Beach, where more than 91% of students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, was the lone charter that topped Orange Grove in either subject area.
Two other top performers that are notable because of the low-income populations they serve are Meeting Street Academy in Spartanburg and Belton Preparatory Academy in Anderson County.
Both schools ranked in the top 20% of all charters in English language arts and math proficiency while serving a majority of students classified as “pupils in poverty,” by the S.C. Department of Education.
Top middle school performers
East Link Academy’s middle school students performed even better on last year’s SC READY test than their elementary school counterparts.
The Mandarin immersion school, which was then authorized by Limestone and is now sponsored by the Public Charter School District, was the only charter in South Carolina where more than 90% of middle school students were proficient in both English language arts and mathematics.
In fact, East Link’s middle school math proficiency rate of 95.5% is 11 percentage points higher than any other charter in South Carolina.
The next highest math proficiency rate belonged to Langston Charter Middle School in Greenville, another one of the state’s top performing charter schools.
Langston, which is authorized by the Charter Institute at Erskine, ranked first among charters in English language arts proficiency for grades 6 through 8.
Other top-performing charters that serve middle school students include East Cooper Montessori Charter School and Orange Grove Charter School in Charleston. Both schools are authorized by Charleston County Public Schools.
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