Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 22657

Zip code 22657 is served by a single middle school, Signal Knob Middle, which enrolls 413 students in grades 6–8 within the Shenandoah County Public Schools district, a largely rural area in Virginia’s northern Shenandoah Valley. Since there is no local comparison group, all insights focus on how this school performs relative to its district and state averages, and the picture is mixed: Signal Knob stands out for perfect Algebra I proficiency, strong 6th and 7th grade math scores, and low chronic absenteeism, but it has also seen its statewide rank slide from the 77th percentile to the 65th percentile over three years, along with a star rating drop from 4 stars to 3 stars.

Academically, Signal Knob Middle beats Virginia state averages in most middle-level subjects. In 2025–2026, 6th grade math proficiency reached 81.94% (state: 63.19%) and 7th grade math hit 74.64% (state: 51.11%), while 8th grade math still outperformed the state by nearly 16 points. Reading proficiency also exceeded state averages in 6th and 7th grades, and 100% of 8th graders taking Algebra I passed the SOL in both reported years. However, 8th grade science is a clear weak spot at 56.55% proficiency, well below the district’s 67.56% and the state’s 64.72%, and it was also below state levels the prior year. Across nearly every tested subject, proficiency declined between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, with civics dropping 6.94 points and 7th grade reading falling 5.73 points, which helps explain the school’s ranking decline.

Despite a high free/reduced lunch rate of 83.78%, Signal Knob Middle posts a chronic absenteeism rate of just 9.4%, far better than the district’s 11.9% and the state’s 14.8%. The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.8, which may support the strong early-middle math and reading results. The perfect Algebra I scores suggest high-performing 8th graders are accelerated, meaning the 8th grade general math score of 62.5% reflects a more select group of students. In short, Signal Knob Middle remains an above-average school in several areas, but recent declines in science, civics, and 8th grade reading are worth monitoring as the school works to reverse its ranking slide.