Cople Elementary

Cople Elementary is a small, rural PK-5 school in Hague, Virginia, serving 337 students as part of Westmoreland County Public Schools. It ranks 958th out of 1,111 Virginia elementary schools, placing it in the 14th percentile with a 1-star rating — a drop from the prior year's 28th percentile. The most striking comparison is with Washington District Elementary, a school in the same district just 20 miles away. Washington District ranks in the 59th percentile, with 3rd grade reading proficiency of 77.6% and 4th grade math proficiency of 76.8%, compared to Cople's 43.6% and 38.7%. Cople spends $13,614 per student and has a low student-teacher ratio of 10.5, so the challenge is not a lack of resources.

Cople's test scores fall well below state averages in nearly every subject and grade. The largest gap is in 4th grade VA Studies, where only 27.9% of students are proficient versus the state average of 70.5%. Chronic absenteeism affected 15.7% of students in 2024-2025, above the state average of 14.8% and most nearby schools, including Northumberland Elementary at 12.9% and Richmond County Elementary at 8.5%. The school serves a very high-poverty population, with a free/reduced lunch rate of 108.3%. Subgroup outcomes are declining, with African American students dropping from the 23rd to the 5th percentile and low-income students from the 35th to the 18th percentile. Tappahannock Elementary, which ranks at a similarly low 12th percentile, still outperforms Cople in 4th grade math (52.5% vs. 38.7%).

There are a few bright spots. Fifth grade reading proficiency reached 68.8% in 2025-2026, close to the state average of 72.4%, and 5th grade math reached 66.7%. Hispanic students ranked at the 52nd percentile in 2023-2024, and White students currently rank at the 40th percentile. However, wide year-to-year swings make planning difficult; 4th grade reading fell from 80.5% to 48.4% in a single year. The biggest priorities are improving early-grade reading and math, reducing chronic absenteeism, and closing equity gaps. While Washington District Elementary demonstrates what is possible within the same district and similar demographics, Cople will need focused, school-specific strategies to reverse its decline and build lasting progress.