Summary:
Zip code 22473 in Virginia contains one middle school, Northumberland Middle, serving grades 6–8 in Heathsville, a rural area within the Northumberland County Public Schools district. With an enrollment of 279 students, this is the only middle school in the area, so all district-level middle school data essentially reflects this school alone.
The school shows clear strengths in accelerated math: 7th graders taking Algebra I have posted a 100% proficiency rate for two consecutive years, and 8th grade Geometry improved from 85% to 93.75% proficiency. Sixth grade math also outpaced the state (73.97% vs. 63.19%). However, grade-level math and social studies are areas of concern. Seventh grade math proficiency plunged from 56.67% to 36.59% in one year, and 7th grade civics dropped from 57.89% to 42.57%, landing far below the state average of 70.10%. Reading scores in all three grades also fell by 4 to 7 points, leaving them below state averages.
These declines contributed to a sharp drop in the school’s overall ranking, from the 46th percentile (2 stars) in 2024–2025 to the 24th percentile (1 star) in 2025–2026. The school serves a highly economically disadvantaged population—96.42% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch—yet chronic absenteeism at 13.8% is slightly better than the state rate, and the school benefits from a low 11.1:1 student-teacher ratio and $13,704 per-pupil spending. Despite these resources, the overall academic picture is mixed, with notable strengths in advanced math and 6th grade mathematics, but significant struggles in 7th grade math, civics, and grade-level reading. Parents should watch for continued efforts to reverse the recent downward trends in these core subjects.
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