Waccamaw High

Pawleys Island · SC · Georgetown 01 · Public


AP rigor: 86th percentile nationally 13 AP courses

A parent's read

  • 94% graduate on time. Nearly every student who starts 9th grade here finishes in four years — the strongest baseline signal a school can post.
  • Course rigor in the top 14% of US high schools. 13 AP courses plus advanced math and lab-science depth — measured against every high school in the country, not just the neighborhood.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

At a glance

Programs & features
  • 13 AP courses offered — Elite
  • Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
  • Gifted & talented program
  • 5 calculus classes · 8 chemistry
Academic signals
  • AP rigor: 86th percentile nationally
  • SAT/ACT participation: Bottom 6% by test-taker volume
  • 4-yr grad rate: 94% in 2019 (69th percentile nationally)

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

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How Waccamaw High compares for families

Standout academic depth by national standards.

  • ▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 14% nationally with 13 AP courses.
  • ▸ LocallySC sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • ▸ vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Georgetown High, St. James High, Carvers Bay Early College and Career High and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

86th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
13
Math ✓ · Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
209
≈26 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
20
5 calculus · 15 advanced
Lab science classes
8
0 physics · 8 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

Bottom 6% by test-taker volume

50th 90th
SAT/ACT test-takers
3
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.4
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.

4-year graduation rate · federal EDFacts

What % of students graduate on time?

69th percentile nationally

50th 90th
4-year graduation rate
94%
Single-point estimate
4-year cohort size
238
Students in the 9th-grade entry class tracked over 4 years
Compared against
17,988
US high schools reporting 4-year ACGR

Source: federal EDFacts ACGR (Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate), 2019 vintage via Urban Institute. EDFacts publishes a range (low-high) to preserve privacy on small cohorts; we display the midpoint.

‍ Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
7.0%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
28.1%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

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
15.8%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
134
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: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out.

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

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor
269:1
Above the ASCA 250:1 target but below the US median (~430:1). Capacity is workable.
Counselor FTE
3.0
Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.
Teacher FTE
48
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 200 in 2021 to 211 in 2024 — over 3 years.
+5.5%

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

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of -1.6%/year, projecting from 2024's 808 students:

2025
795
2027
770
2029
746

≈ 62 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 $16,543 per student in district revenue, the 62 students projected to be lost by 2029 represent ≈ $1,025,666/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.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Georgetown High
Georgetown
Public 10.1 918 +0.8%
St. James High
Murrells Inlet
Public 12.6 1,826 +1.3%
Carvers Bay Early College and Career High
Hemingway
Public 15.2 399 +9.6%
Socastee High
Myrtle Beach
Public 18.3 1,720 -0.3%
Andrews High
Andrews
Public 24.6 471 -5.4%
Philip Simmons High
Charleston
Public 55.0 797 +9.0%
North Charleston High
North Charleston
Public 62.2 829 -1.3%
Myrtle Beach High
Myrtle Beach
Public 24.5 1,510 -3.8%

At a glance

JSON · Using this page with an AI assistant

Waccamaw High is a public high school in Pawleys Island, SC, enrolling 808 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Enrollment is up 6% from 2021 to 2024.

It offers 13 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 86% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

3 students took the SAT or ACT in the most recent federal count, a participation level above 6% of U.S. high schools.

Its federal four-year graduation rate was about 94% in the latest EDFacts release.

It has about 269 students per school counselor.

16% of its students were chronically absent in 2020.

Sources: National Center for Education Statistics (enrollment), the federal Civil Rights Data Collection and EDFacts, state education agencies where named, and the school's own published documents where named.

Questions families ask

How many AP courses does Waccamaw High offer? Waccamaw High offers 13 AP courses, a course-rigor profile stronger than 86% of U.S. high schools, and has a dual-enrollment program (federal Civil Rights Data Collection).

What is Waccamaw High's graduation rate? Waccamaw High's federal four-year graduation rate was about 94% in the latest EDFacts release.

How many students attend Waccamaw High? Waccamaw High is a public high school in Pawleys Island, SC, enrolling 808 students in grades 9-12 in 2024.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com). These figures may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

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