Summary:
The city of Critz, Virginia, is served by exactly one school—Hardin Reynolds Memorial School—a middle school serving grades 4 through 7 with 203 students enrolled. This small school operates within the highly ranked Patrick County Public Schools district, which ranks 10th out of 131 districts in Virginia with a 5-star rating. Hardin Reynolds has a student-teacher ratio of 14.5 and a very high poverty rate, with 98.52% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Despite this economic challenge, the school's chronic absenteeism rate is just 9.5%, well below the state average of 14.8%.
In terms of academic performance, Hardin Reynolds shows a mixed picture. The strongest area is 4th grade, where reading proficiency surged to 87.76%—well above the district's 82.76% and the state's 73.70%—and math proficiency reached 77.55%, essentially tied with the district. However, the school struggles in upper-grade mathematics: 5th grade math proficiency is 59.26% and 6th grade math is 55.32%, both well below district and state averages. Reading declines are concentrated in 5th and 7th grades, while 7th grade math remains a relative strength at 73.33%, outperforming the state by over 22 points. In other subjects, Virginia Studies is a bright spot at 79.59%, but 5th grade science lags at 61.11%.
The most striking trend is the school's declining state ranking. Hardin Reynolds fell from 49th out of 417 schools (88th percentile) in 2023–2024 to 192nd out of 416 schools (54th percentile) in 2025–2026. Overall subject averages declined slightly in both math (−1.92 points) and reading (−2.98 points) year over year. While the school benefits from being in a strong district, it trails district averages in several subjects. Still, the standout 4th grade performance and low chronic absenteeism suggest a school with strong foundational instruction and consistent attendance, even as it faces the challenge of maintaining those gains as students advance through the grades.
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