Best Public Schools in Madison Heights, VA

Madison Heights, Virginia is served by 4 public schools (3 elementary schools and 1 middle school) within Amherst County Public Schools, a district ranked 93 out of 131 districts in Virginia. The schools enroll approximately 1,621 students in grades PK through 8, and there is no high school within city limits. All four schools — Monelison Middle, Madison Heights Elementary, Amelon Elementary, and Elon Elementary — serve a similar high-poverty population, with roughly 83% eligible for free or reduced lunch and per-student spending from $9,665 to $10,619.

Elon Elementary is the clear standout, ranking in the 64th percentile (3 stars) and scoring above the Virginia state average on every reported SOL subject despite its high-poverty population. Chronic absenteeism is just 8.4%. At the other end, Madison Heights Elementary ranks in the 14th percentile, has the highest absenteeism (21.3%), and trails the state in every subject — its rank has slipped from the 22nd to the 14th percentile over three years. Amelon Elementary has shown the most improvement, climbing from the 12th to the 26th percentile, and keeps absenteeism low at 11.8%. Monelison Middle, the only secondary school, shows a polarized profile: 7th and 8th graders score near-perfect on Algebra I, but regular 7th grade math proficiency is just 37.4% versus 51.1% statewide, and overall the school ranks in the 29th percentile.

The most striking takeaway is that poverty alone does not explain performance: all four schools have nearly identical free/reduced lunch rates, yet outcomes vary widely. Chronic absenteeism is a much stronger differentiator — the two schools with lower absenteeism (Elon and Amelon) are the higher performers, while the two with higher absenteeism (Madison Heights and Monelison) lag. Spending and class size are not clean predictors either, though Madison Heights Elementary does have both the lowest spending and the largest class sizes. Trends are diverging: Elon and Amelon are improving while Madison Heights is declining, and Monelison remains inconsistent. With no high school in the city, Monelison Middle is a critical transition point, so strengthening grade-level math there and reducing absenteeism district-wide could improve outcomes for Madison Heights students.