None of Rock Hill Schools’ 22 rated schools fell below an Average rating on the 2026 South Carolina School Report Cards, released Monday by the South Carolina Department of Education, after three were rated Below Average a year ago.
Two of the district’s three high schools also moved up. Northwestern High School and South Pointe High School each climbed from Average to Good.
The gains were offset by declines at several elementary and middle schools. Cherry Park Elementary School of Language Immersion, last year’s only Rock Hill school rated Excellent, fell two levels to Average, and four other schools slipped from Good to Average. Oakdale Elementary School was the district’s only school rated Excellent this year.
In all, one Rock Hill school was rated Excellent, seven were rated Good and 14 were rated Average. A year ago the count was one Excellent, eight Good, 10 Average and three Below Average.
The report cards are the state’s yearly public accounting of how every school and district performs. Rock Hill Schools enrolls 15,611 students, and about 65 percent live in poverty, according to the district’s report card. The state department said high poverty schools posted some of the strongest improvements statewide this year.
Schools That Climbed
Richmond Drive Elementary School posted the district’s largest gain, rising 12 points to 49 and moving from Below Average to Average. The state department singled out the school in its statewide release announcing the results. Richmond Drive earned an Excellent rating for school climate and a Good rating in Student Progress, the indicator that measures how much students improve from one year to the next.
York Road Elementary School and Ebenezer Avenue Elementary School also moved from Below Average to Average, with York Road gaining six points to 45 and Ebenezer Avenue gaining three to 44.
Oakdale Elementary rose eight points to 65 and earned Excellent ratings in Academic Achievement, Student Progress and school climate.
South Pointe High scored 63 points, up from 57, and earned an Excellent rating for college and career readiness. Northwestern High scored 62, up from 57. Rock Hill High School held at 53 and remained Average.
Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies, which the district reopened this year in a renovated building, rose from Average to Good with 53 points. Rawlinson Road Middle School moved from Average to Good with 49 points.
Schools That Slipped
Cherry Park fell 12 points to 50. The school was rated Excellent in Academic Achievement but Unsatisfactory in Student Progress.
Independence Elementary School dropped 11 points to 46, falling from Good to Average. Old Pointe Elementary School (47), Ebinport Elementary School (51) and Saluda Trail Middle School (44) also slipped from Good to Average.
Dutchman Creek Middle School and W.C. Sullivan Middle School each lost six points, falling to 41, though both remained Average. Both were rated Below Average in Student Progress.
Reading and Math
On the SC READY tests taken by students in grades three through eight, 58.1 percent of Rock Hill students met or exceeded expectations in English language arts, down from 60.5 percent last year and below the state’s 61.5 percent.
Math moved in the other direction. The share of students meeting or exceeding expectations rose to 43.9 percent from 39.5 percent, compared with 47.8 percent statewide. In its report card narrative, the district said seventh grade math performance rose 10.6 percentage points and eighth grade performance rose 18.6 points.
On the Algebra 1 end of course exam, 68.9 percent of Rock Hill students scored a C or higher, up from 51.1 percent in 2025 and slightly above the state’s 67.1 percent. Scores also rose sharply statewide. The district also topped the state on the U.S. History and the Constitution exam, where 50.5 percent passed, compared with 47.1 percent statewide.
In English 2, 64.9 percent scored a C or higher, compared with 67.8 percent statewide. On the SC READY science test, 49.2 percent met expectations, up from 46.4 percent.
Rock Hill’s youngest students started ahead of the state. The report card shows 42.6 percent of the district’s kindergartners demonstrated readiness to learn when they enrolled, compared with 38.5 percent statewide.
Graduation and College Readiness
Of the 1,241 students in Rock Hill’s graduating class, 1,027 earned diplomas within four years, a rate of 82.8 percent, compared with 87.5 percent statewide. The district’s rate has stayed between 80 and 84 percent since 2023 while the state rate has climbed nearly four points. The annual dropout rate fell to 3.5 percent from 4.4 percent.
Students with disabilities graduated at 65.3 percent, and English learners graduated at 66.7 percent. The state release named closing gaps for students with disabilities as a major priority.
The report card lists 71.6 percent of Rock Hill’s graduating class as college or career ready, up from 66.5 percent last year and 61.7 percent in 2024, though still below the state’s 78.9 percent. The share of graduates eligible for the state’s LIFE Scholarship fell to 20.4 percent from 27.6 percent, and the share of the prior year’s graduates who enrolled in college the following fall fell to 52.5 percent from 57.1 percent.
Rock Hill students who took the SAT averaged 969, compared with 1,013 statewide. Students passed 76.7 percent of the 722 Advanced Placement exams they took and 79.3 percent of 58 International Baccalaureate exams.
The district said in its narrative that graduates of its three high schools earned more than $48 million in scholarships and that it began the school year having filled 99 percent of teaching positions.
Classrooms and Climate
The district employed 1,023 teachers and spent $16,060 per student in the prior fiscal year, up from $15,088. Chronic absenteeism, reported from the prior school year, was 18 percent.
In state surveys, 94.9 percent of responding parents agreed their child feels safe at school. The district reported two incidents of possession of a firearm or explosive, 40 physical attacks without a weapon and 89 school related arrests or referrals to law enforcement.
Full report cards for each school and the district are posted at screportcards.com.
Rock Hill School Ratings at a Glance
2026 overall rating and score, with 2025 in parentheses
High Schools
South Pointe High: Good, 63 (Average, 57)
Northwestern High: Good, 62 (Average, 57)
Rock Hill High: Average, 53 (Average, 53)
Middle Schools
Rawlinson Road Middle: Good, 49 (Average, 47)
Castle Heights Middle: Average, 44 (Average, 45)
Saluda Trail Middle: Average, 44 (Good, 48)
Dutchman Creek Middle: Average, 41 (Average, 47)
W.C. Sullivan Middle: Average, 41 (Average, 47)
Elementary Schools
Oakdale Elementary: Excellent, 65 (Good, 57)
Mount Gallant Elementary: Good, 57 (Good, 56)
India Hook Elementary: Good, 55 (Good, 58)
Mount Holly Elementary: Good, 54 (Good, 54)
Sunset Park Center for Accelerated Studies: Good, 53 (Average, 50)
Ebinport Elementary: Average, 51 (Good, 55)
Lesslie Elementary: Average, 51 (Average, 52)
Cherry Park Elementary School of Language Immersion: Average, 50 (Excellent, 62)
Richmond Drive Elementary: Average, 49 (Below Average, 37)
Northside Elementary: Average, 47 (Average, 49)
Old Pointe Elementary: Average, 47 (Good, 53)
Independence Elementary: Average, 46 (Good, 57)
York Road Elementary: Average, 45 (Below Average, 39)
Ebenezer Avenue Elementary: Average, 44 (Below Average, 41)
The Palmetto School was not rated.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
