Mingo County Schools

Mingo County Schools serves approximately 3,473 students across 9 schools in West Virginia's southern coalfields, including 7 PK-8 elementary schools and 2 high schools, with the district ranking 28th out of 54 districts statewide.

For parents, the standout elementary options are Lenore Pk8 School and Kermit Pre K8. Lenore leads the district in ELA proficiency at 53.6% and boasts an extraordinary 80% proficiency in 6th grade ELA, while Kermit posts the district's highest math scores at 48.8%, with 8th grade math proficiency more than double the district average. Dingess Elementary School, despite being the smallest school, showed the most dramatic improvement—jumping from the 7th to 47th percentile—and now has the district's highest math proficiency at 53.9%. At the secondary level, Tug Valley High School clearly outperforms Mingo Central Comprehensive High School, with math proficiency more than double the district average (27.9% vs. 13.2%) and a graduation rate of 94.3%.

However, significant challenges exist. Burch Pk8 ranks in the 20th percentile with proficiency rates far below state averages in every subject, while Mingo Central ranks in the 6th percentile with just 5.9% math proficiency—though it maintains a 96.2% graduation rate. A consistent "middle school slide" appears across most PK-8 schools, with math proficiency dropping dramatically from 3rd to 8th grade; Kermit is the notable exception, actually improving. Science is the district's weakest subject, with a 22.7% average versus the state's 29.3%. Notably, spending per student shows no clear correlation with outcomes—Williamson Pk8 spends the least ($11,070) yet outperforms Burch and Gilbert Pk8, which spend similar amounts. Matewan Pk8 rounds out the district with moderate performance.