Summary:
Zip code 24634 is home to just one high school, Twin Valley High, a small rural school in Pilgrims Knob, Virginia, serving grades 8 through 12 with 179 students and a very high poverty rate. Twin Valley High is part of Buchanan County Public Schools and earns a mix of strong localized results and significant challenges.
The school’s most encouraging signs appear in advanced math and graduation outcomes. In 2025-2026, 9th graders scored 87.5% proficient in Geometry and 85.71% in Algebra I, both above district and state averages, and 8th graders taking Algebra I hit 100% proficiency. The graduation rate of 93.1% also edges out the state average of 92.3%. However, the general 8th-grade math population struggled badly, with only 9.09% proficient compared to 50.48% statewide, and 9th-grade Geography proficiency sat near 45%, far below state levels. Biology proficiency was below state averages as well, and 11th-grade reading hovered around 75% versus roughly 88% statewide. The dropout rate of 6.9% exceeds the state’s 5.0% despite the strong graduation rate, and chronic absenteeism at 22.9% is notably higher than the 14.8% state figure.
Statewide, Twin Valley currently ranks 299 of 331 Virginia high schools, at the 10th percentile, after ranking 302 of 328 the prior year and 248 of 329 two years ago. The school improved slightly year-over-year but remains well below its earlier position. Per-pupil spending is $9,101 with a favorable student-teacher ratio of 12.5, and the school’s small size means year-to-year test swings can be dramatic—8th-grade science jumped from 35.71% to 72% proficiency between years. Parents should recognize that while Twin Valley offers strong math acceleration and a supportive, smaller environment, the school faces real hurdles in foundational math, literacy, science, absenteeism, and overall state ranking. Its success in advanced math provides a useful foundation to build on.
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