Enrollment
244
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Other / mixed grade configuration · Columbia, SC
Federal NCES profile for A. C. Moore Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 63/100.
The verdict
A. C. Moore Elementary earns 63/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of South Carolina schools.
A. C. Moore Elementary has class sizes smaller than 92% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, A. C. Moore Elementary ranks #1 of 43 schools in Columbia, SC.
NCES ID 450336000926 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Enrollment
244
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
Teachers (FTE)
25.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
9.8:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
-31% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
How A. C. Moore Elementary compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
Smaller classes than state median
9.8:1 - 4.5 below the South Carolina state median of 14.3:1, indicating smaller average class loads than typical schools in the state.
A. C. Moore Elementary is a high-poverty, small combined-grade school in Columbia, South Carolina, enrolling 244 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 9.8:1, A. C. Moore Elementary is leaner than roughly 92% of South Carolina schools and 31% under the state's 14.3:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Its free-meal eligibility rate of 100.0% lands close to the South Carolina typical range, neither a high- nor low-need campus by this measure.
Enrollment of 244 puts it in the smaller third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index outscores 98% of the 1,214 South Carolina schools with a score on record, a top-tier result on this measure.
Among 144 similarly sized, similarly resourced-need South Carolina schools statewide, it ranks #5, a top-tier result once campus size and economic need are matched.
Its student body is led by White (41%) and African American (33%) (diversity index 69/100).
Counselor coverage is strong, about 244 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
11.5% of students were chronically absent in the 2021-22 collection, in line with the post-pandemic national range.
The surrounding Richland 01 spends $18,122 per pupil, 24% above the South Carolina average, a better-resourced district than most.
Among Columbia's public schools, it stands alongside Sc Connections Academy (6,152 students): A. C. Moore Elementary is smaller than that campus by headcount and runs leaner classes (9.8:1 vs 27.8:1).
Richland 01 also operates A. C. Flora High (1,328 students) and Lower Richland High (1,218 students) alongside A. C. Moore Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
A. C. Moore Elementary on the metrics families compare, against South Carolina and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs South Carolina | South Carolina avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 9.8:1 | ▼ 31% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 244 | top 88% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Largest group: White at 41.4% of enrollment.
Simpson diversity index - at 69.4, A. C. Moore Elementary is more mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Richland 01, which includes A. C. Moore Elementary.
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. C. Flora High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Lower Richland High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Dreher High | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Crayton Middle | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Brennen Elementary | Larger | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to A. C. Moore Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
6 comparable other schools (grades Mixed) serving the same city.
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of South Carolina, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on A. C. Moore Elementary's federal record.
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
A. C. Moore Elementary has 244 students enrolled. It is a public school in Columbia, SC.
The student-teacher ratio at A. C. Moore Elementary is 9.8:1, which is 31% lower than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 38% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
100.0% of students at A. C. Moore Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
The largest demographic group at A. C. Moore Elementary is White at 41.4% of enrollment, in Columbia, SC. Its student body is more racially and ethnically mixed than most US schools, with a diversity index of 69.4/100.
A. C. Moore Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 63/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
By Resource Investment Index, A. C. Moore Elementary ranks #1 of 43 schools in Columbia, SC. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all schools in Columbia on the city page.
A. C. Moore Elementary earns 63/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of South Carolina schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
Besides A. C. Moore Elementary, Richland 01 also operates A. C. Flora High (1,328 students), Lower Richland High (1,218 students), and Dreher High (1,144 students). See the Richland 01 district page for the complete list.
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.
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PlainSchools, “A. C. Moore Elementary, Columbia SC.” Compiled from NCES Common Core of Data, Civil Rights Data Collection, and the NCES F-33 finance survey; data as of June 2026. https://plainschools.com/schools/a-c-moore-elementary-sc/
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