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Essex County Public Schools


At a glance
100thof 129 Virginia districts▼ 9
Better than 22% of Virginia districts
109 N Cross St
Tappahannock, VA 22560
·(804) 443-4366·All Virginia district rankings →
Statewide performance 2017–2025
2025: better than 22.5% of districts
3
Schools
1,092
Students
Top rankedEssex High201st of 328 Virginia high schools
Biggest riser
Tappahannock Elementary up 10 spots statewide this year
Summary:

The Essex County Public Schools district in Virginia consists of 3 schools: 1 elementary, 1 middle, and 1 high school. The data reveals a mix of strengths and areas for improvement across the district.

Tappahannock Elementary stands out for its consistently high performance on 3rd and 4th grade math and reading tests, often exceeding district and state averages. However, the school has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch (100.24%), indicating a high-need student population, and a low statewide ranking (793 out of 1,110 elementary schools) with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, suggesting room for improvement. Essex High shows strong performance on high school-level SOL tests, with several subjects exceeding 90% proficiency, as well as a high 4-year graduation rate of 92.8% and a relatively low dropout rate of 4.5%. The school has also improved its statewide ranking, moving from 278 out of 326 high schools in 2022-2023 to 153 out of 329 in 2023-2024.

James H. Cary Intermediate impresses with 100% proficiency on the 8th grade Geometry SOL and relatively high proficiency rates in English Reading across grades 5-8, but faces challenges in Mathematics, with proficiency rates below the state average in most grades. All three schools have high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 15.7% to 15.7%, and very high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 98.78% to 100.6%, indicating a high-need student population across the district.

Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private




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.





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