Galax City Public Schools

Galax City Public Schools is a small Virginia district serving about 1,434 students across three schools—Galax Elementary (PK–5), Galax Middle (6–8), and Galax High (9–12)—in the city of Galax.

Galax High is the district’s clear standout. It jumped from the 47th to the 80th percentile in Virginia’s high school rankings over two years, earning a 4-star rating. Its graduation rate is 99%, compared to 92.3% statewide, and its dropout rate is under 1%. On state tests, the high school blows past state averages in Biology, Algebra I, Geometry, Writing, and especially VA & US History (64% vs. 34.5% statewide). Meanwhile, Galax Middle shows a two-tier story: it excels in advanced math—7th-grade math proficiency is 79.1% vs. 51.1% statewide, and 8th-grade Algebra I is near perfect—but struggles in 6th-grade reading, where only 57% are proficient versus 73% statewide. Its overall ranking has slipped from the 62nd to the 49th percentile, suggesting that reading deficits are holding back otherwise strong math performance.

Galax Elementary serves an extraordinary 99.7% economically disadvantaged student body, yet recent gains are encouraging. Third-grade math improved to 76.5% (above state), and 3rd-grade reading now exceeds the state average. However, upper-elementary reading and science lag, and 4th-grade Virginia Studies is weak. Across all three schools, chronic absenteeism runs between 6.9% and 10.3%—well below the 14.8% state average—a sign of strong family engagement despite high poverty. Spending per student varies notably, from $8,773 at the middle school to $12,127 at the high school. Overall, the district’s 3-star rating is driven by high school excellence, but improving middle school reading and elementary science and social studies would raise every school’s performance.