Summary:
Zip code 24317 in Cana, Virginia is served by a single elementary school, St. Paul, part of Carroll County Public Schools, which serves grades PK through 7 and enrolls 304 students with a very high poverty rate (94% free/reduced lunch) but a low chronic absenteeism rate of just 7.3%.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that this school is a math powerhouse. In 2024-2025, St. Paul outperformed both the district and the state in every tested grade of mathematics, with a stunning 94.12% proficiency rate in 7th grade math compared to 52.97% statewide. Even in 2025-2026, without those exceptional 7th graders, the school beat state averages in every elementary grade, including an 80% proficiency rate in 6th grade math versus 63.2% statewide. The 2024-2025 7th grade class also achieved 100% proficiency in Civics and Economics, far above the state average. Attendance is another bright spot: despite the high poverty rate, chronic absenteeism is about half the state average, showing that students are consistently in class.
However, reading is a clear weakness. In 2025-2026, St. Paul fell below both district and state averages in every tested grade of English reading, with gaps of 3 to 6 points. Science and Virginia Studies also lag behind district averages. This imbalance likely explains the school's declining state ranking, which slipped from the 52nd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 41st percentile in 2025-2026, and its star rating dropped from 3 to 2 stars. Test scores can also swing sharply between years due to small class sizes—for example, 6th grade reading dropped 21 points in one year. While the school excels in math and benefits from strong attendance, improving elementary reading and content-area subjects like science and Virginia Studies would be the biggest opportunity to raise its overall standing and become a top-tier school despite the challenges of high poverty.
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