Summary:
The 29401 zip code area of Charleston, South Carolina is home to two schools: Buist Academy, a high-performing middle school, and Memminger Elementary, a lower-performing elementary school. While Buist Academy consistently ranks as the #1 middle school in the state, Memminger Elementary struggles, ranking in the bottom half of South Carolina elementary schools.
Charleston 01 School District data shows that Buist Academy's students significantly outperform the district and state averages in English Language Arts and Math, with over 90% proficiency rates. In contrast, Memminger Elementary's test scores fall well below the district and state standards. This stark performance difference is evident despite Memminger spending more per student ($26,747) compared to Buist Academy ($12,906).
The racial makeup of the two schools also varies, with Buist Academy having a more diverse student population (70.99% White, 12.23% African American, 5.47% Hispanic, 6.02% Asian) compared to Memminger's majority African American student body (51.16%). Additionally, Memminger has a 100% free/reduced lunch rate, indicating a high concentration of economically disadvantaged students, which may contribute to the school's lower academic performance. While Memminger has a lower student-teacher ratio of 10.1, this does not seem to translate into better outcomes for its students.
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