Summary:
Zip code 25306 is home to a single school, Malden Elementary School, a small, rural institution serving grades PK through 5 with 160 students in the Kanawha County Schools district.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Malden Elementary is a school of stark contrasts. It is a clear standout in mathematics, with 48.3% of students proficient, which is 7 points above the state average. However, it lags in English Language Arts, with only 45% proficiency, sitting about 2.6 points below the state average. This split is consistent across grade levels. In math, the school shows a notable "4th grade slump," where proficiency drops to 42.1% compared to 52% in 3rd grade and 50% in 5th grade. Conversely, ELA scores show a strong upward trajectory, climbing from 40% in 3rd grade to an impressive 56.3% in 5th grade, suggesting that upper-grade reading instruction is particularly effective. The school's state ranking has been extremely volatile, swinging from the 15th percentile (1 star) in 2023-2024, to the 72nd percentile (4 stars) in 2024-2025, and settling at the 43rd percentile (2 stars) for 2025-2026. This instability is likely due to the small student body, where the performance of just a few students can dramatically shift percentages year to year.
On the resource front, the school appears well-supported with a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 10.6:1 and per-student spending of $12,734. Given these solid resources, the persistent gap in ELA compared to math is a key area for parents to watch. The school's success in 5th-grade ELA and overall math performance are definite highlights, while the 4th-grade math dip and the general ELA underperformance represent the most significant opportunities for targeted improvement and parent advocacy.
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