Summary:
Zip code 23518 in Norfolk, VA is home to four elementary schools serving grades PK-5 (plus PK-8 at Crossroads PreK-8 School), all within Norfolk City Public Schools, a district ranked 112th out of 131 Virginia school divisions. Every school in this area serves a nearly universal low-income population, with free/reduced-price lunch eligibility at or above 99%, though outcomes vary dramatically from one school to the next.
Tarrallton Elementary is the clear standout, earning the best state rank (64th percentile, 3 stars) with exceptional 5th-grade performance: 86% proficient in math and science and 92% in reading. It also boasts the lowest chronic absenteeism (8.2%) and the highest per-student spending ($12,141). Larrymore Elementary is the efficiency winner, finishing second in rank while spending the least ($9,281), and posting strong math scores of 80.56% in 3rd grade and 81.69% in 5th grade. Crossroads PreK-8 School struggles in elementary grades but shines in middle school, with 100% proficiency in Algebra I and Earth Science. Little Creek Elementary needs the most attention, ranking in the bottom 10% statewide with 20.5% chronic absenteeism and the lowest scores in most elementary subjects.
The biggest takeaway is that poverty alone doesn't explain performance here. Tarrallton and Larrymore outperform the district and sometimes the state despite near-100% poverty rates, while Little Creek struggles. Chronic absenteeism closely tracks achievement: the two best schools have the lowest absenteeism, and the lowest-performing school has the highest. Spending and student-teacher ratios don't clearly drive results either — Larrymore succeeds with the highest ratio and lowest spending, while Crossroads has the lowest ratio and weak elementary scores. Even the strongest school, Tarrallton, sits at the 64th percentile statewide, meaning this zip code remains a lower-performing cluster overall, with two schools in the bottom 10% of Virginia.
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