SC Connections Academy

Columbia · SC · Charter Institute at Erskine · Public charter · K-12 combined

📄 Shareable scorecard →

📚AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally 📖12 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 12 AP courses offered — Elite
  • ✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • ✅ Gifted & talented program
  • 🔢 2 calculus classes · 2 physics · 5 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 90th percentile nationally
  • 📝 SAT/ACT participation: 69th percentile by test-taker volume

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How SC Connections Academy compares for families

Standout academic depth by national standards.

  • StatewideAP rigor in the top 10% nationally with 12 AP courses.
  • LocallySC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.

For Parents

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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

90th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
12
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
106
≈4 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
12
2 calculus · 10 advanced
Lab science classes
7
2 physics · 5 chemistry
Other rigor signals
✅ Dual-enrollment program
✅ Gifted/talented program

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21

69th percentile by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
148
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
5.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12
Compared against
18,426
US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of South Carolina-Columbia

62%
admit rate
$12,688
in-state tuition/yr · $35,972 out-of-state
1180–1380
SAT 25–75 · ACT 26–32

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $22,811/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of South Carolina-Columbia profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
2.1%
Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.
Students absent 15+ days
127
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
362:1
Around the US median. Counselors are stretched but functional.
Counselor FTE
17.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
191
Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 547 in 2021 to 705 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+28.9%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -1.4%/year, projecting from 2024's 6,152 students:

2025
6,063
2027
5,889
2029
5,720

≈ 432 fewer students by 2029 — a real revenue/relevance risk worth getting ahead of.

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue at risk

At $15,753 per student in district revenue, the 432 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $6,805,296/year in funding at risk.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at SC Connections Academy?

Get a personalized College Plan Audit — find Reach, Target, and Safety colleges matched to your kid's GPA, test scores, intended major, and your family's budget. Free.

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For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →