Summary:
Randolph County Schools in West Virginia serves approximately 1,143 high school students across two schools—Elkins High School (grades 9-12, 747 students) and Tygarts Valley Middle/High School (grades 6-12, 396 students)—in a rural, mountainous region where the district ranks in the 6th percentile statewide.
Elkins High School is the clear standout in this district. It boasts a 96.4% graduation rate, exceeding both the district (95.1%) and state (92.8%) averages, and has shown remarkable improvement, jumping from 102nd to 60th in state rankings over the past year. Its English Language Arts proficiency (45.6%) leads the district, and it improved in all three tested subjects from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with science proficiency surging from 12.6% to 19.9%. In contrast, Tygarts Valley Middle/High School ranks near the bottom (103rd out of 105) and struggles significantly, with 11th-grade math proficiency at just 11.6% and science at 7%. However, Tygarts Valley offers a lower student-teacher ratio (12.3:1 vs. 17.5:1) and higher per-student spending ($10,502 vs. $9,428), yet these resources have not translated into better outcomes.
One of the most striking findings is the "8th grade cliff" at Tygarts Valley: 6th graders achieve 43.9% proficiency in ELA (near the state average), but by 8th grade that drops to just 14%, and math proficiency falls from 17.1% to 3.5%. This suggests a severe middle school transition problem that leaves students underprepared for high school. Both schools also show a consistent ELA-over-math disparity—at Elkins, ELA proficiency is more than triple math proficiency—pointing to a district-wide need for targeted math intervention. While Elkins excels at keeping students on track to graduate, both schools face significant academic challenges, and their volatile year-to-year rankings (Elkins swung 42 positions) suggest that single-year data should be interpreted cautiously.
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