Chester Middle

Summary:

Chester Middle is a public middle school in Chester, South Carolina, serving 517 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Chester 01 District, which is ranked 46 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. With a predominantly African American (62.09%) and low-income student population, Chester Middle has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of South Carolina middle schools over the past 10 years, indicating significant challenges in providing equitable educational opportunities.

Despite spending significantly more per student ($12,686 in 2022-2023) compared to the state average, Chester Middle's academic performance remains poor. The school's proficiency rates on state assessments are significantly lower than the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in 2023-2024, only 29.2% of 6th graders were proficient in ELA, compared to 53.7% statewide, and only 9.7% were proficient in Math, compared to 38.4% statewide. The school's subgroup performance is also concerning, with the school ranking in the bottom quarter of the state for African American, White, low-socioeconomic, disabled, and gifted and talented students.

When compared to nearby schools, the differences in academic performance are stark. For instance, Lewisville Middle, which is in the same district, outperforms Chester Middle across multiple metrics, including test scores and state rankings. This suggests that factors beyond just funding and resources, such as school leadership, instructional practices, and community engagement, may be contributing to the disparities in student outcomes at Chester Middle.


Detail:

Public 6-8

 1014 McCandless Road
       Chester, SC  29706


(803) 377-8192

District: Chester 01

SchoolDigger Rank:
280th of 325 South Carolina Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $12,686 Help


Students who attend Chester Middle usually attend:

High:    Chester Senior High

Student/teacher ratio:  13.2 Help
Number of students:  517

Racial breakdown:

African American:
62.1%
White:
25.7%
Hispanic:
6.4%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  100% Help


 See top rated South Carolina middle schools

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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Chester Middle ranks worse than 86.2% of middle schools in South Carolina. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 15.61. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (62.1%), White (25.7%), Hispanic (6.4%). (See more...)
Help
Compare Details 100% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
Help
Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Chester Middle is 13.2. (See more...)
Help
Compare Chester Middle employs 39 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Chester Middle is $12,686.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Chester Middle:

SchoolDigger ranks Chester Middle 280th of 325 South Carolina public middle schools. (See Chester Middle in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Gifted and Talented students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


Chester 01:

SchoolDigger ranks Chester 01 46th of 75 South Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Chester Middle

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Compare

Rank History for all students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 28.03 178th 225 20.9%
2004 26.98 182nd 230 20.9%
2005 31.66 172nd 230 25.2%
2006 23.20 191st 231 17.3%
2007 17.09 213th 236 9.7%
2008 11.12 233rd 244 4.5%
2009 15.82 223rd 249 10.4%
2010 13.83 239th 261 8.4%
2011 12.10 247th 269 8.2%
2012 22.96 233rd 271 14.0%
2013 16.83 241st 276 12.7%
2014 17.55 254th 291 12.7%
2015 15.33 272nd 301 9.6%
2016 16.32 266th 303 12.2%
2017 14.33 282nd 317 11.0%
2018 11.25 281st 303 7.3%
2019 13.26 281st 315 10.8%
2021 13.54 274th 311 11.9%
2022 15.86 265th 310 14.5%
2023 16.15 275th 325 15.4%
2024 15.61 280th 325 13.8%
See the entire list of South Carolina Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 13.28 258th 280 7.9%
2019 16.23 257th 289 11.1%
2021 16.76 256th 288 11.1%
2022 21.15 251st 300 16.3%
2023 20.13 262nd 313 16.3%
2024 19.99 264th 307 14.0%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 9.38 265th 281 5.7%
2019 12.86 267th 296 9.8%
2021 14.71 243rd 279 12.9%
2022 15.85 248th 290 14.5%
2023 18.20 246th 299 17.7%
2024 13.58 266th 294 9.5%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 17.70 186th 194 4.1%
2019 25.06 166th 195 14.9%
2021 18.09 156th 164 4.9%
2022 15.64 175th 183 4.4%
2023 12.14 186th 187 0.5%
2024 10.35 176th 177 0.6%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2024 1.35 179th 183 2.2%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 13.72 256th 284 9.9%
2019 14.79 258th 296 12.8%
2021 11.86 256th 279 8.2%
2022 15.74 257th 292 12.0%
2023 15.91 254th 303 16.2%
2024 19.12 239th 294 18.7%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 22.45 207th 237 12.7%
2019 31.77 185th 252 26.6%
2021 21.34 212th 235 9.8%
2022 28.14 195th 249 21.7%
2023 21.79 223rd 253 11.9%
2024 24.51 208th 248 16.1%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Chester Middle

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 7.48 242nd 250 3.2%
2019 4.96 254th 258 1.6%
2021 12.75 219th 244 10.2%
2022 13.95 220th 249 11.6%
2023 17.89 220th 260 15.4%
2024 21.31 210th 255 17.6%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: South Carolina Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Chester Middle Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: South Carolina Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 3)
50%

0%

0%

0%

50%

  

Reviews:
by a student
Thursday, January 10, 2019

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Enrollment information for Chester Middle

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Compare
Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 328 420 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 748
1989 278 352 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 630
1990 277 335 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 612
1991 321 362 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 683
1992 337 379 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 716
1993 334 384 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 718
1994 341 367 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 708
1995 289 375 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 665
1996 289 375 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 665
1997 288 381 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 670
1998 275 371 3 1 3 n/a n/a 0 653
1999 273 355 3 1 0 n/a n/a 350 982
2000 418 590 0 2 0 n/a n/a 0 1010
2001 409 577 1 6 1 n/a n/a 0 994
2002 398 593 0 6 3 n/a n/a 0 1000
2003 398 593 0 6 3 n/a n/a 0 1000
2004 367 575 0 8 3 n/a n/a 0 953
2005 351 558 1 5 1 n/a n/a 0 916
2006 322 521 3 8 0 n/a n/a 0 854
2007 305 498 3 4 2 n/a n/a 0 812
2008 271 439 2 3 1 n/a n/a 0 716
2009 262 409 1 3 1 n/a n/a 1 677
2010 238 396 1 7 2 n/a n/a 1 645
2011 226 367 4 5 2 0 10 0 614
2012 225 388 3 7 3 0 10 0 636
2013 219 418 4 4 3 0 13 0 661
2014 201 422 5 7 2 0 15 0 652
2015 176 400 4 8 5 0 13 0 606
2016 169 360 2 12 5 0 15 0 563
2017 186 354 3 12 7 0 11 0 573
2018 165 350 4 15 2 0 14 0 550
2019 170 370 3 21 3 2 19 0 588
2020 163 393 2 23 1 1 32 0 615
2021 154 368 0 26 1 1 35 0 585
2022 150 349 0 26 1 0 40 0 566
2023 133 321 0 33 0 0 30 0 517

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Chester Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 748 40.6 18.4 n/a
1989 630 38.3 16.4 n/a
1990 612 37.0 16.5 n/a
1991 683 39.5 17.2 3.8
1992 716 37.5 19.0 42.2
1993 718 39.2 18.3 41.2
1994 708 41.5 17.1 43.9
1995 665 44.0 15.1 46
1996 665 44.0 15.1 46
1997 670 40.0 16.8 46.4
1998 653 40.0 16.3 41.8
1999 982 63.0 15.6 80.2
2000 1010 67.0 15.1 51.1
2001 994 63.0 15.8 55.2
2002 1000 63.0 15.9 60.4
2003 1000 63.0 15.9 60.4
2004 953 60.8 15.7 63.2
2005 916 62.8 14.6 57.5
2006 854 65.0 13.1 67
2007 812 76.0 10.7 69.3
2008 716 60.0 11.9 68.7
2009 677 62.0 10.9 69.8
2010 645 43.0 15.0 75.5
2011 614 37.0 16.5 75.9
2012 636 38.0 16.7 79.4
2013 661 42.0 15.7 81.2
2014 652 39.0 16.7 70.1
2015 606 42.0 14.4 80.4
2016 563 39.0 14.4 82.1
2017 573 40.0 14.3 100
2018 550 40.0 13.7 100.2
2019 588 43.0 13.6 100
2020 615 44.0 13.9 100
2021 585 41.5 14.0 100
2022 566 38.5 14.7 100
2023 517 39.0 13.2 100

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Chester Middle

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 748 40.6 18.4 n/a
1989 630 38.3 16.4 n/a
1990 612 37.0 16.5 n/a
1991 683 39.5 17.2 3.8
1992 716 37.5 19.0 42.2
1993 718 39.2 18.3 41.2
1994 708 41.5 17.1 43.9
1995 665 44.0 15.1 46
1996 665 44.0 15.1 46
1997 670 40.0 16.8 46.4
1998 653 40.0 16.3 41.8
1999 982 63.0 15.6 80.2
2000 1010 67.0 15.1 51.1
2001 994 63.0 15.8 55.2
2002 1000 63.0 15.9 60.4
2003 1000 63.0 15.9 60.4
2004 953 60.8 15.7 63.2
2005 916 62.8 14.6 57.5
2006 854 65.0 13.1 67
2007 812 76.0 10.7 69.3
2008 716 60.0 11.9 68.7
2009 677 62.0 10.9 69.8
2010 645 43.0 15.0 75.5
2011 614 37.0 16.5 75.9
2012 636 38.0 16.7 79.4
2013 661 42.0 15.7 81.2
2014 652 39.0 16.7 70.1
2015 606 42.0 14.4 80.4
2016 563 39.0 14.4 82.1
2017 573 40.0 14.3 100
2018 550 40.0 13.7 100.2
2019 588 43.0 13.6 100
2020 615 44.0 13.9 100
2021 585 41.5 14.0 100
2022 566 38.5 14.7 100
2023 517 39.0 13.2 100

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for Chester Middle

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YearPersonnel Expenditures from Federal FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from Federal FundsTotal Expenditures from Federal FundsPersonnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsNon-Personnel Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $994 (9.3%) $624 (5.8%) $1,618 (15.1%) $7,180 (67.1%) $1,896 (17.7%) $9,076 (84.9%) $10,694
2020 $923 (8.5%) $664 (6.1%) $1,587 (14.6%) $7,283 (67.0%) $1,998 (18.4%) $9,281 (85.4%) $10,868
2021 $994 (8.8%) $572 (5.1%) $1,567 (13.9%) $7,695 (68.2%) $2,014 (17.9%) $9,709 (86.1%) $11,276
2022 $1,195 (10.0%) $1,125 (9.4%) $2,320 (19.5%) $7,866 (66.0%) $1,735 (14.6%) $9,602 (80.5%) $11,922
2023 $1,318 (10.4%) $1,171 (9.2%) $2,488 (19.6%) $8,255 (65.1%) $1,942 (15.3%) $10,198 (80.4%) $12,686

Data source: South Carolina Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on Chester Middle

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 281st of 315 Middle schoolsRanks 275th of 325 Middle schools
 4.6%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
6th Grade Science (Chester Middle)17.218.8
 1.6%
   6th Grade Science (Chester 01)27.423.5
 3.9%
   6th Grade Science (South Carolina)47.143
 4.1%
6th Grade English Language Arts (Chester Middle)20.428.9
 8.5%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Chester 01)26.639.7
 13.1%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)41.153.4
 12.3%
6th Grade Mathematics (Chester Middle)13.216.7
 3.5%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Chester 01)19.120
 0.9%
   6th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)43.936.7
 7.2%
7th Grade English Language Arts (Chester Middle)22.429.2
 6.8%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Chester 01)27.241.7
 14.5%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)4450.1
 6.1%
7th Grade Mathematics (Chester Middle)13.89.4
 4.4%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Chester 01)12.716.3
 3.6%
   7th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)35.331
 4.3%
8th Grade English Language Arts (Chester Middle)30.639.2
 8.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Chester 01)35.846.4
 10.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)44.553.1
 8.6%
8th Grade Mathematics (Chester Middle)9.714.2
 4.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Chester 01)12.619.7
 7.1%
   8th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)36.631.6
 5%
End of Course Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (Chester Middle)78.395.2
 16.9%
   End of Course Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (Chester 01)6067
 7%
   End of Course Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (South Carolina)68.668.3
 0.3%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students588517
 12.1%
African American370321
 13.2%
American Indian30
 100%
Asian30
 100%
Hispanic2133
 57.1%
Pacific Islander20
 100%
White170133
 21.8%
Two or More Races1930
 57.9%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients100%100%


Schools Near Chester Middle









Frequently Asked Questions about Chester Middle

Chester Middle ranks in the bottom 13.8% of South Carolina middle schools.

Students who attend Chester Middle usually go on to attend Chester Senior High

Students at Chester Middle are 62% African American, 26% White, 6% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

In the 2022-23 school year, 517 students attended Chester Middle.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the South Carolina Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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