Buford Elementary

Summary:

Buford Elementary is a public elementary school in Lancaster, South Carolina, serving 779 students in grades PK-5. The school consistently ranks among the top elementary schools in the state, earning a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger and outperforming the Lancaster 01 School District and the state in both English Language Arts and Mathematics.

Buford Elementary's academic performance is particularly impressive, with 66.7% of 3rd graders, 66.1% of 4th graders, and 65.4% of 5th graders scoring proficient or better in ELA, compared to the district's 54.7%, 62.2%, and 56.8%, respectively. In Mathematics, the school's proficiency rates were 76.7% for 3rd grade, 83.1% for 4th grade, and 78.5% for 5th grade, significantly higher than the district and state averages. The school's 4th-grade students also excel in Science, with 71.3% scoring proficient or better on the SCPASS assessment, compared to 52.8% for the district and 46.6% for the state.

While Buford Elementary's academic success is impressive, the school's demographics suggest potential equity and access issues. The school has a predominantly white student population, with 84.72% of students identifying as white, and a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students at 70.35%. The school's white and male students consistently outperform their peers, ranking among the top 5% and top 25% of South Carolina elementary schools, respectively. This disparity in performance highlights the need for further examination of the factors contributing to Buford Elementary's success and the potential barriers faced by other student subgroups, such as the nearby Chesterfield 01 School District schools, which struggle to match Buford's academic outcomes.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 1906 North Rocky River Road
       Lancaster, SC  29720


(803) 286-0026

District: Lancaster 01

SchoolDigger Rank:
77th of 638 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $10,275 Help


Students who attend Buford Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    A. R. Rucker Middle
High:    Buford High

Student/teacher ratio:  18.8 Help
Number of students:  779

Racial breakdown:

White:
84.7%
African American:
6.0%
Two or more races:
4.6%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  70.3% Help


 See top rated South Carolina elementary schools

 Compare Buford Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Buford Elementary ranks better than 87.9% of elementary schools in South Carolina. It also ranks 3rd among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Lancaster 01 School District. (See more...)
Help
Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 86.17. (See more...)
Student Body
Help
Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (84.7%), African American (6%), two or more races (4.6%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 70.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Buford Elementary is 18.8, which is the highest among 12 elementary schools in the Lancaster 01 School District! (See more...)
Help
Compare Buford Elementary employs 41.4 full-time teachers.
Finance
Help
Compare Details The average total spent per student at Buford Elementary is $10,275. 8 elementary schools in the Lancaster 01 School District spend more per student.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Buford Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Buford Elementary 77th of 638 South Carolina public elementary schools. (See Buford Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Disabled students:
Male students:
White students:


Lancaster 01:

SchoolDigger ranks Lancaster 01 30th of 75 South Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Buford Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 50.25 295th 542 45.6%
2004 46.29 341st 550 38.0%
2005 47.07 330th 557 40.8%
2006 47.34 330th 559 41.0%
2007 35.72 416th 566 26.5%
2008 38.66 399th 577 30.8%
2009 28.16 462nd 580 20.3%
2010 42.64 367th 589 37.7%
2011 52.52 322nd 597 46.1%
2012 59.16 263rd 594 55.7%
2013 63.21 227th 599 62.1%
2014 65.98 212th 630 66.3%
2015 54.23 270th 638 57.7%
2016 68.03 177th 619 71.4%
2017 61.44 233rd 639 63.5%
2018 72.79 145th 624 76.8%
2019 84.26 88th 643 86.3%
2021 77.30 131st 622 78.9%
2022 90.06 55th 625 91.2%
2023 91.24 46th 644 92.9%
2024 86.17 77th 638 87.9%
See the entire list of South Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 80.46 85th 588 85.5%
2019 89.97 27th 600 95.5%
2021 83.89 64th 580 89.0%
2022 97.05 9th 600 98.5%
2023 95.12 9th 608 98.5%
2024 91.75 25th 599 95.8%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 72.53 142nd 570 75.1%
2019 81.10 91st 588 84.5%
2021 70.14 153rd 554 72.4%
2022 87.31 67th 573 88.3%
2023 86.97 72nd 580 87.6%
2024 79.66 102nd 565 81.9%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 68.27 33rd 161 79.5%
2019 78.78 32nd 189 83.1%
2021 71.76 25th 122 79.5%
2022 76.79 27th 151 82.1%
2023 82.04 26th 174 85.1%
2024 82.84 18th 143 87.4%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Gifted and Talented students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2022 62.66 63rd 109 42.2%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Gifted and Talented Students!

Rank History for Male students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 70.94 146th 571 74.4%
2019 83.61 78th 590 86.8%
2021 80.44 94th 561 83.2%
2022 90.02 47th 579 91.9%
2023 91.93 34th 582 94.2%
2024 88.41 51st 568 91.0%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Buford Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 52.29 234th 457 48.8%
2019 66.25 159th 472 66.3%
2021 54.69 210th 439 52.2%
2022 73.46 108th 455 76.3%
2023 77.60 95th 463 79.5%
2024 69.64 131st 441 70.3%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary 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.

Buford Elementary Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 





Data source: South Carolina Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Buford Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 615 115 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 730
1989 618 122 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 740
1990 576 128 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 704
1991 581 118 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 700
1992 602 126 0 1 0 n/a n/a 0 729
1993 609 126 0 0 2 n/a n/a 0 737
1994 449 101 0 1 2 n/a n/a 0 553
1995 490 96 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 586
1996 490 96 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 586
1997 540 94 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 634
1998 570 92 0 0 0 n/a n/a 0 662
1999 575 89 3 0 0 n/a n/a 0 667
2000 691 88 1 2 2 n/a n/a 0 784
2001 680 92 0 2 1 n/a n/a 0 775
2002 779 87 1 3 0 n/a n/a 0 870
2003 779 87 1 3 0 n/a n/a 0 870
2004 796 90 0 6 1 n/a n/a 0 893
2005 813 92 1 10 4 n/a n/a 1 921
2006 784 89 5 14 2 n/a n/a 6 900
2007 786 91 9 15 4 n/a n/a 0 905
2008 784 97 6 15 4 n/a n/a 8 914
2009 766 88 4 13 6 n/a n/a 5 882
2010 728 76 3 10 4 n/a n/a 12 833
2011 726 75 2 14 3 0 3 0 823
2012 708 64 0 13 2 0 7 0 794
2013 677 58 0 13 3 0 9 0 760
2014 701 63 0 13 4 0 7 0 788
2015 669 61 0 14 3 0 8 0 755
2016 651 54 0 17 3 0 17 0 742
2017 637 53 0 23 3 0 18 0 734
2018 634 51 0 18 2 0 20 0 725
2019 645 42 0 20 1 0 20 0 728
2020 647 39 0 27 1 1 28 0 743
2021 603 45 1 30 0 1 27 0 707
2022 617 39 1 31 0 1 35 0 724
2023 660 47 0 34 1 1 36 0 779

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 Buford Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 730 37.8 19.3 n/a
1989 740 37.7 19.6 n/a
1990 704 37.0 19.0 n/a
1991 700 37.8 18.5 21.3
1992 729 36.7 19.8 25.5
1993 737 38.0 19.4 29.9
1994 553 27.6 20.0 30.7
1995 586 27.0 21.7 31.1
1996 586 27.0 21.7 31.1
1997 634 31.0 20.5 29.5
1998 662 31.0 21.4 30.4
1999 667 36.0 18.5 38.2
2000 784 39.0 20.1 33.4
2001 775 42.0 18.5 37.2
2002 870 46.0 18.9 39.7
2003 870 46.0 18.9 39.7
2004 893 46.0 19.4 40.4
2005 921 48.0 19.2 43.4
2006 900 48.0 18.8 41.3
2007 905 73.5 12.3 42.7
2008 914 54.0 16.9 46.4
2009 882 48.0 18.4 47.9
2010 833 49.0 17.0 54.1
2011 823 42.0 19.5 54.2
2012 794 38.5 20.6 57.1
2013 760 37.0 20.5 54.1
2014 788 39.0 20.2 57.2
2015 755 39.0 19.3 55.6
2016 742 40.0 18.5 58.5
2017 734 38.0 19.3 59.7
2018 725 41.0 17.6 55
2019 728 41.0 17.7 55.5
2020 743 45.0 16.5 52.9
2021 707 41.8 16.9 58.4
2022 724 42.8 16.9 43.5
2023 779 41.4 18.8 70.3

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 Buford Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 730 37.8 19.3 n/a
1989 740 37.7 19.6 n/a
1990 704 37.0 19.0 n/a
1991 700 37.8 18.5 21.3
1992 729 36.7 19.8 25.5
1993 737 38.0 19.4 29.9
1994 553 27.6 20.0 30.7
1995 586 27.0 21.7 31.1
1996 586 27.0 21.7 31.1
1997 634 31.0 20.5 29.5
1998 662 31.0 21.4 30.4
1999 667 36.0 18.5 38.2
2000 784 39.0 20.1 33.4
2001 775 42.0 18.5 37.2
2002 870 46.0 18.9 39.7
2003 870 46.0 18.9 39.7
2004 893 46.0 19.4 40.4
2005 921 48.0 19.2 43.4
2006 900 48.0 18.8 41.3
2007 905 73.5 12.3 42.7
2008 914 54.0 16.9 46.4
2009 882 48.0 18.4 47.9
2010 833 49.0 17.0 54.1
2011 823 42.0 19.5 54.2
2012 794 38.5 20.6 57.1
2013 760 37.0 20.5 54.1
2014 788 39.0 20.2 57.2
2015 755 39.0 19.3 55.6
2016 742 40.0 18.5 58.5
2017 734 38.0 19.3 59.7
2018 725 41.0 17.6 55
2019 728 41.0 17.7 55.5
2020 743 45.0 16.5 52.9
2021 707 41.8 16.9 58.4
2022 724 42.8 16.9 43.5
2023 779 41.4 18.8 70.3

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 Buford Elementary

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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 $649 (7.9%) $224 (2.7%) $873 (10.7%) $6,178 (75.6%) $1,121 (13.7%) $7,299 (89.3%) $8,172
2020 $713 (8.4%) $202 (2.4%) $914 (10.7%) $6,477 (75.9%) $1,145 (13.4%) $7,622 (89.3%) $8,536
2021 $688 (7.7%) $111 (1.2%) $799 (8.9%) $7,108 (79.1%) $1,077 (12.0%) $8,185 (91.1%) $8,984
2022 $820 (8.9%) $376 (4.1%) $1,196 (13.0%) $7,068 (77.0%) $910 (9.9%) $7,978 (87.0%) $9,174
2023 $824 (8.0%) $515 (5.0%) $1,339 (13.0%) $7,802 (75.9%) $1,133 (11.0%) $8,935 (87.0%) $10,275

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Buford Elementary

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 88th of 643 Elementary schoolsRanks 46th of 644 Elementary schools
 6.5%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Buford Elementary)64.568.6
 4.1%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Lancaster 01)50.357.8
 7.5%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)49.753.5
 3.8%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Buford Elementary)86.580.7
 5.8%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Lancaster 01)61.565.9
 4.4%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)57.753.6
 4.1%
4th Grade Science (Buford Elementary)70.571.3
 0.8%
   4th Grade Science (Lancaster 01)52.652.8
 0.2%
   4th Grade Science (South Carolina)5246.6
 5.4%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Buford Elementary)56.569.4
 12.9%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Lancaster 01)51.458.8
 7.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)51.357.2
 5.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Buford Elementary)78.782.2
 3.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Lancaster 01)57.855.9
 1.9%
   4th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)50.547
 3.5%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Buford Elementary)56.576.4
 19.9%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Lancaster 01)43.462.3
 18.9%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)4155.2
 14.2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Buford Elementary)65.782
 16.3%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Lancaster 01)46.558.9
 12.4%
   5th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)45.444.6
 0.8%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students728779
 7%
African American4247
 11.9%
American Indian11
Asian00
Hispanic2034
 70%
Pacific Islander01
White645660
 2.3%
Two or More Races2036
 80%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients55.5%70.3%
 14.9%


Schools Near Buford Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Buford Elementary

Buford Elementary ranks 77th of 638 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

In the 2022-23 school year, 779 students attended Buford Elementary.

Students at Buford Elementary are 85% White, 6% African American, 5% Two or more races, 4% Hispanic.

Students who attend Buford Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : A. R. Rucker Middle
High : Buford High


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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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