Enrollment
216
Elementary
DISTRICT 380 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·RICHLAND 01·NCES 450336000907
Arden Elementary
1300 Ashley Street, Columbia, SC 29203 · (803) 735-3400 · Richland County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL216 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 20% of South Carolina public elementary schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- ·Beats expectations Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded South Carolina public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
19 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 77%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 14 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 40 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 23 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 33 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 42 | 19% |
| Grade 4 | 31 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 33 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (40) is 21% larger than its 5th grade class (33).
Student demographics
54%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 67% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
SC READY 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
44.8%
SC avg 59.7% . +12.5pp since 2023
Math
37.1%
SC avg 44.2% . +2.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 45 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all South Carolina schools, those numbers are about 60 and 44. Reading and writing scores are up about 13 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 3 points.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 44.8% | 37.1% |
| 2023-24 | 32.3% | 34.4% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Arden Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Richland County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.1% | #464 of 635 ▲ 1 | #34 of 57 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 44.8% | #527 of 635 ▲ 35 | #46 of 57 ▲ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 216 | #647 of 709 | #56 of 59 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #95 of 656 | #15 of 57 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 54.2% | #397 of 656 | #27 of 57 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -33.9% | #27 of 395 | #2 of 42 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
216
-22 (-9%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 251
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
was 10.3:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 216 | 19 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 227 | 21 | 10.8:1 | 100% (227) |
| 2022-23 | 234 | 20 | 11.7:1 | 100% (234) |
| 2020-21 | 238 | 23 | 10.3:1 | 100% (238) |
| 2017-18 | 327 | 27 | 12.1:1 | 100% (327) |
| 2015-16 | 300 | 25 | 12.0:1 | 100% (300) |
| 2010-11 | 311 | 29 | 10.7:1 | 93% (288) |
| 2000-01 | 340 | 30 | 11.3:1 | 86% (291) |
| 1990-91 | 251 | 17 | 14.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Arden Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 34% (327 to 216); teachers down 30% (27 to 19).
About Arden Elementary
Arden Elementary is classified as an elementary school. It is located in Columbia, South Carolina. A federal count lists 216 students at the school, in pre-K through 5. Average enrollment for elementary schools in South Carolina is about 526, so this school runs 59% smaller than that.
Arden Elementary is one of the 47 schools that make up Richland 01 (21,814 students in total).
Roughly 58% of students at Arden Elementary are Black. Other reported shares: 34% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. Richland County's residents are about 47% Black, 11 points below the school's share. The school's diversity index is 54%, meaning two students picked at random have a 54% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
The teaching staff at Arden Elementary is 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 11.4:1. This ratio sits 2.0 below the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in South Carolina.
Measured against South Carolina public elementary schools, Arden Elementary receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
According to the American Community Survey, in Richland County, the median household income is $63,784, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 41%, and roughly 12% of residents are in poverty. Arden Elementary is one of 104 public schools in the county.
The next-closest public school is Alcorn Middle, about 0.5 miles away. Arden Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles.
The school's locale code, City: Mid-size, means it is inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Enrollment dropped 9% from its 2020-21 level of 238. Its ratio of students to teachers was 10.3:1 in 2020-21, and 11.4:1 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Richland County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
422,117
Census ACS
Median income
$63,784
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
41%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
104
60,410 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Richland 01
- A. C. Flora HighHigh · 1,328 students
- Lower Richland HighHigh · 1,218 students
- Dreher HighHigh · 1,144 students
- Crayton MiddleMiddle · 952 students
- Brennen ElementaryElementary · 805 students
- Hand MiddleMiddle · 755 students
Other schools in Columbia
- SC Connections AcademyCombined · 6,152 students
- Spring Valley HighHigh · 2,230 students
- Carolus Online AcademyCombined · 1,786 students
- Ridge View HighHigh · 1,631 students
- Richland Northeast HighHigh · 1,340 students
- A. C. Flora HighHigh · 1,328 students
Nearby schools
- Alcorn Middle0.5 mi · 381
- Burton Pack Elementary0.9 mi · 255
- J. P. Thomas Elementary0.9 mi · 346
- Palmetto Achievement Center for Excellence Academy1.0 mi · 216
- Hyatt Park Elementary1.1 mi · 317
- Eau Claire High1.1 mi · 542
Frequently asked questions
About Arden ElementaryHow large is Arden Elementary?
Arden Elementary enrolls approximately 216 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Arden Elementary serve?
Arden Elementary serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Arden Elementary?
Approximately 11.4:1 students per teacher at Arden Elementary.
How diverse is Arden Elementary?
Arden Elementary reports a student body of 1% White, 34% Hispanic, 58% Black, 2% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Arden Elementary?
Arden Elementary is overseen by Richland 01 in Richland County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.