Tazewell Intermediate

Tazewell Intermediate serves 371 students in grades 3–5 in North Tazewell, VA, a small town in the mountains of southwest Virginia. Part of Tazewell County Public Schools, the school currently ranks in the 61st percentile of Virginia elementary schools (3 stars) — a modest improvement over last year, though below its 4-star rating from 2022–23.

The school's greatest strength is its work with economically disadvantaged students. Nearly nine in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, yet these students rank in the 85th percentile statewide — a genuine point of distinction. Third-grade reading is also strong, with 79.5% proficiency that beats both the district (74.1%) and state (67.6%). The school achieves these results while spending less per student ($7,863) and maintaining larger class sizes (16.9 students per teacher) than nearby schools like Cedar Bluff Elementary, which spends $9,110 per student yet ranks slightly lower overall — a sign the school is doing more with less.

The biggest challenges are chronic absenteeism and upper-grade academics. At 25.2%, chronic absenteeism is nearly double the state average of 14.8% and far above Graham Intermediate's 14.9%; the nearby Tazewell Primary feeder school also runs high at 28.7%, suggesting a community-wide pattern. The school also loses ground as students move up — 5th grade math and 4th grade Virginia Studies trail the district and have fallen sharply since 2022–23. Support for students with disabilities has declined from the 79th to the 24th percentile over three years. By comparison, Richlands Elementary, serving a similarly high-poverty population, ranks in the 77th percentile — a sign that improving attendance and strengthening targeted supports could move Tazewell Intermediate from solidly average to genuinely strong.