Middle Schools in Lexington 04

The Lexington 04 district in South Carolina is home to two middle schools: Frances F. Mack Intermediate and Sandhills Middle. Both schools serve a diverse student population, with a significant percentage of minority students and 100% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage.

Academically, the two middle schools in Lexington 04 are struggling, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics significantly below the state averages. For example, at Frances F. Mack Intermediate, 5th and 6th grade ELA proficiency rates were around 36%, compared to the state average of 55%, and math proficiency rates were around 20-22%, compared to the state averages of 45-38%. Sandhills Middle also has low proficiency rates, with 7th and 8th grade ELA scores around 29-26% and math scores around 14-15%, compared to state averages of 50-30%. The only exception is Sandhills Middle's high proficiency rate (90.69%) in Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2, which is significantly higher than the district (51.99%) and state (68.32%) averages.

Despite the relatively high spending per student (around $12,000) and low student-teacher ratios (around 13-14 students per teacher) at both schools, the academic performance remains consistently low. This raises questions about the effectiveness of resource allocation and the need for targeted interventions to support student learning. The data also shows that Sandhills Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom third of South Carolina middle schools, with a 1-star rating, over the past three years, indicating a persistent challenge in improving the school's performance.