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Union Middle

Q: Is Union Middle a good school?

Union Middle ranks 48 th of 419 Virginia middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 5-8

48^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 419 Virginia Middle Schools

Better than 89% of Virginia middle schools

Summary

Union Middle is a public middle school located in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, serving grades 5-8 with a total enrollment of 569 students. The school is part of the Wise County Public Schools district, which is ranked 3 out of 129 districts in Virginia and has a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Union Middle consistently performs well on state assessments, with high proficiency rates across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, the school had 100% proficiency in Algebra I for 8th grade, significantly higher than the state average of 91.88%. Union Middle also excels in mathematics, with proficiency rates ranging from 65.69% to 80.77% across grades 5-8, outperforming the state and district averages. The school demonstrates strong performance across different student subgroups, ranking highly for both female and male students, as well as for white students, low socioeconomic status students, and disabled students.

When compared to other middle schools in the Wise County Public Schools district, Union Middle generally outperforms its peers, particularly Coeburn Middle and L.F. Addington Middle, in academic proficiency across various subjects and grade levels. Despite having a lower spending per student ($6,232 in 2020-2021) than the state average, Union Middle still manages to achieve strong academic results, suggesting efficient resource allocation and effective instructional practices.

561

Students ?

12.0

Student/teacher ratio ?

$9,209

Per pupil spending ?

93.8%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3137 Second Avenue East
Big Stone Gap, VA 24219

(276) 523-0195

District: Wise County Public Schools

Students who attend Union Middle usually attend:

High:	Central High
	Eastside High
	Union High

Feeder schools for Union Middle:

Elementary:	Coeburn Primary
	J.W. Adams Combined
	St. Paul Elementary
	Union Primary
	More...
	Wise Primary

Racial breakdown:

White:

93.0%

Two or more races:

2.5%

Hispanic:

2.3%

See top rated Virginia middle schools

Compare Union Middle to nearby middle schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 84th percentile in 2015 → 89th in 2025

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Virginia average (80% vs 69% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 11% of Virginia middle schools

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 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 school80%

District avg86%

Virginia avg69%

48^th of 419

Virginia public middle schools ?

Top 11%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From top 16% (2015) to top 11% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Virginia Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

3^rd of 3Middle Schools in the Wise County Public Schools

3^rd of 129Wise 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	79.8	48 of 419	88.5%	★★★★☆
2024	80.8	53 of 417	87.3%	★★★★☆
2023	80.0	55 of 422	87.0%	★★★★☆
2022	60.3	146 of 415	64.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	53.1	172 of 419	58.9%	★★★☆☆
2019	62.9	136 of 424	67.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	65.4	100 of 413	75.8%	★★★★☆
2017	72.4	66 of 415	84.1%	★★★★☆
2016	66.2	97 of 409	76.3%	★★★★☆
2015	72.6	67 of 412	83.7%	★★★★☆
2014	70.3	74 of 416	82.2%	★★★★☆
2013	53.5	159 of 416	61.8%	★★★☆☆
2012	59.5	121 of 413	70.7%	★★★★☆
2011	47.2	230 of 413	44.3%	★★☆☆☆
2010	33.0	320 of 408	21.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	39.2	264 of 390	32.3%	★★☆☆☆
2008	50.3	200 of 391	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2007	49.6	198 of 387	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2006	42.7	245 of 383	36.0%	★★☆☆☆
2005	49.9	211 of 340	37.9%	★★☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2024	87.6	15 of 281	94.7%	★★★★★
2023	81.0	35 of 278	87.4%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	74.3	79 of 403	80.4%	★★★★☆
2024	77.2	63 of 407	84.5%	★★★★☆
2023	79.4	55 of 411	86.6%	★★★★☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	88.4	21 of 403	94.8%	★★★★★
2024	88.8	17 of 402	95.8%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	83.2	30 of 404	92.6%	★★★★★
2024	83.0	32 of 407	92.1%	★★★★★
2023	79.7	55 of 409	86.6%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	64.3	120 of 400	70.0%	★★★★☆
2024	66.9	116 of 396	70.7%	★★★★☆
2023	67.4	115 of 402	71.4%	★★★★☆

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)

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)95th percentile+6 vs school

Disabled (2024)95th percentile+7 vs school

Male (2025)93rd percentile+4 vs school

Female (2025)80th percentile-8 vs school

White (2025)70th percentile-19 vs school

By subject vs Virginia (2024-2025) ?

Algebra I100%+8 vs state

Civics and Economics88%+19 vs state

English Reading83%+11 vs state

Science77%+9 vs state

Mathematics75%+14 vs state

★

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Schools Near Union Middle

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SOL Algebra I (2025)	SOL Mathematics (2025)				SOL Science (2025)		SOL English Reading (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 Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Mathematics 7th Grade	SOL Mathematics 8th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL English Reading 7th Grade	SOL English Reading 8th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 7th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Union Middle	Public	5-8	3137 Second Avenue East	Big Stone Gap	24219	Wise County	Wise County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(276) 523-0195	561	46	12.0	93.8%	522 (93.0%)	10 (1.8%)	13 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (2.5%)	79.8	48^th of 419 public middle schools	88.5%		80.8	53^rd of 417 public middle schools	87.3%	5	100.0	65.7	80.3	80.8	76.1	78.8	74.3	85.3	81.9	85.7	80.6	87.5	$9,209	$472	$8,737
L.F. Addington Middle	Public	5-8	324 School St	Wise	24293	Wise County	Wise County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(276) 328-8821	387	35	11.2	117.6%	359 (92.8%)	4 (1.0%)	6 (1.6%)	8 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.1%)	91.2	6^th of 419 public middle schools	98.6%		91.7	6^th of 417 public middle schools	98.6%		100.0	89.4	92.5	86.3	97.5	83.0	92.9	83.0	88.2	89.3	96.0	84.6	$9,997	$670	$9,327
Rye Cove Intermediate	Public	5-7	158 Memorial School Lane	Clinchport	24244	Scott County	Scott County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 940-2322	138	15	9.3	79.0%	122 (88.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (7.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.3%)	64.3	147^th of 419 public middle schools	64.9%		69.3	118^th of 417 public middle schools	71.7%	29		73.2	73.8	66.7		75.6		73.2	78.6	80.0		68.0	$11,149	$1,169	$9,980
Coeburn Middle	Public	5-8	518 Centre Ave NE	Coeburn	24230	Wise County	Wise County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(276) 395-2135	304	28	11.0	92.8%	286 (94.1%)	8 (2.6%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	86.6	16^th of 419 public middle schools	96.2%		74.5	87^th of 417 public middle schools	79.1%	71	100.0	84.1	91.4	94.4	81.1	79.4	74.7	74.6	87.7	91.6	80.6	94.2	$11,376	$842	$10,534
Pennington Middle	Public	5-7	121 Bobcat Circle	Pennington Gap	24277	Lee County	Lee County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(276) 546-1453	278	31	9.1	99.6%	269 (96.8%)	4 (1.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	57.9	189^th of 419 public middle schools	54.9%		60.4	175^th of 417 public middle schools	58.0%	14		73.7	65.3	89.9		68.4		68.0	70.4	80.7		60.9	$11,496	$2,149	$9,347
Gate City Middle	Public	7-8	170 Harry Fry Drive	Gate City	24251	Scott County	Scott County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(276) 386-6065	276	28	10.0	78.3%	261 (94.6%)	3 (1.1%)	6 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.2%)	79.5	51^st of 419 public middle schools	87.8%		78.6	65^th of 417 public middle schools	84.4%	14				77.9	88.5		85.0			77.2	82.1	77.6	$9,432	$650	$8,782

Frequently Asked Questions about Union Middle

What district is Union Middle in?

Wise County Public Schools

What high school do graduates of Union Middle attend?

Students who attend Union Middle usually go on to attend Central High

How many students attend Union Middle?

In the 2024-25 school year, 561 students attended Union Middle.

Is Union Middle a good school?

Union Middle ranks 48^th of 419 Virginia middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

What is the racial makeup of Union Middle?

Students at Union Middle are 93% White, 2% Two or more races, 2% Hispanic, 2% African American.

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VAVirginia Middle School Rankings

VAVirginia District Rankings

Schools in Big Stone 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.