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Best Public Schools in Madison, VA

At a glance

Schools

1,585

Students

Top rankedMadison County High228^th of 331 Virginia high schools

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Biggest riser

William H. Wetsel Middle up 25 spots statewide this year

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Summary:

Madison, Virginia, is a small community served by the four schools of Madison County Public Schools — Madison County High (grades 9–12), William H. Wetsel Middle (grades 6–8), Waverly Yowell Elementary (grades 3–5), and Madison Primary (PK–2) — which together educate roughly 1,585 students in a district currently ranked 100th out of 131 Virginia districts. About 70% of students district-wide qualify for free or reduced lunch, and all ranked schools fall in the bottom third of Virginia schools, yet the data reveals several notable bright spots.

William H. Wetsel Middle is the district's mathematics standout, with 100% proficiency in Algebra I in 2024-2025 and 97.6% in 2025-2026, and 8th grade math jumping to 73.2% proficiency — well above the state average of 46.9%. Madison County High also posts strong completion metrics with a 96.3% graduation rate and a 0.0% dropout rate, along with strong Algebra I, Geometry, and Earth Science scores. Waverly Yowell Elementary leads the district in attendance, with just 2.0% chronic absenteeism, and has improved its state ranking from the 16th to the 25th percentile. Madison Primary, despite serving the highest-need population at 80.3% free/reduced lunch eligibility, keeps chronic absenteeism at just 7.5%.

The biggest challenge across the district is reading, where proficiency lags state averages by 8 to 15 percentage points at both Waverly Yowell Elementary and William H. Wetsel Middle. Chronic absenteeism also varies dramatically by level: just 2.0% at Waverly Yowell but 20.3% at Madison County High — a tenfold gap. Science and history results are mixed, with strong Earth Science performance but weak Biology and VA/US History scores at the high school. Overall, the schools in Madison County Public Schools show that strong math instruction, high graduation rates, and engaged elementary attendance are achievable even in a lower-ranked district, but targeted literacy support and secondary attendance strategies remain critical areas for improvement.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				SOL Writing (2026)			SOL Geometry (2026)				SOL Algebra I (2026)					SOL Algebra II (2026)		SOL Mathematics (2026)						SOL Chemistry (2026)		SOL Biology (2026)				SOL Science (2026)		SOL Earth Science (2026)				SOL English Reading (2026)									SOL VA and US History (2026)			SOL World History I (2026)			SOL World History II (2026)		SOL Civics and Economics (2026)	SOL VA Studies (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	SOL Writing 10th Grade	SOL Writing 11th Grade	SOL Writing 12th Grade	SOL Geometry 9th Grade	SOL Geometry 10th Grade	SOL Geometry 11th Grade	SOL Geometry 12th Grade	SOL Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Algebra I 9th Grade	SOL Algebra I 10th Grade	SOL Algebra I 11th Grade	SOL Algebra I 12th Grade	SOL Algebra II 10th Grade	SOL Algebra II 11th Grade	SOL Mathematics 3rd Grade	SOL Mathematics 4th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Mathematics 7th Grade	SOL Mathematics 8th Grade	SOL Chemistry 11th Grade	SOL Chemistry 12th Grade	SOL Biology 9th Grade	SOL Biology 10th Grade	SOL Biology 11th Grade	SOL Biology 12th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL Earth Science 9th Grade	SOL Earth Science 10th Grade	SOL Earth Science 11th Grade	SOL Earth Science 12th Grade	SOL English Reading 3rd Grade	SOL English Reading 4th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL English Reading 7th Grade	SOL English Reading 8th Grade	SOL English Reading 10th Grade	SOL English Reading 11th Grade	SOL English Reading 12th Grade	SOL VA and US History 10th Grade	SOL VA and US History 11th Grade	SOL VA and US History 12th Grade	SOL World History I 9th Grade	SOL World History I 10th Grade	SOL World History I 12th Grade	SOL World History II 10th Grade	SOL World History II 12th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 8th Grade	SOL VA Studies 4th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Madison County High	Public	9-12	68 Mountaineer Lane	Madison	22727	Madison County	Madison County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 948-3785	530	34	15.6	66.2%	401 (75.7%)	49 (9.2%)	35 (6.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (8.1%)	43.9	228^th of 331 public high schools	31.1%		49.2	207^th of 328 public high schools	36.9%	21	≥ 50%	69.2	412.0	90.4	< 50%	≥ 50%	≥ 50%		78.9	80.0	≥ 50%	413.0	≥ 50%	< 50%							≥ 50%	< 50%	80.0	30.4	394.0	≥ 50%			< 50%	71.0	399.0	431.0							≥ 50%	83.5	≥ 50%	< 50%	30.4	386.0	72.5	≥ 50%	≥ 50%	377.0	≥ 50%			$11,658	$152	$11,507
Madison Primary	Public	PK, KG-2	158 Primary School Drive	Madison	22727	Madison County	Madison County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(540) 948-3781	365	26	14.3	80.3%	276 (75.6%)	24 (6.6%)	28 (7.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (10.1%)								(n/a)																																																				$13,413	$1,602	$11,811
Waverly Yowell Elementary	Public	3-5	1809 North Main Street	Madison	22727	Madison County	Madison County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(540) 948-4511	334	25	13.6	70.4%	257 (76.9%)	16 (4.8%)	28 (8.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (9.3%)	31.2	830^th of 1111 public elementary schools	25.3%		30	827^th of 1110 public elementary schools	25.5%	3															66.7	64.3	71.4										72.3						56.9	59.8	59.8																53.6	$10,892	$285	$10,607
William H. Wetsel Middle	Public	6-8	186 Mountaineer Lane	Madison	22727	Madison County	Madison County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 948-3783	356	32	11.3	66.6%	263 (73.9%)	22 (6.2%)	28 (7.9%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (11.2%)	43.6	271^st of 416 public middle schools	34.9%		36.4	296^th of 419 public middle schools	29.4%	25								97.6										65.1	59.7	73.2								53.5								61.8	63.4	67.9												72.9		$12,731	$02	$12,729

Cities Near Madison

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Luray	10.13 mi	4	207^th
Stanley	10.69 mi	1	291^st
Washington	11.06 mi	2	248^th
Rileyville	13.37 mi	1	92^nd
Shenandoah	16.18 mi	3	146^th

See the top VA Virginia cities

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.