Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 23464

Zip code 23464 in Virginia Beach, VA is home to three public middle schools — Salem Middle, Brandon Middle, and Kempsville Middle — all serving grades 6–8 and all part of Virginia Beach City Public Schools, a district ranked 29th out of 131 in Virginia with a 4-star rating. Combined, these schools enroll roughly 2,852 students, yet they differ significantly in performance, poverty level, attendance, and spending, forming a cluster with one clear standout, one school in notable difficulty, and one middle-tier school that is trending downward.

Salem Middle is the clear standout, ranking 84th out of 416 Virginia middle schools (80th percentile) with a 4-star rating. It has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate (7.6%), the lowest poverty rate (36.1% free/reduced lunch), and the highest average SOL proficiency (~84.6%) in the group — all while having the largest class sizes and the lowest spending per student ($13,081). By contrast, Brandon Middle is the greatest concern, ranking 217th (48th percentile) with a 2-star rating and a 67.4% free/reduced lunch rate, nearly double Salem's. Kempsville Middle sits in between at 193rd (54th percentile) with a 3-star rating, but it is declining: its rank dropped from 136th two years ago, and its 7th-grade math proficiency fell from 60.7% to 36.3% in a single year. Notably, Kempsville spends the most per student ($15,157), yet its outcomes do not reflect that investment.

The biggest academic warning sign across this zip code is grade-level math, especially in 7th grade: Brandon posts just 17.3% proficiency and Kempsville 36.3%, both far below the state average of 51.1%. Meanwhile, all three schools achieve near-perfect or perfect proficiency in advanced math courses like Algebra I and Geometry, revealing a two-tier system where advanced students thrive while grade-level students fall behind. Chronic absenteeism tracks performance closely — Salem (7.6%) outperforms Kempsville (13.2%) and Brandon (12.6%) — and reading is a relative bright spot, with all three schools at or above state averages in every grade. Salem remains a consistently elite school, but Brandon and Kempsville are slipping relative to the rest of Virginia, and the gap among these three schools is widening.