Best High Schools in Zip Code 23805

Zip code 23805 is served by a single high school, Petersburg High, which enrolls 1,215 students in grades 9–12 and is part of Petersburg City Public Schools, a district ranked 130 out of 131 in Virginia.

Because only one high school exists in this area, all findings focus on Petersburg High, which ranks in the bottom 3% of Virginia high schools statewide. The school’s graduation rate is 86.2% (state: 92.3%) and its dropout rate is 6.0% (state: 5.0%). Chronic absenteeism is a major issue, affecting 46.5% of students compared to the state average of 14.8%. About 88% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty population. Per-student spending is $18,889, yet academic outcomes remain low. On SOL tests across 38 reported results, the school exceeded state averages in 15 cases and fell below in 23. Notable strengths include 11th-grade Writing proficiency of 89.47% (state: 79.89%), 12th-grade Algebra I proficiency above 90%, and strong scores in 12th-grade English Reading and 10th-grade VA & US History. Weaknesses are concentrated in early high school math and science, such as 9th-grade Algebra I (around 57–59% vs. 80%+ statewide) and 10th-grade Biology (36.08% vs. 68.86%).

The data shows that Petersburg High has serious systemic challenges, but also pockets of success. Performance varies dramatically within the same subject and grade level, suggesting that individual teachers and cohorts have a strong influence. The school and district metrics are nearly identical, confirming that this one high school drives district-wide results. High spending does not translate into high outcomes, and chronic absenteeism appears to be a fundamental barrier. Despite the low ranking, students in certain upper-grade classes perform at or above state averages, so the school is not uniformly failing. For parents, the key takeaway is that Petersburg High offers some bright spots in specific subjects, but needs broad improvement in early high school math, science, and world history, along with a strong focus on reducing absenteeism to improve overall achievement.