Summary:
The city of Van, West Virginia, is served by two small schools within the Boone County Schools district, which ranks in the bottom 20% of districts statewide. Together, Van Elementary (grades PK-5, 146 students) and Van Junior/Senior High School (grades 6-12, 157 students) serve roughly 303 students, with nearly equal enrollment at each level.
Van Elementary is the clear standout, outperforming its secondary counterpart across every subject. The elementary school exceeds both district and state averages in math (42.6% vs. 39.4% state) and ELA (50% vs. 47.6% state), with particularly impressive 3rd grade results—73.7% math proficiency and 68.4% ELA proficiency, both nearly 20 points above state averages. However, this success drops dramatically by 4th grade, where math falls to just 25%, suggesting a difficult curriculum transition. In contrast, Van Junior/Senior High School has seen its ranking collapse from the 74th percentile (4 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 10th percentile (1 star) in 2025-2026. Its math proficiency sits at just 20.5% (state: 39.4%), and science proficiency is a concerning 14.3% (state: 29.3%). The middle school years show a notable "7th grade cliff," with math proficiency dropping to 13% and ELA to 21.7%, though 6th and 8th graders perform closer to state averages in ELA.
Despite the high school's low academic performance, it maintains a strong 96.4% graduation rate, exceeding both district (92.7%) and state (92.8%) averages—a paradox suggesting students are being pushed through to graduation without necessarily achieving college or career readiness. Both schools have similar student-teacher ratios (11.2-12.1:1) and per-student spending ($13,696-$14,285), indicating resources aren't the primary differentiator. The most critical intervention points are the 3rd-to-4th grade transition at the elementary level, targeted support for 7th graders, and a complete overhaul of secondary science instruction, where 11th grade proficiency is just 5.9%—a quarter of the state average.
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