Dent Middle School
Columbia, SC 29206
Phone: (803) 699-2750
Fax: (803) 699-2754
District: Richland 02 School District
GreatSchools Rating
public • Grades 6,7,8 • 1059 students
Dent Middle School, a public school located in Columbia, SC, serves grades 6-8 in the Richland 02 School District.It has received a GreatSchools Rating of 3 out of 10, based on a variety of school quality measures.
Dent Middle School is a public school located in Columbia, SC. 1059 students attend Dent Middle School.
School Ratings
| Category | Rating | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Test Scores | 5/10 | The Test Score Rating examines how students at this school performed on standardized tests compared with other schools in the state. The Test Rating was created using 2024 End-of-Course Examination Program (EOCEP) Tests data from South Carolina Department of Education, and using 2024 College and Career Ready Assessments (READY) data from South Carolina Department of Education. |
| Student Growth | 1/10 | The Student Progress Rating measures whether students at this school are making academic progress over time based on student growth data provided by the Department of Education. Specifically, this rating looks at how much progress individual students have made on state assessments during the past year or more, how this performance aligns with expected progress based on a student growth model established by the state Department of Education, and how this school's growth data compares to other schools in the state. The Growth Rating was created using 2024 Student Growth - Elementary Level data from South Carolina Department of Education, and using 2024 Student Growth - Middle Level data from South Carolina Department of Education. |
Posted: November 14, 2025
Dent has two magnet programs in addition to the local catchment area students. The TLC (The Learning Collaborative) is one of the oldest magnet programs in the district and continues to have accelerated programs for top academic students based on standardized test scores, grades, and an interview process. Two Academies is the other magnet program which is a single-gender program that enables male and females students to each have a customized, research-based learning environment.
Principal Ashford has been an administrator at Dent for over 13 years (as of 2025), and understands the needs of the highly diverse community in this area. She maintains a positive, safe educational environment that is inclusive for all types of students. The school also takes 504 accommodations very seriously in my experience.
What could be better is teacher retention (a few classes were taught by remote teachers) and more emphasis on appropriate magnet leadership, which has changed several times in the past five years.
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: November 14, 2025
Posted: June 29, 2024
Maybe there are some fights but its not on dent middle school ground if you not in any drama or better don't get in any drama come too this school its better then other schools around me thank you!!!!
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 29, 2024
Posted: June 2, 2024
The worst school 0/10 do NOT recommend
Posted: June 2, 2024
Posted: June 2, 2024
Posted: June 2, 2024
Posted: June 2, 2024
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Posted: June 2, 2024
Posted: June 2, 2024
Posted: April 7, 2020
terrible. It is downright, by far, terrible
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 7, 2020
Posted: April 12, 2019
Its terrible! Academically teachers and leadership need a major overhaul!
Posted: April 12, 2019
They give homework late and missed homework you have to play heck getting it and then they wait days to grade it making them students grade fall even more.
Posted: April 12, 2019
My son is in the 7th grade and only has two teachers that care. The others do not care if he passes or fails. No communication wth the parents either.
Posted: April 12, 2019
With all the bullying I see no strength in helping kids building character.
Posted: April 12, 2019
Posted: April 12, 2019
Nope! My son has ADHd and a 504 plan. He is failing because the school failed to inforce it. They push these poor kids to the side.
Posted: April 12, 2019
Everyday there are fights and it isn't getting better.
Posted: May 16, 2018
Teachers wait till last min to reach out to you!
Posted: May 16, 2018
Their level of care and level of patience are very low for these adolescents!
Posted: May 16, 2018
They dont try to help or find resources for kids that come from their states, they have trouble with different kind of cultures
Posted: May 16, 2018
Assistant principal team up with teachers rather then to further assist the child, they pick on the kids!
Posted: May 16, 2018
They kick the kids out of class, rather then try to listen to what the kid has to say
Posted: May 16, 2018
Always fights, not enough resources for the children
Posted: May 16, 2018
Poorly, disappointed, shocked that they are the way they are her in the South
Posted: June 2, 2014
Well this school is bleh to me.I've went here for two school years. First, a lot of the teachers here are unsatisfactory and do not know how to do their jobs. Second, the classes are not well structured. And third, you get judged a lot. In Southern states a majority of them talk too much and if your child is not loud and disruptive they will be labeled as "quiet". I've expierenced this way too many times. It's already bad that the students do this. But the teachers as well? I had to get my parents to call my teachers three times to get them to stop commenting on my personality. One teacher would tell me I was quiet everyday and would joke about it. Then after I was done with a presentation, she told me she didn't expect me to do that well. Another teacher told me I was rubbing off on a student because she wasn't talking in class anymore. I just find things like that rude. Let me by my own person. I enjoy keeping to myself. And I am not "quiet", it's called talking to certain people. So I hope nothing like this happens to your child/ren. Tell them to be themselves and to not let that bother them. I wanna point out an excellent teacher, Allison Shields. She's exceptional at her job.
Reviews provided by GreatSchools™
| # | Name | Type | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spring Valley | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Columbia | SC | 3.7 mi | |
| 2 | Reflections | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Columbia | SC | 7 mi | |
| 3 | Longcreek Plantation | Area of Town | Blythewood | SC | 8.4 mi | |
| 4 | Linwood plantation | Neighborhood/Subdivision | Dalzell | SC | 27.9 mi |
| # | Name | City | State | Overall Rating | Distance |
|---|
| Base | Distance |
|---|---|
| Fort Jackson | 3.2 mi. |
| McEntire Joint National Guard Base | 12.9 mi. |
| Shaw AFB | 28 mi. |
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