Enrollment
692
South Carolina · 2024-25 NCES data
High school (grades 9-12) · Santee, SC
Lake Marion High School
Federal NCES profile for Lake Marion High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 35/100.
2024-25 NCES dataHigh school (grades 9-12)NCES 450391001192
👥 S:T ratio 36
📚 AP courses 10
🌟 Gifted program 70
🎓 Counselors 54
📋 Attendance 6
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Lake Marion High School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of South Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most South Carolina schools.
- 35
- Resource Index · Typical
- 16.1:1
- large classes for South Carolina
- 100.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 692
- students enrolled
Lake Marion High School has class sizes larger than 76% of South Carolina schools. Computed live against every South Carolina school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Orangeburg · South Carolina
NCES ID 450391001192 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
43.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
16.1:1
vs 14.3:1 South Carolina avg
+13% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
100.0%
vs 74.0% South Carolina avg
+35% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Lake Marion High School compares with South Carolina and U.S. medians
What stands out at Lake Marion High School
Lake Marion High School is a high-poverty, mid-sized high school in Santee, South Carolina, enrolling 692 students.
Class loads run somewhat heavier than typical: 16.1:1 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by student-teacher ratio.
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 692 puts it in the larger third of South Carolina schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the lower third of 1,214 scored South Carolina schools.
Against 297 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks mid-pack at #133.
Its student body is predominantly African American (85% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 26/100).
No Advanced Placement courses are reported for this campus in the federal data.
Counselor coverage is strong, about 231 students per counselor, inside the American School Counselor Association's recommended 250:1.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 37.7% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 19.6% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
Discipline events run high: 506 in- and out-of-school suspensions were reported for 692 students in the 2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 4 expulsions at this campus for 2021-22.
Orangeburg also operates Orangeburg Wilkinson High (992 students) and Edisto Primary (635 students) alongside Lake Marion High School.
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
How Lake Marion High School compares
Lake Marion High School 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 | 16.1:1 | ▲ 13% | 14.3:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 100.0% | ▲ 35% | 74.0% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 692 | top 34% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
16.1:1
Leaner classes than 37% of US schools, a middle-of-the-pack class size.
692
Bigger than 80% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
100.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 35% above the South Carolina average of 74.0%
Above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
16.1:1
students per teacher
- 13% above state mean
Top 76% in South Carolina - lower ratio than 24% of state schools
Between 16:1 and 20:1, squarely in the typical U.S. public-school staffing range.
Engagement
37.7%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,232
per pupil, district-wide
- above South Carolina avg of $14,558
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors3.0 FTE
Per 231 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
218
in-school suspensions + 288 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 31.5 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 73.1 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 4 expulsions.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
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.
Student demographics
African American 85.4%
White 7.9%
Hispanic or Latino 3.6%
Two or More 1.9%
Asian 0.9%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.3%
Largest group: African American at 85.4% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 26.3/100
Simpson diversity index - at 26.3, Lake Marion High School is less mixed than the South Carolina school average of 52.7.
Programs
AP program Not offered
Gifted & talented Yes
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Orangeburg, which includes Lake Marion High School.
$15,232
Per student
+5%
vs South Carolina
Avg $14,558
-8%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 33.7%
State 46.7%
Federal 19.6%
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.
How Lake Marion High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orangeburg Wilkinson High | Larger | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Edisto Primary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Marshall Elementary | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
| Edisto High | Similar size | Similar economic need | Lower S:T ratio |
| William J. Clark Middle | Similar size | Similar economic need | Similar S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Lake Marion High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 992
- Students per teacher
- 16.8:1
- Resource Index
- 34/100
- Enrollment
- 635
- Students per teacher
- 19.2:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
- Enrollment
- 625
- Students per teacher
- 16.9:1
- Resource Index
- 56/100
- Enrollment
- 614
- Students per teacher
- 14.6:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
- Enrollment
- 587
- Students per teacher
- 14.7:1
- Resource Index
- 41/100
Similar high schools statewide
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.
Similar enrollment (~692 students)
Similar student-teacher ratio (~16.1:1)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Lake Marion High School's federal record.
- Compare Lake Marion High School against another school. Compare schools
- Orangeburg's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
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.
Frequently asked questions about Lake Marion High School
How many students attend Lake Marion High School?
Lake Marion High School has 692 students enrolled. It is a high school in Santee, SC.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Lake Marion High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Lake Marion High School is 16.1:1, which is 13% higher than the South Carolina average of 14.3:1 and 3% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Lake Marion High School?
100.0% of students at Lake Marion High School are eligible for free lunch, compared to the South Carolina average of 74.0%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Lake Marion High School?
The largest demographic group at Lake Marion High School is African American at 85.4% of enrollment, in Santee, SC.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Lake Marion High School?
Lake Marion High School has a Resource Investment Index of 35/100 (typical reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 5 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
Is Lake Marion High School a good school?
Lake Marion High School earns 35/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 76% of South Carolina schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most 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.
What other schools are in Orangeburg?
Besides Lake Marion High School, Orangeburg also operates Orangeburg Wilkinson High (992 students), Edisto Primary (635 students), and Marshall Elementary (625 students). See the Orangeburg district page for the complete list.
Related tools
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.