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Elk Knob Elementary

Q: Is Elk Knob Elementary a good school?

Elk Knob Elementary ranks 649 th of 1110 Virginia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades PK, KG-4

649^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,110 Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 42% of Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Elk Knob Elementary is a public elementary school in Pennington Gap, Virginia, serving 308 students in grades PK-4. The school is part of the Lee County Public Schools district, which is ranked 53 out of 129 school districts in the state.

Elk Knob Elementary has had a fluctuating performance, with its statewide ranking ranging from 233 out of 1,097 Virginia elementary schools in 2017-2018 to 728 out of 1,103 in 2020-2021. The school's overall rating has been inconsistent, with a 2-star rating for the past 5 years, except for a brief 3-star rating in 2018-2019 and 2023-2024. While the school has performed better for male students compared to female students, it has struggled with the performance of white students, ranking in the bottom 10% of Virginia elementary schools for this subgroup in the last 3 years. However, the school has performed better for low socioeconomic status students, ranking in the top 50% of Virginia elementary schools in this category.

Elk Knob Elementary has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 12.4% to 42.6% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state average. The school's test scores in mathematics and reading have been mixed, with some grades performing above the Lee County and Virginia averages, while others are below. Interestingly, the school has performed relatively well in 4th-grade VA Studies, with scores exceeding the district and state averages in recent years. Additionally, Elk Knob Elementary has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 83.74% to 86.93% in recent years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

291

Students ?

12.2

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,441

Per pupil spending ?

87.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

148 Hornet Loop
Pennington Gap, VA 24277

(276) 546-1837

District: Lee County Public Schools

Students who attend Elk Knob Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Elydale Middle
	Jonesville Middle
	Pennington Middle
High:	Lee High
	Thomas Walker High

Racial breakdown:

White:

96.6%

Two or more races:

1.4%

Hispanic:

1.0%

See top rated Virginia elementary schools

Compare Elk Knob Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 35th percentile in 2015 → 42nd in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 7 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school69%

District avg70%

Virginia avg71%

649^th of 1,110

Virginia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 42%▲ up 7 pts since 2015

From bottom 35% (2015) to bottom 42% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 5Elementary Schools in the Lee County Public Schools

53^rd of 129Lee County Public Schools among Virginia districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	46.5	649 of 1110	41.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	58.1	509 of 1114	54.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	39.2	733 of 1114	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2022	39.5	726 of 1109	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	38.7	728 of 1103	34.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	56.1	543 of 1105	50.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	74.5	233 of 1097	78.8%	★★★★☆
2017	62.9	416 of 1099	62.1%	★★★☆☆
2016	65.2	385 of 1096	64.9%	★★★☆☆
2015	44.1	715 of 1100	35.0%	★★☆☆☆
2014	48.6	629 of 1110	43.3%	★★☆☆☆
2013	30.4	874 of 1120	22.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	42.9	741 of 1117	33.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	45.0	717 of 1117	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2010	55.2	542 of 1113	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2009	48.9	632 of 1082	41.6%	★★☆☆☆
2008	67.0	325 of 1081	69.9%	★★★★☆
2007	73.4	214 of 1083	80.2%	★★★★☆
2006	81.1	95 of 1071	91.1%	★★★★★
2005	48.0	609 of 1062	42.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	40.5	716 of 1096	34.7%	★★☆☆☆
2024	54.2	548 of 1098	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	37.7	758 of 1100	31.1%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	54.0	505 of 1046	51.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	55.2	487 of 1036	53.0%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	52.7	545 of 1093	50.1%	★★★☆☆
2024	60.7	459 of 1101	58.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	44.0	664 of 1093	39.2%	★★☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	19.1	859 of 973	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.4	772 of 979	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	16.8	899 of 984	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)52nd percentile+10 vs school

Male (2025)50th percentile+9 vs school

Female (2025)35th percentile-7 vs school

White (2025)12th percentile-30 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2024-2025) ?

VA Studies75%+6 vs state

Mathematics70%-3 vs state

English Reading66%-4 vs state

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Schools Near Elk Knob Elementary

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SOL Mathematics (2025)		SOL English Reading (2025)		SOL VA Studies (2025)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SOL Mathematics 3rd Grade	SOL Mathematics 4th Grade	SOL English Reading 3rd Grade	SOL English Reading 4th Grade	SOL VA Studies 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Elk Knob Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	148 Hornet Loop	Pennington Gap	24277	Lee County	Lee County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 546-1837	291	24	12.2	87.6%	281 (96.6%)	2 (0.7%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.4%)	46.5	649^th of 1110 public elementary schools	41.5%		58.1	509^th of 1114 public elementary schools	54.3%	140	62.8	76.9	58.8	73.1	74.5	$9,441	$1,568	$7,873
Dryden Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	176 School House Ridge Road	Dryden	24243	Lee County	Lee County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 546-4443	237	21	11.2	86.1%	232 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	44.5	671^st of 1110 public elementary schools	39.5%		52.6	581^st of 1114 public elementary schools	47.8%	90	70.3	63.0	81.1	73.3	55.6	$9,610	$1,316	$8,293
St. Charles Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	2434 St. Charles Road	Saint Charles	24282	Lee County	Lee County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 383-4531	110	12	9.5	82.7%	106 (96.4%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.8%)	78.5	239^th of 1110 public elementary schools	78.5%		84.6	127^th of 1114 public elementary schools	88.6%	112	75.0	81.0	81.3	90.5	95.2	$13,624	$2,592	$11,032
Duffield-Pattonsville Primary	Public	PK, KG-4	663 Duffield-Pattonsville High	Duffield	24244	Scott County	Scott County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 431-2244	308	21	14.8	70.1%	286 (92.9%)	1 (0.3%)	11 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.2%)	73.2	306^th of 1110 public elementary schools	72.4%		48.1	639^th of 1114 public elementary schools	42.6%	333	81.0	83.3	88.1	79.6	75.9	$8,410	$1,357	$7,053
Flatwoods Elementary	Public	PK, KG-4	205 Flatwoods School Road	Jonesville	24263	Lee County	Lee County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 346-2799	336	24	14.0	84.2%	328 (97.6%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	50.4	594^th of 1110 public elementary schools	46.5%		61.4	473^rd of 1114 public elementary schools	57.5%	121	73.2	67.3	69.6	72.7	70.9	$9,644	$1,347	$8,297
Union Primary	Public	PK, KG-4	2945 Second Avenue East	Big Stone Gap	24219	Wise County	Wise County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 523-4900	809	61	13.2	90.1%	721 (89.1%)	29 (3.6%)	11 (1.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (5.8%)	86.7	92^nd of 1110 public elementary schools	91.7%		88.7	60^th of 1114 public elementary schools	94.6%	32	87.3	91.1	83.5	94.1	88.2	$8,340	$916	$7,424

Frequently Asked Questions about Elk Knob Elementary

What district is Elk Knob Elementary in?

Lee County Public Schools

What is the racial makeup of Elk Knob Elementary?

Students at Elk Knob Elementary are 97% White, 1% Two or more races, 1% Hispanic.

How many students attend Elk Knob Elementary?

In the 2024-25 school year, 291 students attended Elk Knob Elementary.

What schools do graduates of Elk Knob Elementary attend?

Students who attend Elk Knob Elementary usually go on to attend:

Middle : Elydale Middle
Middle : Jonesville Middle
Middle : Pennington Middle
High : Lee High
High : Thomas Walker High

Is Elk Knob Elementary a good school?

Elk Knob Elementary ranks 649^th of 1110 Virginia elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Rate Elk Knob Elementary!

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Schools in Pennington Gap, VA

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.