Hunley Park Elementary placed No. 281 out of 651 South Carolina elementary schools in the 2027 U.S. News & World Report rankings, making it the highest-rated elementary school in North Charleston.
The Michigan Avenue school scored 56.92 out of 100 on the U.S. News overall scale. That puts Hunley Park in the upper half of the state's ranked elementary schools but well behind the top performers.
Forty-five percent of Hunley Park's students scored at or above the proficient level in math, and 45% hit that mark in reading, according to U.S. News. Both figures trail the Charleston County School District averages of 50% in math and 57% in reading. The school serves 487 students in pre-K through fifth grade with a 13-to-1 student-teacher ratio.
U.S. News rated Hunley Park's math and reading performance as "well above expectations." The rankings weigh raw proficiency rates at 50% and a performance index that accounts for socioeconomic factors at the other 50%, according to the U.S. News methodology. That means a school serving a higher share of economically disadvantaged students can score well even with lower raw proficiency numbers.
Windsor Hill Arts Infused Elementary, on William Moultrie Drive, ranked No. 317 statewide with a score of 51.38 out of 100. Windsor Hill posted 45% math proficiency and 46% reading proficiency. The Dorchester District 2 school has 622 students, a 12-to-1 student-teacher ratio and 54 full-time teachers, all of whom are certified.
Both North Charleston schools earned "well above expectations" ratings in math and reading performance. Neither cracked the state's top 250.
The rankings, published in October 2026 under the "2027" label, draw on 2023-2024 state assessment results collected by RTI International. U.S. News ranked 46,713 elementary schools nationwide.
No North Charleston school appears on the statewide top 10 list. The No. 1 spot belongs to Buist Academy in Charleston, where 93% of students scored proficient in math and 97% in reading.
South Carolina's top 10 elementary schools (2027 U.S. News)
- Buist Academy, Charleston (score: 100)
- Belle Hall Elementary, Mt. Pleasant (99.85)
- Sterling School, Greenville (99.69)
- Augusta Circle Elementary, Greenville (99.54)
- Tigerville Elementary, Taylors (99.38)
- Stone Academy, Greenville (99.23)
- E.L. Wright Middle, Columbia (99.08) — a K-8 school ranked on grades 3-5 results
- Oakview Elementary, Simpsonville (98.92)
- Mt. Pleasant Academy, Mount Pleasant (98.77)
- Royall Elementary, Florence (98.62)
Parents can view the full North Charleston results on the U.S. News South Carolina elementary school rankings page.
