Beta You're viewing our redesigned school list. Prefer the classic layout?

Middle Schools in Essex County Public Schools

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its Virginia rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

Be the first to know when we post new rankings!

At a glance

DistrictEssex County Public Schools113^th of 131 Virginia districtsFull district overview →

School

299

Students

Top rankedJames H. Cary Intermediate337^th of 416 Virginia middle schools

Compare Virginia districts →See the top-ranked Virginia schools →

Summary:

Essex County Public Schools, located in Tappahannock, Virginia, has exactly one middle school — James H. Cary Intermediate — which serves grades 5 through 8 with 299 students in an extremely high-poverty community where 99.67% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Because this is the only middle school in the district, its results effectively represent the entire district's middle school picture, and the data reflect SOL proficiency, chronic absenteeism, per-pupil spending, and student-teacher ratios.

James H. Cary Intermediate stands out for its stark contrasts. On one hand, 100% of 8th graders scored proficient in Algebra I in 2025–2026 and 100% scored proficient in Geometry in 2024–2025, both well above state averages. On the other hand, grade-level math is generally below state proficiency, with 6th-grade math at just 18.97% proficient versus 63.19% statewide — a gap of about 44 points. The school's state ranking has declined steadily from the 30th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 26th in 2024–2025 and the 19th in 2025–2026, with its star rating falling from 2 stars to 1 star. Chronic absenteeism is 15.1%, slightly above both the district (14.5%) and state (14.8%) averages, while per-pupil spending is $8,708 and the student-teacher ratio is 11.1.

The school's achievement profile is highly uneven. Reading performance is mixed: 8th-grade reading nearly matches the state average (73.02% vs. 73.51%), but 7th-grade reading dropped sharply to 51.95%, roughly 21 points below the state. Science trails the state by about 10 to 13 points in both tested grades. The perfect advanced math scores suggest a small group of 8th graders is excelling in courses like Algebra I and Geometry, but the broader student population struggles, particularly in 6th and 7th grade math and reading. Given the enormous economic disadvantage at the school, the achievement gaps are not surprising, yet the advanced math results demonstrate that high performance is possible. The key opportunity for James H. Cary Intermediate is to replicate that advanced-course success across all grade levels and subjects.

Load more schools when map is moved

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 Algebra I (2026)	SOL Mathematics (2026)				SOL Science (2026)		SOL English Reading (2026)				SOL Civics and Economics (2026)	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 (2025)	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 Algebra I 8th Grade	SOL Mathematics 5th Grade	SOL Mathematics 6th Grade	SOL Mathematics 7th Grade	SOL Mathematics 8th Grade	SOL Science 5th Grade	SOL Science 8th Grade	SOL English Reading 5th Grade	SOL English Reading 6th Grade	SOL English Reading 7th Grade	SOL English Reading 8th Grade	SOL Civics and Economics 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
James H. Cary Intermediate	Public	5-8	912 Intermediate School Circle	Tappahannock	22560	Essex County	Essex County Public Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(804) 443-3040	299	27	11.1	99.7%	74 (24.7%)	157 (52.5%)	20 (6.7%)	7 (2.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (13.4%)	27	337^th of 416 public middle schools	19.0%		33.5	311^th of 419 public middle schools	25.8%	26	100.0	52.5	19.0	44.8	37.0	58.9	51.6	69.9	59.7	52.0	73.0	71.4	$8,708	$957	$7,751

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Chesapeake Bay Governor's School	0.84 mi	1
Northern Neck Technical Center	7.06 mi	2
Northern Neck Regional Alternative Educational	7.06 mi	1
Richmond County Public Schools	7.25 mi	4	81^st
Westmoreland County Public Schools	11.25 mi	4	89^th

See the top VA Virginia districts

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.