Best Public Schools in Chesapeake, VA

Chesapeake City Public Schools serves approximately 39,046 students across 43 schools in Chesapeake, Virginia, and ranks 34th out of 131 districts statewide. The district is organized into 26 elementary schools (including PK–2 primary and 3–5 intermediate schools), 10 middle schools, and 7 high schools spanning grades PK through 12.

The district's top performers are concentrated in the Hickory-to-Great Bridge corridor. Hickory High ranks 16th in Virginia with a 97.1% graduation rate, while Grassfield High ranks 9th in Virginia despite having the lowest per-student spending among high schools at $9,634. Great Bridge High has the city's highest graduation rate at 97.7% and the lowest dropout rate at 0.7%. Hickory Middle, Great Bridge Middle, and Hickory Elementary all rank in the top 25 of their respective school levels. On the other end, Thurgood Marshall Elementary, Oscar Smith Middle, and Oscar F. Smith High struggle with high chronic absenteeism and proficiency rates well below district averages.

A district-wide strength is middle-school math acceleration: nearly every middle school reports 100% proficiency in 8th-grade Geometry and Algebra I for accelerated students. However, VA/US History proficiency is a clear weakness, with most high schools scoring below the state average of 34.52%. Chronic absenteeism is a powerful warning sign, as the schools with the highest absenteeism rates are almost always the lowest performers. Higher spending also does not guarantee better outcomes — Greenbrier Middle spends the most at $17,275 per student yet ranks only 92nd, while Great Bridge Intermediate spends the least at $8,769 and ranks in the 82nd percentile. Finally, Great Bridge High stands out as a "graduation machine," keeping students on track despite not having the highest test scores in the district.