Best Public Schools in Spotsylvania, VA

The schools in Spotsylvania, Virginia, are served by Spotsylvania County Public Schools, a 13-school district comprising eight elementary schools (PK-5), four middle schools (6-8), and one high school (9-12) enrolling about 9,205 students and ranked 95th of 131 Virginia districts (27th percentile). It is below average overall but far from uniform: the strongest school, Ni River Middle, ranks in the 85th percentile statewide, while the weakest, Livingston Elementary, sits at the 9th. Most schools fall below the state median, making school choice important.

Ni River Middle is the district's clear leader: it ranks 63rd of 416 Virginia middle schools, has climbed from the 56th to the 85th percentile, and beats district and state averages in nearly every subject. It also has the lowest poverty rate (23% free/reduced lunch) and lowest chronic absenteeism (14.8%) among middle schools. Brock Road Elementary is the top elementary school, ranking in the 60th percentile with 5th-grade math at 89.6% and science at 85.9% — well above state averages — plus the district's best attendance (8.3%). Spotsylvania High, the only high school, graduates 93.3% of students, above the state's 92.3%, and posts strong reading scores (94.9% on 10th grade), but just 8% passed World History II and chronic absenteeism is 26.4%. Livingston Elementary has fallen to the 9th percentile, and Riverview Elementary dropped from the 62nd to the 28th percentile in two years.

Chronic absenteeism is the district's most systemic problem — 12 of 13 schools are at or above the state average of 14.8% — and the worst offenders, Post Oak Middle (27.4%), Spotsylvania High (26.4%), Thornburg Middle (24.1%), and Livingston Elementary (21.3%), are among the lowest performers. Spending does not predict success: Berkeley Elementary spends the most ($13,181 per student) yet ranks in the 33rd percentile, while Ni River Middle ranks in the 85th at $8,945 per student. Meanwhile, 10 of 13 schools lost ground between 2023-24 and 2025-26. For parents, the standouts are Ni River Middle and Brock Road Elementary, and Spotsylvania High offers above-average graduation, but the broader picture points to attendance, poverty, and targeted intervention as urgent priorities.