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Watson Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-4

283^rd

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 355 West Virginia Elementary Schools

Better than 20% of West Virginia elementary schools

Summary

Watson Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Fairmont, West Virginia, serving grades PK-4 with a total enrollment of 376 students. The school is part of the Marion County Schools district, which is ranked 9 out of 55 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being part of a relatively high-performing district, Watson Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of West Virginia elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. The school's performance for specific student subgroups, such as female, male, and low socioeconomic status students, is also concerning, with rankings in the bottom half of the state. Additionally, the school's proficiency rates in Mathematics and English Language Arts (ELA) are significantly lower than the district and state averages.

When comparing Watson Elementary School to other nearby schools in the Marion County Schools district, it becomes clear that the school is an outlier in terms of performance. Schools like East Dale Elementary, Jayenne Elementary, and Pleasant Valley Elementary consistently outperform Watson Elementary across various metrics, including test scores, state rankings, and student subgroup performance. While the school's performance is concerning, the data suggests that there is room for improvement with the right interventions and a focus on improving the educational experience for all students.

383

Students ?

14.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$12,949

Per pupil spending ?

60.2%

Free/discounted lunch ?

1579 Mary Lou Retton Dr
Fairmont, WV 26554-2220

(304) 367-2156

District: Marion County Schools

Students who attend Watson Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	West Fairmont Middle School
High:	Fairmont Senior High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

73.6%

Two or more races:

14.9%

African American:

8.1%

See top rated West Virginia elementary schools

Compare Watson Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 23rd percentile in 2015 → 20th in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the West Virginia average (40% vs 50% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (20th percentile)

!Mathematics scores 12 pts below the West Virginia average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school40%

District avg53%

West Virginia avg50%

283^rd of 355

West Virginia public elementary schools ?

Bottom 20%▼ down 3 pts since 2015

From bottom 23% (2015) to bottom 20% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of West Virginia Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 10Elementary Schools in the Marion County Schools

9^th of 55Marion County Schools among West Virginia districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	28.9	283 of 355	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	34.1	262 of 368	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.1	289 of 368	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	31.0	284 of 375	24.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.1	319 of 380	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	27.8	307 of 383	19.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	359 of 392	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	22.8	358 of 399	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	15.1	380 of 402	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	33.0	313 of 408	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	64.2	106 of 422	74.9%	★★★★☆
2013	56.5	156 of 428	63.6%	★★★☆☆
2012	33.1	326 of 426	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	32.4	325 of 426	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	33.2	325 of 427	23.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	54.3	187 of 420	55.5%	★★★☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2018	42.9	22 of 31	29.0%	★★☆☆☆
2017	46.4	91 of 187	51.3%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	35.1	217 of 302	28.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.7	251 of 316	20.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	27.3	258 of 317	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.5	273 of 325	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	31.7	243 of 322	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.3	304 of 339	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.5	349 of 366	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	30.6	314 of 381	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	33.3	250 of 328	23.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	30.9	258 of 336	23.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	32.8	248 of 333	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	35.9	255 of 347	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	30.9	270 of 335	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	18.0	356 of 368	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2017	26.7	335 of 382	12.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	27.5	248 of 305	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	37.1	223 of 325	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	31.6	252 of 322	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.2	197 of 330	40.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	25.1	280 of 333	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	40.5	206 of 338	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2018	33.7	274 of 364	24.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.3	347 of 382	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2017	54.1	88 of 218	59.6%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2024	46.1	95 of 183	48.1%	★★☆☆☆
2023	50.5	86 of 180	52.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	30.7	137 of 185	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.9	208 of 258	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	25.1	350 of 377	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	West Virginia percentile	Rating
2025	32.2	263 of 353	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	47.3	189 of 367	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	43.0	207 of 366	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	36.7	245 of 373	34.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	30.7	285 of 376	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	33.1	271 of 373	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	22.1	337 of 374	9.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	16.5	366 of 382	4.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Multi-racial (2017)60th percentile+49 vs school

Special Education (2024)48th percentile+19 vs school

African American (2018)29th percentile+21 vs school

Female (2025)28th percentile+8 vs school

White (2025)25th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile+3 vs school

Male (2025)19th percentile~ school

By subject vs West Virginia (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics40%-12 vs state

English Language Arts40%-8 vs state

2.5

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★1

3★0

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a teacher
Thursday, August 18, 2022

Watson Elementary has made a lot of improvements in the past 2-3 years. We have been able to keep teachers, so our turn over rate have went down! We are trying to rebrand our school with all the new and great improvements to our school and our teaching of students. We always get a bad rap from the community, but Watson is moving the needle trying to improve all facets of our school community. A large group of our teachers have attended Model Schools Conference for the past 3-4 years, working diligently to improve in all areas!! I feel Watson is an awesome school with great teachers, students, and families!! #WatsonStrong Close Quote

by a parent
Monday, October 11, 2010

This school is in poor shape, both physically- with its outdated and ineffective "open classroom" concept, and from a leadership position. The principle appears to be a position for which she is not qualified and is doing a grave disservice to the children forced to attend the school with her lack of personal involvement and commitment to helping the children get a quality education in a safe atmosphere. I think it is rather telling that three of my child's kindergarten peers have already been pulled out by their parents and enrolled in other elementary schools within the first few weeks of the year. We are fortunate to have an excellent teacher this year, but have already started looking for a school that will accept transfers for first grade. There is no excuse for the chaos that reigns at this elementary school. Close Quote

Schools Near Watson Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				WV Assessment Mathematics (2025)						WV Assessment English Language Arts (2025)						WV Assessment Science (2025)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2019)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	WV Assessment Mathematics 3rd Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 4th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 5th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 6th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 7th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics 8th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 3rd Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 4th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 5th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 6th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 7th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts 8th Grade	WV Assessment Science 5th Grade	WV Assessment Science 8th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Watson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	1579 Mary Lou Retton Dr	Fairmont	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 367-2156	383	26	14.7		282 (73.6%)	31 (8.1%)	8 (2.1%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	57 (14.9%)	28.9	283^rd of 355 public elementary schools	20.3%		34.1	262^nd of 368 public elementary schools	28.8%	21	48.2	31.9					42.6	37.5							$12,949	$1,514	$11,434
Jayenne Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	1504 Country Club Rd	Fairmont	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 367-2136	310	23	13.4		226 (72.9%)	33 (10.6%)	6 (1.9%)	5 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (12.9%)	82.2	42^nd of 355 public elementary schools	88.2%		80.9	50^th of 368 public elementary schools	86.4%	8	61.8	80.0					50.9	78.0							$12,016	$1,131	$10,885
Pleasant Valley Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	1858 Valley School Rd	Pleasant Valley	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 367-2148	179	13	13.7		172 (96.1%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.8%)	93.3	10^th of 355 public elementary schools	97.2%		77.9	60^th of 368 public elementary schools	83.7%	50	75.6	76.9					70.7	73.1							$13,545	$814	$12,730
East Park Elementary School	Public	K-4	1025 Fairfax St	Fairmont	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 367-2134	321	26	12.3		283 (88.2%)	12 (3.7%)	3 (0.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.5%)	35.4	246^th of 355 public elementary schools	30.7%		55.8	149^th of 368 public elementary schools	59.5%	97	44.1	49.3					30.9	50.8							$14,488	$1,731	$12,757
Barrackville Elementary/Middle School	Public	PK, KG-8	509 Pike Street	Barrackville	26559	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 367-2127	321	24	13.3		304 (94.7%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (4.7%)	59.5	124^th of 355 public elementary schools	65.1%		67.8	92^nd of 368 public elementary schools	75.0%	32	43.5	61.8	52.4	58.8	47.1	65.8	26.1	44.1	52.4	76.5	75.8	71.1	40.5	47.4	$12,830	$702	$12,129
White Hall Elementary School	Public	K-4	38 Emerald Ln	White Hall	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 367-2158	184	16	11.5		164 (89.1%)	2 (1.1%)	3 (1.6%)	5 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.4%)	96.7	5^th of 355 public elementary schools	98.6%		94.4	9^th of 368 public elementary schools	97.6%	4	88.4	82.4					72.1	76.5							$12,649	$1,107	$11,541
Monongah Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	628 Walnut Street	Monongah	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 367-2159	266	19	14.0		243 (91.4%)	7 (2.6%)	6 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.8%)	42.7	208^th of 355 public elementary schools	41.4%		36.1	253^rd of 368 public elementary schools	31.3%	45	43.2	36.4					52.3	52.3							$13,607	$1,544	$12,063
East Dale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-4	57 E Dale Rd	Fairmont	26554	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 367-2132	352	27	13.0		329 (93.5%)	9 (2.6%)	6 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.3%)	60.1	121^st of 355 public elementary schools	65.9%		69.3	88^th of 368 public elementary schools	76.1%	33	48.9	53.6					51.1	62.5							$12,624	$849	$11,775
Rivesville Elementary/Middle School	Public	PK, KG-8	229 Phillips Ave	Rivesville	26588	Marion County	Marion County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 278-5331	292	27	10.8		268 (91.8%)	8 (2.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (4.8%)	42	213^th of 355 public elementary schools	40.0%		53.8	158^th of 368 public elementary schools	57.1%	55	58.1	28.6	46.2	36.7	42.9	25.9	48.4	35.7	42.3	50.0	53.6	44.4	19.2	25.9	$13,392	$1,205	$12,188
Big Elm Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	200 Tetrick Rd	Shinnston	26431	Harrison County	Harrison County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 326-7280	567	43	13.3		547 (96.5%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (2.5%)	43.1	204^th of 355 public elementary schools	42.5%		47.3	187^th of 368 public elementary schools	49.2%	17	48.5	39.3	68.1				35.3	38.1	51.4				31.9		$11,729	$1,435	$10,294

Frequently Asked Questions about Watson Elementary School

Is Watson Elementary School a good school?

Watson Elementary School ranks in the bottom 20.3% of West Virginia elementary schools.

What district is Watson Elementary School in?

Marion County Schools

What schools do graduates of Watson Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Watson Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : West Fairmont Middle School
High : Fairmont Senior High School

How many students attend Watson Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 383 students attended Watson Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Watson Elementary School?

Students at Watson Elementary School are 74% White, 15% Two or more races, 8% African American, 2% Hispanic.

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the West Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.