Lexington School District Two students made gains on the 2025 SC School Report Cards released by the SC Department of Education Monday, with several district schools advancing year-over-year and the majority of schools attaining “Average” to “Excellent” ratings.
This year, Fulmer Middle School posted an overall rating of “Excellent,” up from “Good” the year before, while Busbee Creative Arts Academy advanced to “Good,” joining Springdale Elementary with that same overall rating. Cayce Elementary School made a significant leap to “Average” from an “Unsatisfactory” last year, while Wood Elementary School also advanced to “Average” from “Below Average.”
Academic achievement scores increased district-wide compared to last year, according to the Report Cards. In addition, three district middle schools achieved an “Excellent” rating in student progress, a key indicator of showing year-over-year academic growth and improvement. Northside Middle School has posted growth gains over consecutive years, finishing just shy of an overall “Good” this year.
Riverbank Elementary and Saluda River Academy for the Arts joined Northside, Cayce, and Wood at “Average.” The district’s remaining four schools received a “Below Average,” indicating areas for continued growth and improvement, as are high school graduation rates, a strategic area that the district continues to invest in to support student retention and on-time graduation.
“We’ve posted some noteworthy gains in academic achievement and student progress, a testament to the strong work our educators and students have been putting in,” said Superintendent Dr. Brenda Hafner, “but there is more work to be done.” She noted that the district is putting intentional emphasis this school year on MTSS work, early grades, and additional support for ML learners.
The annual SC School Report Cards provide information about each school and district, including test performance, teacher qualifications, student safety, awards, parent involvement and more. A link to all school report cards may be found by clicking this link.
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The district also reported the following earlier in fall 2025:
Lexington School District Two students posted gains in several core subject areas in statewide testing results released this week by the SC Department of Education.
Among the gains, Lexington Two elementary and middle school students saw a nearly double-digit average increase across all grade levels in SC READY English/Language Arts (ELA) testing. Lexington Two’s gains in at or above grade level reading mirrored those at the state level, part of the SC Department of Education’s focus on teaching the science of reading, with supports for districts including new materials, raining for educators, and updated language arts standards.
Superintendent Dr. Brenda Hafner said in addition to the the state department’s professional development and resources, the improved outcomes for Lexington Two’s students can be attributed to the district’s focused reading intervention targeting specific skill gaps and skills still needing to be developed; coaches ensuring writing instruction was more explicit and supplemental resources for textbook instruction were available; and the introduction of a strong Tier I reading curriculum at each level that offered teachers more support and resources that also helping in supplemental summer reading camps.
“We are proud of the gains we are making, though we recognize there is still work ahead,” Dr. Hafner said.
Among testing highlights for Lexington Two students:
In SC READY, given to the state’s third through eighth graders, Lexington Two students posted ELA gains across all grade levels, with the percent of Meets and Exceeds improving by an average of more than 9 percentage points per grade level, while 50% or more of students met or exceeded state expectations in both fourth and fifth grades. In SC READY math assessments, students posted gains in most grade levels: third through fifth grade and eighth grade.
Lexington Two students posted a substantial 500% gain in ACCESS, an annual English language proficiency test for identified K-12 English language learners. The number of students demonstrating language proficiency in the latest testing increased 7.2%, with some of the biggest gains in the writing category, which showed a 5% increase in the number of students scoring a level 4 or higher, one of the proficiency benchmarks for exiting the program.
Lexington Two’s high school schoolers saw increases in average scores in Algebra, English II, and US History. Specifically:
-Students scoring a C or higher on the Algebra I EOC grew by more than 5 percentage points, with improvement seen in nearly all subgroups.
-Students scoring a C or higher on the English II EOC improved by 4.7 percentage points, meaning 61.37% of district students in that course scored a C or higher on this test, with improvement across nearly all subgroups.
-Students scoring a C or higher on the US History EOC improved by 4.9 percentage points.
Results released this week by the state department reflected testing from the 2024-2025 school year.