Summary:
Zip code 25303 is home to just one middle school, South Charleston Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 and is part of the Kanawha County Schools district.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that South Charleston Middle School consistently performs below both district and state averages across every subject and grade level. In the 2025-2026 school year, only 23.4% of students were proficient in math and 34.5% in English Language Arts, compared to state averages of 39.4% and 47.6%, respectively. This gap of roughly 15-20 percentage points is uniform across 6th, 7th, and 8th grades, suggesting a systemic challenge rather than an isolated issue. The school's state ranking has also been volatile, swinging from the 11th percentile in 2023-2024, up to the 43rd percentile in 2024-2025, and back down to the 18th percentile in 2025-2026. With an enrollment of 354 students and a student-teacher ratio of 17.7, the school's resources appear typical, yet academic outcomes remain a concern.
There are a few notable bright spots. Eighth-grade science proficiency (24.8%) is much closer to the state average (29.3%) than other subjects, and the school's science score actually improved while district and state averages declined. However, 8th grade is also the weakest area overall, with math proficiency dropping to 18.8% and ELA to 30.5%, indicating students may fall further behind as they progress. The school spends $11,795 per student, which is in line with typical funding, raising questions about whether instructional strategies or student support services need adjustment. Overall, parents should be aware that while the school offers a standard middle school experience, academic performance is consistently below peer institutions, with the most significant struggles appearing in the upper grades.
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