Colonial Heights Middle

Colonial Heights Middle is a grades 6–8 middle school in Colonial Heights, VA, serving approximately 700 students as part of Colonial Heights City Public Schools. The school currently ranks 269th out of 416 Virginia middle schools, putting it at the 35th percentile with 2 stars — below the district's overall 50th-percentile rating, but competitive with most nearby schools. Among ten local middle schools, only J.E.J. Moore Middle (51st percentile) and Elizabeth Davis Middle (44th percentile) rank higher. Several neighboring schools land far behind, including Matoaca Middle, Dinwiddie County Middle, and Falling Creek Middle — despite Colonial Heights Middle serving a student body where more than 98% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

Mathematics is the school's clearest strength. In 7th grade math, 61.6% of students are proficient, well above the 51.1% state average, and 6th grade math also edges past the state average. The Algebra I program is especially strong: 94.8% of 8th graders enrolled in Algebra I are proficient, surpassing the statewide rate of 93.3%. Reading results are more mixed — 6th grade reading nearly matches the state average at 72.6%, while 7th and 8th grade reading trail their state benchmarks by roughly 8 points. In 8th grade science, Colonial Heights Middle reaches 61.9% proficiency, second only to J.E.J. Moore Middle among nearby schools, and comfortably ahead of Chesterfield County peers like Elizabeth Davis Middle, Matoaca Middle, and Carver Middle.

The school is particularly effective with its most vulnerable students. Low-income students at Colonial Heights Middle rank at the 52nd percentile statewide and disabled students at the 54th percentile — both well above the school's overall 35th-percentile ranking and a sign that instruction supports these groups well. With roughly $11,049 in per-student spending and a 12.7-to-1 student-teacher ratio, the school is better resourced than most nearby middle schools. The biggest obstacle is chronic absenteeism, which affects 24.4% of students versus 14.8% statewide and likely drags down reading and 8th grade math scores. For parents, this is a school that delivers strong math results and especially good outcomes for high-need students despite an almost universally low-income student body, with attendance the clearest opportunity for improvement.