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Nelson Middle

Q: Is Nelson Middle a good school?

Nelson Middle ranks 131 st of 419 Virginia middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 6-8

131^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 419 Virginia Middle Schools

Better than 69% of Virginia middle schools

Summary

Nelson Middle School is a public middle school located in Lovingston, Virginia, serving grades 6-8 with a student population of 359. The school is part of the Nelson County Public Schools district, which is ranked 38 out of 129 districts in Virginia and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Nelson Middle consistently outperforms the state and district averages in standardized test scores across various subjects, including Algebra I, Geometry, Mathematics, English Reading, and Civics and Economics. The school's performance is particularly strong in Algebra I, with 100% proficiency for 7th and 8th-grade students in the 2024-2025 school year, compared to the state average of 98.85% and 91.88%, respectively. Nelson Middle also demonstrates strong performance across different student subgroups, with African American, Hispanic, and low socioeconomic status (SES) students performing exceptionally well compared to state averages.

The closest neighboring school, Amherst Middle, is located 13.57 miles away and is part of the Amherst County Public Schools district, which is ranked lower than Nelson County Public Schools. Amherst Middle generally underperforms Nelson Middle in academic measures, highlighting the strong academic performance of Nelson Middle relative to its surrounding schools. Despite having a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, Nelson Middle has been able to maintain strong academic performance, particularly for its low-SES students, who rank in the top 25% of Virginia middle schools.

328

Students ?

11.4

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,298

Per pupil spending ?

85.1%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6925 Thomas Nelson Highway
Lovingston, VA 22949

(434) 263-4801

District: Nelson County Public Schools

Students who attend Nelson Middle usually attend:

High:

Nelson County High

Feeder schools for Nelson Middle:

Elementary:	Rockfish River Elementary
	Tye River Elementary

Racial breakdown:

White:

68.3%

Hispanic:

15.5%

African American:

10.4%

See top rated Virginia middle schools

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At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 47th percentile in 2015 → 69th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Virginia average (77% vs 69% meeting standards)

✓Ranking is trending up — up 22 percentile points since 2015

✓Above the Virginia median (69th percentile)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school77%

District avg76%

Virginia avg69%

131^st of 419

Virginia public middle schools ?

Top 31%▲ up 21 pts since 2015

From bottom 47% (2015) to top 31% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

38^th of 129Nelson 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	67.1	131 of 419	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	56.1	198 of 417	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	49.1	222 of 422	47.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.8	222 of 415	46.5%	★★☆☆☆
2021	35.1	270 of 419	35.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	50.6	226 of 424	46.7%	★★☆☆☆
2018	34.2	305 of 413	26.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	50.2	210 of 415	49.4%	★★★☆☆
2016	52.6	188 of 409	54.0%	★★★☆☆
2015	47.7	217 of 412	47.3%	★★☆☆☆
2014	57.1	143 of 416	65.6%	★★★☆☆
2013	53.2	164 of 416	60.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	48.9	216 of 413	47.7%	★★☆☆☆
2011	54.7	169 of 413	59.1%	★★★☆☆
2010	55.1	169 of 408	58.6%	★★★☆☆
2009	54.4	152 of 390	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2008	54.5	171 of 391	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2007	53.1	179 of 387	53.7%	★★★☆☆
2006	52.7	167 of 383	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2005	57.1	170 of 340	50.0%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	69.4	75 of 297	74.7%	★★★★☆
2024	72.0	62 of 299	79.3%	★★★★☆
2023	53.5	142 of 298	52.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	60.0	172 of 403	57.3%	★★★☆☆
2024	53.8	206 of 407	49.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	42.3	255 of 411	38.0%	★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	74.8	53 of 279	81.0%	★★★★☆
2024	57.3	106 of 272	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	62.7	83 of 275	69.8%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	68.9	101 of 403	74.9%	★★★★☆
2024	64.9	127 of 402	68.4%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	71.3	103 of 404	74.5%	★★★★☆
2024	57.0	178 of 407	56.3%	★★★☆☆
2023	54.1	191 of 409	53.3%	★★★☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	57.7	168 of 400	58.0%	★★★☆☆
2024	42.5	248 of 396	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	35.6	288 of 402	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆

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)

Hispanic (2025)81st percentile+12 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)75th percentile+6 vs school

African American (2025)75th percentile+6 vs school

Male (2025)75th percentile+6 vs school

White (2025)58th percentile-11 vs school

Female (2025)57th percentile-11 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2024-2025) ?

Geometry100%+3 vs state

Earth Science100%+10 vs state

Algebra I97%+3 vs state

Civics and Economics79%+7 vs state

English Reading77%+4 vs state

Mathematics73%+17 vs state

Science57%-8 vs state

★

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Schools Near Nelson Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SOL Geometry (2025)	SOL Algebra I (2025)		SOL Mathematics (2025)			SOL Science (2025)	SOL Earth Science (2025)	SOL English Reading (2025)			SOL Geography (2025)	SOL Civics and Economics (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 Geometry 8th Grade	SOL Algebra I 7th Grade	SOL Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Mathematics 7th Grade	SOL Mathematics 8th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL Earth Science 8th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL English Reading 7th Grade	SOL English Reading 8th Grade	SOL Geography 8th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 7th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Nelson Middle	Public	6-8	6925 Thomas Nelson Highway	Lovingston	22949	Nelson County	Nelson County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(434) 263-4801	328	29	11.4	85.1%	224 (68.3%)	34 (10.4%)	51 (15.5%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.2%)	67.1	131^st of 419 public middle schools	68.7%		56.1	198^th of 417 public middle schools	52.5%	67	100.0	100.0	95.0	78.9	70.4	70.0	57.3	100.0	76.3	78.8	76.5		76.5	83.0	$13,298	$1,181	$12,117
Amherst Middle	Public	6-8	165 Gordons Fairground Rd	Amherst	24521	Amherst County	Amherst County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(434) 946-0691	371	29	12.9	82.7%	258 (69.5%)	54 (14.6%)	19 (5.1%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (9.2%)	58	188^th of 419 public middle schools	55.1%		58.3	187^th of 417 public middle schools	55.2%	1		100.0	100.0	57.5	64.9	59.1			67.5	79.2	79.1	70.3	80.7		$11,028	$176	$10,852

Frequently Asked Questions about Nelson Middle

Is Nelson Middle a good school?

Nelson Middle ranks 131^st of 419 Virginia middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Nelson Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 328 students attended Nelson Middle.

What high school do graduates of Nelson Middle attend?

Students who attend Nelson Middle usually go on to attend Nelson County High

What is the racial makeup of Nelson Middle?

Students at Nelson Middle are 68% White, 16% Hispanic, 10% African American, 5% Two or more races.

What district is Nelson Middle in?

Nelson County Public Schools

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VAVirginia Middle School Rankings

VAVirginia District Rankings

Schools in Lovingston, 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.