Best Public Schools in Zip Code 24127

Zip code 24127, covering the rural New Castle area of Virginia, contains just two schools in the Craig County Public Schools district: Craig County High, serving grades 6-12 with 278 students, and McCleary Elementary, serving grades PK-5 with 229 students. There is no standalone middle school, so Craig County High covers all secondary grades. Both schools serve a high-poverty population, with about 81% of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, and the district overall is ranked 96th out of 131 Virginia districts with a 1-star rating.

Comparing the two schools, Craig County High stands out for strong graduation outcomes, with a 94.7% graduation rate and a 3.5% dropout rate, both better than state averages. However, its chronic absenteeism rate of 21.1% is well above the state's 14.8%. McCleary Elementary posts a much better 13.3% chronic absenteeism rate. The elementary school excels in early math, with 82.14% of 3rd graders and 80% of 4th graders proficient, and 4th grade reading is strong at 78.38%. But by 5th grade, math proficiency drops to 56.25% and reading to 59.38%, both below state averages. Craig County High shows a similar math decline, from 40% in 7th grade to just 23.81% in 8th grade, even though advanced 8th graders taking Algebra I posted 94.12% proficiency.

The most striking pattern is the steady decline in math proficiency as students advance, from 82% in 3rd grade to less than 24% in 8th grade. Chronic absenteeism also nearly doubles between the two schools. With only 30-40 students per grade, rankings are volatile — Craig County High's percentile rank swung from the 63rd to the 39th percentile in one year — so parents should weigh multi-year trends over single-year results. Both schools keep class sizes manageable, with student-teacher ratios around 10-11 to 1 and per-student spending near $11,200-$11,500. Ultimately, early promise fades by upper elementary, and while the high school's graduation rate is encouraging, below-state proficiency in key subjects suggests many students may be earning diplomas without fully meeting Virginia's academic standards.