Best Public Schools in Salem, VA

Summary:

The city of Salem, Virginia is home to 12 schools, including 7 elementary schools, 2 middle schools, 2 high schools, and 1 alternative virtual school. The schools in this area demonstrate a range of performance, with several standout institutions like Salem High School and Fort Lewis Elementary consistently ranking among the top schools in the state.

Salem High School is a standout performer, earning 4 out of 5 stars from SchoolDigger and ranking in the top 100 high schools in Virginia. The school boasts a high 92.8% graduation rate and a low 4.5% dropout rate, both of which exceed state averages. Additionally, Fort Lewis Elementary and South Salem Elementary are top-performing elementary schools, ranking in the top 100 and top 250 schools in Virginia, respectively, and earning high marks for their exceptional test scores.

While many schools in the Salem City Public Schools district and the neighboring Roanoke County Public Schools district demonstrate strong academic performance, the data also reveals disparities in student outcomes, with some schools serving higher proportions of economically disadvantaged students performing below the state averages. This suggests the need for targeted interventions and resource allocation to support student success across the region.

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				SOL Geometry (2025)		SOL Algebra I (2025)				SOL Algebra II (2025)	SOL Mathematics (2025)						SOL Biology (2025)			SOL Science (2025)		SOL Earth Science (2025)	SOL English Reading (2025)								SOL Geography (2025)	SOL World History I (2025)	SOL Civics and Economics (2025)		SOL VA Studies (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 Geometry 8th Grade	SOL Geometry 9th Grade	SOL Algebra I 7th Grade	SOL Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Algebra I 9th Grade	SOL Algebra I 11th Grade	SOL Algebra II 9th 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 Biology 9th Grade	SOL Biology 10th Grade	SOL Biology 11th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL Earth Science 9th 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 11th Grade	SOL English Reading 12th Grade	SOL Geography 8th Grade	SOL World History I 9th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 7th 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
Glenvar Middle	Public	6-8	4555 Malus Dr	Salem	24153	Roanoke County	Roanoke County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-6322	433	36	11.9	38.1%	369 (85.2%)	19 (4.4%)	20 (4.6%)	10 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.5%)	74.8	88^th of 419 public middle schools	79.0%		74.8	86^th of 417 public middle schools	79.4%	2	100.0		100.0	100.0							90.6	79.7	71.4					62.8					81.0	83.1	81.2						80.2		$11,572	$991	$10,582
Glenvar Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	4507 Malus Dr	Salem	24153	Roanoke County	Roanoke County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-6540	372	26	14.5	42.7%	322 (86.6%)	13 (3.5%)	18 (4.8%)	3 (0.8%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.0%)	64.4	431^st of 1110 public elementary schools	61.2%		71.9	325^th of 1114 public elementary schools	70.8%	106								87.7	74.1	74.2							82.3			73.7	79.6	72.6										68.5	$10,676	$503	$10,172
Glenvar High	Public	9-12	4549 Malus Dr	Salem	24153	Roanoke County	Roanoke County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-6536	620	39	16.0	35.8%	538 (86.8%)	17 (2.7%)	27 (4.4%)	19 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (2.9%)	70.2	88^th of 328 public high schools	73.2%		64.7	119^th of 329 public high schools	63.8%	31		95.9			85.7		100.0								77.6				80.7							91.7	90.9		77.1				$11,390	$406	$10,984
Mason's Cove Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3370 Bradshaw Rd	Salem	24153	Roanoke County	Roanoke County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(540) 387-6530	204	22	9.4	69.6%	179 (87.7%)	6 (2.9%)	6 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.9%)	75.5	280^th of 1110 public elementary schools	74.8%		61.2	474^th of 1114 public elementary schools	57.5%	194								82.4	82.1	87.5							81.3			85.3	85.7	75.8										75.0	$15,752	$1,299	$14,453
Fort Lewis Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	3115 West Main St	Salem	24153	Roanoke County	Roanoke County Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-6594	250	18	14.2	21.6%	198 (79.2%)	5 (2.0%)	18 (7.2%)	10 (4.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.2%)	87	88^th of 1110 public elementary schools	92.1%		87.1	85^th of 1114 public elementary schools	92.4%	3								86.8	91.4	95.5							97.7			81.1	88.6	97.7										79.4	$11,452	$1,716	$9,736
Salem High	Public	9-12	400 Spartan Dr	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-2437	1,202	133	9.0	40.3%	784 (65.2%)	200 (16.6%)	123 (10.2%)	29 (2.4%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	63 (5.2%)	71.8	78^th of 328 public high schools	76.2%		64.8	117^th of 329 public high schools	64.4%	39		97.5			88.8	90.0	98.7							97.9	75.3	86.7			80.0							92.2	84.6						$9,987	$297	$9,690
G.W. Carver Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	6 Fourth St	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(540) 387-2492	404	29	13.8	88.4%	234 (57.9%)	96 (23.8%)	47 (11.6%)	7 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.7%)	72.1	325^th of 1110 public elementary schools	70.7%		82.7	159^th of 1114 public elementary schools	85.7%	166								80.5	89.3	77.5							67.6			81.6	85.1	77.5										83.6	$11,206	$1,271	$9,935
Andrew Lewis Middle	Public	6-8	616 South College Ave	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-2513	839	49	17.1	44.8%	544 (64.8%)	138 (16.4%)	92 (11.0%)	19 (2.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (5.4%)	60.4	172^nd of 419 public middle schools	58.9%		65.1	144^th of 417 public middle schools	65.5%	28	98.4		100.0	97.0							80.4	70.1	67.1					69.5					75.7	75.4	76.8			64.8		68.6			$9,645	$536	$9,109
West Salem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	520 N Bruffey St	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-2503	375	27	13.7	35.5%	296 (78.9%)	24 (6.4%)	26 (6.9%)	12 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.5%)	72.2	323^rd of 1110 public elementary schools	70.9%		69	370^th of 1114 public elementary schools	66.8%	47								91.6	72.0	81.7							73.2			83.3	80.0	78.3										83.0	$10,591	$289	$10,302
East Salem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1765 Boulevard	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(540) 375-7001	378	30	12.8	88.1%	163 (43.1%)	76 (20.1%)	94 (24.9%)	9 (2.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (9.3%)	54.4	545^th of 1110 public elementary schools	50.9%		56.5	530^th of 1114 public elementary schools	52.4%	15								79.6	71.0	73.3							70.7			81.6	67.2	67.6										74.6	$12,726	$1,432	$11,295
South Salem Elementary	Public	PK, KG-5	1600 Carolyn Rd	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	No	No	No	(540) 387-2478	371	36	10.1	40.2%	282 (76.0%)	30 (8.1%)	36 (9.7%)	8 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.0%)	77.6	251^st of 1110 public elementary schools	77.4%		80.5	212^th of 1114 public elementary schools	81.0%	39								86.7	75.0	95.0							83.3			76.7	83.1	88.1										79.3	$10,097	$503	$9,594
Virginia Virtual Academy at Salem	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	510 South College Ave	Salem	24153	Salem city	Salem City Public Schools	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(540) 389-0130	415	59	6.9		225 (54.2%)	85 (20.5%)	39 (9.4%)	28 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (9.2%)								(n/a)				70.0					49.4	53.3	62.3	50.9	54.2				42.2	71.9			62.7	64.4	81.0	85.1	86.9					65.9	85.2	22.9	$5,540	$00	$5,540

Cities Near Salem

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Roanoke	3.64 mi	48	214^th
Pound	7 mi	2	9^th
Elliston	10.04 mi	2	318^th
Vinton	10.92 mi	4	99^th
Cloverdale	10.95 mi	2	43^rd

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.