Independence Elementary

Summary:

Independence Elementary is a public elementary school in Rock Hill, South Carolina, serving 567 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the York 03 School District, which is ranked 29 out of 75 districts in the state and has a 3-star rating.

Independence Elementary has a diverse student population, with 47.27% African American, 14.29% Hispanic, and 2.47% Asian students. However, the school's academic performance lags behind the district and state averages, with only 48.9% of 3rd graders proficient in ELA and 40.2% in Math, compared to the district's 53.3% and 51.8%, respectively, and the state's 53.8% and 54.5%. The school also has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 100% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, significantly higher than nearby Lesslie Elementary, which had only 31.97% of students in this category.

Independence Elementary's statewide ranking has fluctuated over the years, ranging from 156 out of 619 South Carolina elementary schools in 2015-2016 to 398 out of 638 in 2023-2024, placing it in the bottom half of the state's elementary schools. This is in contrast to nearby Cherry Park Elementary School of Language Immersion, which ranked 49 out of 638 in 2023-2024 and received a 5-star rating. The school's performance data also reveals significant achievement gaps between racial groups, with White students performing significantly lower than African American students in both ELA and Math.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-5

 132 West Springdale Road
       Rock Hill, SC  29730


(803) 981-1135

District: York 03

SchoolDigger Rank:
398th of 638 South Carolina Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $12,478 Help


Students who attend Independence Elementary usually attend:

Middle:    Castle Heights Middle
High:    Rock Hill High

Student/teacher ratio:  12.9 Help
Number of students:  558

Racial breakdown:

African American:
43.2%
White:
29.4%
Hispanic:
15.8%
more

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  100% Help


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Performance Trends
Help
Compare Details Independence Elementary ranks worse than 62.4% of elementary schools in South Carolina. It also ranks 11th among 14 ranked elementary schools in the York 03 School District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 37.66. (See more...)
Help
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
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Compare Details Student population at Independence Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: African American (43.2%), White (29.4%), Hispanic (15.8%). (See more...)
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Compare Details 100% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Independence Elementary is 12.9, which is the 5th best among 14 elementary schools in the York 03 School District. (See more...)
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Compare Independence Elementary employs 43 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at Independence Elementary is $12,478, which is the 8th highest among 14 elementary schools in the York 03 School District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Independence Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Independence Elementary 398th of 638 South Carolina public elementary schools. (See Independence Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
African American students:
White students:


York 03:

SchoolDigger ranks York 03 29th of 75 South Carolina school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for Independence Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2003 63.68 201st 542 62.9%
2004 50.79 300th 550 45.5%
2005 48.85 320th 557 42.5%
2006 43.49 360th 559 35.6%
2007 48.17 329th 566 41.9%
2008 52.61 303rd 577 47.5%
2009 53.90 289th 580 50.2%
2010 56.83 269th 589 54.3%
2011 55.87 284th 597 52.4%
2012 62.10 238th 594 59.9%
2013 57.73 279th 599 53.4%
2014 62.40 245th 630 61.1%
2015 56.13 257th 638 59.7%
2016 71.45 156th 619 74.8%
2017 62.78 220th 639 65.6%
2018 50.26 300th 624 51.9%
2019 46.57 348th 643 45.9%
2021 52.56 289th 622 53.5%
2022 32.81 425th 625 32.0%
2023 42.49 363rd 644 43.6%
2024 37.66 398th 638 37.6%
See the entire list of South Carolina Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 50.84 275th 588 53.2%
2019 37.42 398th 600 33.7%
2021 53.31 267th 580 54.0%
2022 37.05 386th 600 35.7%
2023 49.47 296th 608 51.3%
2024 39.14 380th 599 36.6%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 49.16 288th 570 49.5%
2019 53.23 283rd 588 51.9%
2021 47.59 278th 554 49.8%
2022 34.17 390th 573 31.9%
2023 39.18 353rd 580 39.1%
2024 36.21 369th 565 34.7%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 68.31 31st 161 80.7%
2019 26.71 144th 189 23.8%
2022 21.27 130th 151 13.9%
2023 52.25 68th 174 60.9%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 48.85 294th 571 48.5%
2019 35.27 392nd 590 33.6%
2021 55.12 244th 561 56.5%
2022 30.24 405th 579 30.1%
2023 42.94 328th 582 43.6%
2024 36.30 364th 568 35.9%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 73.20 72nd 412 82.5%
2019 56.99 160th 421 62.0%
2021 63.19 96th 350 72.6%
2022 42.43 219th 393 44.3%
2023 57.48 137th 394 65.2%
2024 47.79 184th 369 50.1%
See the entire list of Best South Carolina Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for White students at Independence Elementary

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools SC State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2018 31.38 332nd 457 27.4%
2019 36.41 322nd 472 31.8%
2021 57.40 192nd 439 56.3%
2022 30.47 329th 455 27.7%
2023 29.38 348th 463 24.8%
2024 21.24 375th 441 15.0%
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.

Independence 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 Independence Elementary

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
1988 270 200 4 0 1 n/a n/a 0 475
1989 315 124 4 2 4 n/a n/a 0 449
1990 308 129 4 1 5 n/a n/a 0 447
1991 276 111 1 0 5 n/a n/a 0 393
1992 261 116 1 0 5 n/a n/a 0 383
1993 272 100 0 0 4 n/a n/a 0 376
1994 255 101 0 3 16 n/a n/a 0 375
1995 253 119 0 3 24 n/a n/a 0 399
1996 253 119 0 3 24 n/a n/a 0 399
1997 280 107 0 3 24 n/a n/a 0 414
1998 278 110 0 2 21 n/a n/a 0 411
1999 364 153 0 3 39 n/a n/a 0 559
2000 285 150 2 9 81 n/a n/a 0 527
2001 290 146 2 11 88 n/a n/a 0 537
2002 266 152 2 8 85 n/a n/a 0 513
2003 266 152 2 8 85 n/a n/a 0 513
2004 266 143 5 10 79 n/a n/a 0 503
2005 281 144 2 9 69 n/a n/a 1 506
2006 267 146 3 16 67 n/a n/a 1 500
2007 283 174 5 18 59 n/a n/a 0 539
2008 262 155 3 17 44 n/a n/a 0 481
2009 283 161 7 32 23 n/a n/a 3 509
2010 279 164 7 24 27 n/a n/a 0 501
2011 292 160 7 19 24 0 15 0 517
2012 303 149 7 24 29 0 24 0 536
2013 305 150 7 35 24 0 33 0 554
2014 284 142 9 40 30 0 32 0 537
2015 259 159 6 35 26 0 39 0 524
2016 274 154 6 43 26 0 40 0 543
2017 227 149 7 42 23 0 45 0 493
2018 242 182 6 46 19 0 58 0 553
2019 241 181 9 43 22 0 58 0 554
2020 215 175 9 45 20 0 52 0 516
2021 186 166 6 51 11 0 47 0 467
2022 155 279 10 59 6 0 34 0 543
2023 158 268 14 81 6 0 40 0 567
2024 164 241 9 88 7 0 49 0 558

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 Independence Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 475 26.0 18.2 n/a
1989 449 25.6 17.5 n/a
1990 447 25.2 17.7 n/a
1991 393 21.3 18.4 25.2
1992 383 21.3 17.9 30.5
1993 376 20.0 18.8 32.4
1994 375 22.0 17.0 39.2
1995 399 24.0 16.6 38.1
1996 399 24.0 16.6 38.1
1997 414 26.0 15.9 33.6
1998 411 27.0 15.2 34.1
1999 559 31.5 17.7 42.2
2000 527 38.0 13.9 43.1
2001 537 37.0 14.5 46.6
2002 513 32.6 15.7 46.6
2003 513 32.6 15.7 46.6
2004 503 32.6 15.4 50.1
2005 506 33.6 15.1 47.9
2006 500 34.6 14.5 52.9
2007 539 50.0 10.8 57
2008 481 36.6 13.1 48.2
2009 509 33.6 15.1 63.8
2010 501 36.5 13.7 62.7
2011 517 32.0 16.1 64.6
2012 536 33.5 16.0 67.2
2013 554 32.5 17.0 65
2014 537 33.0 16.2 66.5
2015 524 33.0 15.8 64.1
2016 543 34.0 15.9 61.9
2017 493 29.0 17.0 64.3
2018 553 33.0 16.7 60
2019 554 36.4 15.2 60.1
2020 516 35.1 14.7 99.4
2021 467 31.6 14.7 69
2022 543 37.0 14.6 100
2023 567 42.0 13.5 100
2024 558 43.0 12.9 100

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 Independence Elementary

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
1988 475 26.0 18.2 n/a
1989 449 25.6 17.5 n/a
1990 447 25.2 17.7 n/a
1991 393 21.3 18.4 25.2
1992 383 21.3 17.9 30.5
1993 376 20.0 18.8 32.4
1994 375 22.0 17.0 39.2
1995 399 24.0 16.6 38.1
1996 399 24.0 16.6 38.1
1997 414 26.0 15.9 33.6
1998 411 27.0 15.2 34.1
1999 559 31.5 17.7 42.2
2000 527 38.0 13.9 43.1
2001 537 37.0 14.5 46.6
2002 513 32.6 15.7 46.6
2003 513 32.6 15.7 46.6
2004 503 32.6 15.4 50.1
2005 506 33.6 15.1 47.9
2006 500 34.6 14.5 52.9
2007 539 50.0 10.8 57
2008 481 36.6 13.1 48.2
2009 509 33.6 15.1 63.8
2010 501 36.5 13.7 62.7
2011 517 32.0 16.1 64.6
2012 536 33.5 16.0 67.2
2013 554 32.5 17.0 65
2014 537 33.0 16.2 66.5
2015 524 33.0 15.8 64.1
2016 543 34.0 15.9 61.9
2017 493 29.0 17.0 64.3
2018 553 33.0 16.7 60
2019 554 36.4 15.2 60.1
2020 516 35.1 14.7 99.4
2021 467 31.6 14.7 69
2022 543 37.0 14.6 100
2023 567 42.0 13.5 100
2024 558 43.0 12.9 100

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 Independence 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 $677 (7.7%) $395 (4.5%) $1,072 (12.3%) $6,627 (75.8%) $1,045 (12.0%) $7,671 (87.7%) $8,743
2020 $670 (6.6%) $568 (5.6%) $1,238 (12.1%) $7,762 (76.1%) $1,197 (11.7%) $8,959 (87.9%) $10,196
2021 $133 (1.3%) $66 (0.6%) $200 (1.9%) $8,688 (83.8%) $1,477 (14.2%) $10,165 (98.1%) $10,365
2022 $142 (1.3%) $573 (5.1%) $715 (6.4%) $9,124 (81.9%) $1,299 (11.7%) $10,423 (93.6%) $11,139
2023 $788 (6.3%) $1,119 (9.0%) $1,907 (15.3%) $9,438 (75.6%) $1,134 (9.1%) $10,572 (84.7%) $12,478

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

Impact of COVID-19 on Independence 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 348th of 643 Elementary schoolsRanks 363rd of 644 Elementary schools
 2.2%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade English Language Arts (Independence Elementary)56.142.7
 13.4%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (York 03)47.650.4
 2.8%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)49.753.5
 3.8%
3rd Grade Mathematics (Independence Elementary)70.346.6
 23.7%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (York 03)5650.1
 5.9%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)57.753.6
 4.1%
4th Grade Science (Independence Elementary)40.247.7
 7.5%
   4th Grade Science (York 03)51.446.9
 4.5%
   4th Grade Science (South Carolina)5246.6
 5.4%
4th Grade English Language Arts (Independence Elementary)48.457.7
 9.3%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (York 03)50.457.5
 7.1%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)51.357.2
 5.9%
4th Grade Mathematics (Independence Elementary)41.345.5
 4.2%
   4th Grade Mathematics (York 03)49.146.6
 2.5%
   4th Grade Mathematics (South Carolina)50.547
 3.5%
5th Grade English Language Arts (Independence Elementary)28.246.4
 18.2%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (York 03)39.755.4
 15.7%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (South Carolina)4155.2
 14.2%
5th Grade Mathematics (Independence Elementary)29.125.3
 3.8%
   5th Grade Mathematics (York 03)41.842.2
 0.4%
   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 Students554567
 2.3%
African American181268
 48.1%
American Indian226
 72.7%
Asian914
 55.6%
Hispanic4381
 88.4%
Pacific Islander00
White241158
 34.4%
Two or More Races5840
 31%
% Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients60.1%100%
 39.9%


Schools Near Independence Elementary









Frequently Asked Questions about Independence Elementary

Students who attend Independence Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Castle Heights Middle
High : Rock Hill High

Independence Elementary ranks 398th of 638 South Carolina elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

In the 2023-24 school year, 558 students attended Independence Elementary.

Students at Independence Elementary are 43% African American, 29% White, 16% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian.


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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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