Summary:
Zip code 24736 is home to a single elementary school, Lashmeet/Matoaka Elementary School, which serves students in Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade within the Mercer County Schools district in West Virginia.
With just one school in the area, all attention falls on Lashmeet/Matoaka Elementary, a small school of 181 students with a favorable 12.4:1 student-teacher ratio and per-student spending of $13,550. The school’s overall state ranking places it in the 33rd percentile (237th out of 355 elementary schools), earning a 2-star rating. The most notable characteristic is a dramatic split in performance. In mathematics, the school excels, with 46.5% of all students proficient—well above both the district (35.4%) and state (39.4%) averages. However, in English Language Arts (ELA), only 40.9% are proficient, trailing the state average of 47.6%. This math-versus-ELA gap suggests a potential imbalance in instructional focus that parents may want to explore.
Grade-level data reveals extreme variability, pointing to a strong "cohort effect." The 5th-grade class shines in ELA with a 66.7% proficiency rate, while the 3rd-grade class struggles at just 21.7%—a 45-point swing. Similarly, 4th-grade math proficiency hits an impressive 60%, far exceeding state norms, while 5th-grade math drops to 33.3%. Science is a clear weakness, with only 27.8% of 5th graders proficient versus 34.6% statewide. Given the school’s solid resources, the key takeaway for parents is that outcomes depend heavily on the specific teacher and student group. The current 3rd-grade class may need targeted ELA intervention, while the 4th-grade math program appears to be a model worth replicating across other subjects and grades.
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