Summary:
Zip code 24523 contains just one public high school: Liberty High in Bedford, Virginia, serving grades 9-12 with 708 students. The school is part of Bedford County Public Schools, a 4-star district ranked 35th out of 131 Virginia districts, though Liberty itself holds a 1-star rating and ranks 235th out of 331 high schools statewide.
Liberty High faces significant challenges. Its graduation rate is 85.4%, well below the district (91.0%) and state (92.3%), while its dropout rate of 8.8% and chronic absenteeism rate of 17.1% exceed both district and state averages. With 72.46% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, the school serves a high-poverty population. Academically, results are mixed. Ninth graders excel in Algebra I (86.17% proficient, above the state) and Geometry (93.02% in 2024-2025), and 11th graders score well in VA/US History. However, World History I is a major weakness (42.59% proficient in 2025-2026 vs. 72.24% statewide), 10th-grade Biology trails the state by over 20 points, and 12th-grade Reading proficiency sits at just 52.63%, far below the district's 80.36%.
The gap between district strength and school performance suggests Liberty is a relative weak point in an otherwise strong district. Grade-level disparities in Algebra I and Biology hint at tracking or retake dynamics, while the school's favorable 13:1 student-teacher ratio and $9,864 per-student spending indicate resources are not the primary issue. Encouragingly, Liberty improved its state rank from the 19th percentile in 2024-2025 to the 29th percentile in 2025-2026, showing positive momentum, though it remains in the bottom third of Virginia high schools.
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