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How has Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
715
Elementary
DISTRICT 488 · STATE 526
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LAURENS 55·NCES 450261001623
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle
9210 Highway 14, Gray Court, SC 29645 · (864) 876-2131 · Laurens County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL715 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 9% of South Carolina public elementary schools
- DTest 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
10.5:1
68 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.6:1 · STATE 13.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
,
Title I proxy
STATE 77%
Community
1
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 | 47 | 7% |
| Kindergarten | 72 | 10% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 83 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 74 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 80 | 11% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 68 | 10% |
| Grade 7 | 67 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 73 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (72) is about the same size as its 8th grade class (73).
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle→Laurens District 55 High
Based on grade levels within Laurens 55. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
SC READY 2024-25 . % Meets or Exceeds ExpectationsEnglish Language Arts
43.4%
SC avg 59.7% . +8.4pp since 2023
Math
21.7%
SC avg 44.2% . +0.0pp since 2023
What this means: On the SC READY, South Carolina's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
SC READY results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 43.4% | 21.7% |
| 2023-24 | 35.0% | 21.7% |
% Meets or Exceeds Expectations, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SC READY. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
Where Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In South Carolina | In Laurens County |
|---|---|---|---|
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.7% | #618 of 635 ▼ 25 | #10 of 10 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 43.4% | #538 of 635 no change | #9 of 10 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 715 | #143 of 709 | #1 of 12 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.5:1 | #48 of 656 | #4 of 10 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 62.9% | #211 of 656 | #3 of 10 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.4% | #252 of 395 | #5 of 9 |
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
715
-26 (-4%) vs 2020
Student : Teacher
10.5:1
was 13.5:1
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 | 715 | 68 | 10.5:1 | N/A |
| 2023-24 | 755 | 62 | 12.2:1 | 100% (755) |
| 2022-23 | 763 | 57 | 13.4:1 | 100% (763) |
| 2020-21 | 741 | 55 | 13.5:1 | 100% (741) |
| 2017-18 | 789 | 50.6 | 15.6:1 | 100% (789) |
| 2015-16 | 787 | 52 | 15.1:1 | 76% (602) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 9% (789 to 715); teachers up 34% (50.6 to 68).
About Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle
This page covers Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle, a mid-sized elementary school in Gray Court, South Carolina. Its enrollment is 715 students, spread over pre-K through 8. Across elementary schools in South Carolina, the average enrollment is about 526.
Laurens 55 enrolls 4,984 students, and its 9 schools include Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle.
The largest group at Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle is White students, at 53%. Enrollment also includes 25% Hispanic, 16% Black, and 5% multiracial. Among people living in Laurens County, the White share is about 68%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle scores 63%.
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle lists 68 full-time-equivalent teachers; that is about 10.5 students per teacher. The gap from the 13.3:1 average for elementary schools in South Carolina is 2.8 students per teacher.
Among South Carolina public elementary schools, Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle outscored 9%, which works out to a D on the allk12 Grade.
The school is in Laurens County, where median household income comes to about $57,623, 18% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 14% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Laurens County counts 18 public schools with about 8,681 students.
Fountain Inn Elementary, about 7.1 miles away, is the closest public school. A ten-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools.
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle is in rural territory close to an urban area, a location NCES labels Rural: Fringe.
Enrollment in 2024-25 stood at 715, compared with 741 in 2020-21. Federal data show the ratio falling from 13.5:1 to 10.5:1.
Use the discussion section to ask about open houses, carpools, and field trips at Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Laurens County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
68,666
Census ACS
Median income
$57,623
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
14%
Below federal line
Schools in county
18
8,681 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Laurens 55
- Laurens District 55 HighHigh · 1,434 students
- Hickory Tavern Elementary/MiddleElementary · 623 students
- Laurens ElementaryElementary · 465 students
- E. B. Morse ElementaryElementary · 447 students
- Ford ElementaryElementary · 423 students
- Laurens MiddleMiddle · 373 students
Other schools in Gray Court
- Hickory Tavern Elementary/MiddleElementary · 623 students
Nearby schools
- Fountain Inn Elementary7.1 mi · 1,055
- Fountain Inn High7.3 mi · 1,551
- Hickory Tavern Elementary/Middle7.9 mi · 623
- Bryson Elementary8.5 mi · 1,038
- Laurens Elementary8.6 mi · 465
- Laurens District 55 High8.7 mi · 1,434
Frequently asked questions
About Gray Court-Owings Elementary/MiddleHow large is Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle?
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle enrolls approximately 715 students in grades PK-08.
Is Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle an elementary, middle, or high school?
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle is an elementary school covering grades PK-08.
How many students per teacher at Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle?
Approximately 10.5:1 students per teacher at Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle?
At Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle, the student body is approximately 53% White, 25% Hispanic, 16% Black, 5% Two or more.
What district is Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle in?
Gray Court-Owings Elementary/Middle is part of Laurens 55.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.