Clear Dot Charter School

Summary:

Clear Dot Charter School is an alternative public charter school in Columbia, South Carolina, serving 338 students in grades PK-10 as part of the Charter Institute at Erskine district, which is ranked 34 out of 75 districts in the state.

Clear Dot Charter School stands out for its significantly higher percentage of African American students (69.53%) compared to nearby schools and the state average, as well as its extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 90.82% to 94.97% over the past three years. However, the school consistently underperforms the Charter Institute at Erskine district and the state averages on standardized tests, with proficiency rates often less than half of the district and state levels. Despite a relatively low student-teacher ratio, ranging from 13.1 to 18.1, Clear Dot Charter School's academic challenges suggest the need for a deeper examination of its instructional practices and support systems.

Interestingly, the nearby School Connections Academy and South Carolina Virtual Charter School, which serve more diverse student populations, generally outperform Clear Dot Charter School on academic measures. This raises questions about equity and access to educational opportunities for the predominantly low-income, African American students at Clear Dot Charter School, who face significant socioeconomic challenges that may contribute to the school's academic struggles.

Detail:

Public, Charter, Alternative PK, KG-10

2015 Marion Street
Columbia, SC 29201

(803) 567-3075

District: Charter Institute at Erskine

SchoolDigger Rank:
565^th of 638 South Carolina Alternative Schools

Student/teacher ratio: 9.8

Number of students: 418

Racial breakdown:

African American:

76.6%

White:

13.4%

Two or more races:

6.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 99.3%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Clear Dot Charter School ranks worse than 88.6% of elementary schools in South Carolina. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.48. (See more...)

Compare Details Clear Dot Charter School ranks worse than 93.5% of middle schools in South Carolina. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.95. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: African American (76.6%), White (13.4%), two or more races (6.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 99.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Clear Dot Charter School is 9.8, which is the 2^nd best among 10 alternative schools in the Charter Institute at Erskine School District. (See more...)

Compare Clear Dot Charter School employs 42.2 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Clear Dot Charter School:

SchoolDigger ranks Clear Dot Charter School 565^th of 638 South Carolina public elementary schools. (See Clear Dot Charter School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Male students:

African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks Clear Dot Charter School 304^th of 325 South Carolina public middle schools. (See Clear Dot Charter School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

African American students:

Charter Institute at Erskine:

SchoolDigger ranks Charter Institute at Erskine 34^th of 75 South Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Clear Dot Charter School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	SC State Percentile
2021	13.60	542^nd	622	12.9%
2022	15.10	535^th	625	14.4%
2023	20.91	525^th	644	18.5%
2024	13.48	565^th	638	11.4%

See the entire list of South Carolina Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	SC State Percentile
2021	16.58	503^rd	580	13.3%
2022	21.33	493^rd	600	17.8%
2023	27.62	471^st	608	22.5%
2024	14.93	545^th	599	9.0%

See the entire list of Best South Carolina Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	SC State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	9.11	535^th	568	5.8%

See the entire list of Best South Carolina Alternative Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	SC State Percentile
2021	22.86	304^th	350	13.1%
2022	33.57	268^th	393	31.8%
2024	26.23	300^th	369	18.7%

See the entire list of Best South Carolina Alternative Schools for African American Students!

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

Rank History for Clear Dot Charter School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	SC State Percentile
2021	7.56	304^th	311	2.3%
2022	13.71	279^th	310	10.0%
2023	11.06	305^th	325	6.2%
2024	10.95	304^th	325	6.5%

See the entire list of South Carolina Alternative School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	SC State Percentile
2021	5.37	288^th	288	0.0%
2022	18.22	265^th	300	11.7%
2023	13.13	295^th	313	5.8%
2024	16.40	274^th	307	10.7%

See the entire list of Best South Carolina Alternative Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at Clear Dot Charter School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	SC State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	30.22	188^th	249	24.5%
2024	19.81	220^th	248	11.3%

See the entire list of Best South Carolina Alternative Schools for African American 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.

Data source: South Carolina State Department of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Monday, May 22, 2023

the school is not parent friendly! You hardly here from teachers unless you contact them. Only current parents are allowed in the school! Most of the employees are family in someway or another. The school is and high school is very unorganized or supervised ! They seem to care more about sports then the other students that don’t play sports. You would think being a smaller school they could watch the kids better but the kids seem to take this school to play with! The parents at this school also let there kids get away with everything, phones, talking back, and cursing and running in and out of classes. And when the coaches attempt to discipline they have been jumped on physically by parents! I wouldn’t recommend this school, it has a good idea but not the people running it, more about money the kids ! Close Quote

by a parent
Friday, May 19, 2023

This is a very unprofessional school, most of the employees are family in someway or another. Only certain parents are allowed to go in the school, middle school and high school students are allowed to have there phones during school. Students are poorly supervised.. Reports by students of students engaging in unsupervised activities in class! Extra school funds are put on to sports . This is more for show and hen caring about the students! This school starts our promising a lot then at the end nothing!!! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Clear Dot Charter School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	Two or More Races	Total
2020	35	109	2	14	19	179
2021	52	158	2	11	13	236
2022	49	223	2	15	16	305
2023	69	235	2	11	21	338
2024	56	320	2	14	26	418

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 Clear Dot Charter School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2020	179	14.5	12.3	98.3
2021	236	13.0	18.1	92.4
2022	305	21.0	14.5	90.8
2023	338	25.7	13.1	95
2024	418	42.2	9.8	99.3

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 Clear Dot Charter School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2020	179	14.5	12.3	98.3
2021	236	13.0	18.1	92.4
2022	305	21.0	14.5	90.8
2023	338	25.7	13.1	95
2024	418	42.2	9.8	99.3

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.

Schools Near Clear Dot Charter School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking ()				Ranking ()				SC READY English Language Arts (2024)						SC READY Mathematics (2024)						EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 (2024)	EOCEP English 1 (2024)	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution (2024)	EOCEP English 2 (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2023)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	SchoolDigger Rating ()	Average Standard Score ()	Statewide Rank ()	State Percentile ()	Rank Change from Previous Year	SC READY English Language Arts 3rd Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 4th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 5th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 6th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 7th Grade	SC READY English Language Arts 8th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 3rd Grade	SC READY Mathematics 4th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 5th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 6th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 7th Grade	SC READY Mathematics 8th Grade	EOCEP Algebra 1/Mathematics for the Technologies 2 End of Course	EOCEP English 1 End of Course	EOCEP U.S. History and the Constitution End of Course	EOCEP English 2 End of Course	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel Spending from Federal Funds	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Personnel Spending from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Sub-total Spending from State and Local Funds
Clear Dot Charter School	Public, Charter, Alternative	PK, KG-10	2015 Marion Street	Columbia	29201	Richland County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	No	Yes	(803) 567-3075	418	42	9.8	99.3%	56 (13.4%)	320 (76.6%)	14 (3.3%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (6.2%)								(n/a)	28.6	42.8	29.1	40.7	20.6	28.6	20.4	30.9	8.3	14.8	3.4	2.9	13.1	26.1
Pendergrass Fairwold School	Public, Alternative	PK, KG-12	5935 Token Street	Columbia	29203	Richland County	Richland 01	No	No	No	No	(803) 735-3435	56	15	3.7	94.6%	9 (16.1%)	44 (78.6%)	3 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
South Carolina Virtual Charter School	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2023 Platt Springs Road	West Columbia	29169	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 253-6222	2,350	131	17.9	53.9%	1,332 (56.7%)	687 (29.2%)	204 (8.7%)	18 (0.8%)	10 (0.4%)	7 (0.3%)	92 (3.9%)								(n/a)	42.3	55.6	55.8	60.0	52.1	58.1	29.8	30.4	18.8	31.3	17.5	23.5	73.3	73.6	62.3	87.1
School Connections Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	201 Executive Center Drive Sui	Columbia	29210	Richland County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	No	Yes	No	(803) 212-4712	5,955	254	23.4	47.9%	3,722 (62.5%)	1,217 (20.4%)	503 (8.4%)	43 (0.7%)	26 (0.4%)	5 (0.1%)	439 (7.4%)								(n/a)	40.3	53.0	46.5	52.4	53.4	55.3	30.5	28.8	17.3	16.4	21.2	20.7	51.2	58.2	46.5	92.5	$6,043	$45	$29	$74	$2,155	$3,814	$5,969
SCDJJ Evaluation and Detention Center	Public, Alternative	4-12	5000 Broad River Road	Columbia	29212	Lexington County	Dept of Juvenile Justice	No	No	No	Yes	(803) 896-9037	436	19	22.9	99.3%	79 (18.1%)	339 (77.8%)	13 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.1%)								(n/a)
American Leadership Academy South Carolina-Lexington Campu	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	109 Innovation Drive	Lexington	29072	Lexington County	Charter Institute at Erskine	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(803) 756-2724	1,728	137	12.6	3.5%	1,198 (69.3%)	250 (14.5%)	135 (7.8%)	52 (3.0%)	8 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	84 (4.9%)								(n/a)	66.9	63.3	68.4	75.6	53.3	52.8	65.5	50.0	53.3	53.6	26.7	25.2	67.8	89.2	50.0	96.3
Swansea High Freshman Academy	Public, Alternative	9	1195 I. W. Hutto Road	Swansea	29160	Lexington County	Lexington 04	No	No	No	No	(803) 490-7006	237	17	13.9	100.0%	121 (51.1%)	41 (17.3%)	59 (24.9%)	1 (0.4%)	3 (1.3%)	3 (1.3%)	9 (3.8%)								(n/a)																100.0

Frequently Asked Questions about Clear Dot Charter School

What is the racial makeup of Clear Dot Charter School?

Students at Clear Dot Charter School are 77% African American, 13% White, 6% Two or more races, 3% Hispanic.

Is Clear Dot Charter School a good school?

Clear Dot Charter School ranks in the bottom 11.4% of South Carolina alternative schools.

What district is Clear Dot Charter School in?

Charter Institute at Erskine

How many students attend Clear Dot Charter School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 418 students attended Clear Dot Charter School.

Rate Clear Dot Charter School!

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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.