Summary:
The city of Kenova, West Virginia, is served by three schools within the Wayne County Schools district, including two elementary schools and one middle school, with no high school located within the city limits.
For parents evaluating elementary options, Buffalo Elementary School stands out as the strongest academic performer in the area. It leads both elementary schools in overall math proficiency (57.3% vs. 54.3% at Ceredo-Kenova Elementary) and overall ELA proficiency (50.6% vs. 45.8%). Buffalo Elementary also posts exceptional 3rd-grade math scores at 70.6% proficiency—more than 16 points above the state average—and maintains a stable 3-star rating. Meanwhile, Ceredo-Kenova Elementary, the largest school with 632 students, shows strengths in 5th-grade math (57.7%) and science (50.6%), but its state ranking has declined sharply from the 86th to the 58th percentile over three years. It also has the highest student-teacher ratio (17:1) and lowest per-student spending ($10,532) in the district.
At the middle school level, Buffalo Middle School presents a challenging transition story. While 6th-grade math proficiency plummets to just 14.9%—far below the state average of 35.4%—students show remarkable recovery by 8th grade, reaching 49.4% math proficiency and 53.1% ELA proficiency, both well above state averages. The school also excels in 8th-grade science at 48.2% proficiency, nearly 19 points above the state average. However, its overall math proficiency (32.7%) remains below state levels, and its ranking has slipped from the 75th to the 64th percentile. Notably, the school spends the most per student ($11,628) with the lowest student-teacher ratio (13.9:1), yet this investment hasn't translated into consistently strong outcomes. Parents should be aware that all three schools have seen declining rankings, and the absence of a local high school means students face an additional transition after 8th grade.
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