Summary:
Zip code 25434 in Paw Paw, West Virginia, is home to just two schools—Paw Paw Elementary School (grades K-6) and Paw Paw High School (grades 7-12)—serving roughly 153 students total under the Morgan County Schools district, which ranks in the middle of West Virginia districts.
The standout story here is the dramatic divergence between the two schools. Paw Paw Elementary School has made a remarkable turnaround, jumping from the 12th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 57th percentile in 2025-2026—a gain of 171 positions that now places it above the state median. Its math proficiency (47.4%) actually beats both district and state averages, though its English language arts scores (36.8%) lag about 10 points behind. In contrast, Paw Paw High School has struggled mightily, ranking dead last in the state in 2024-2025 before recovering slightly to the 18th percentile in 2025-2026. The high school's math proficiency of just 12.1% is catastrophic—roughly one-third of the state average—with 11th grade math at only 6.7% proficiency.
Both schools enjoy enviable resources: student-teacher ratios of 10.2:1 (elementary) and 7.7:1 (high school), plus per-student spending around $15,300-$15,600. Yet the high school's outcomes don't reflect this investment. A particularly troubling pattern emerges at the 7th grade transition—students moving from the elementary school's strong 6th grade performance (70% ELA proficiency) to the high school's 7th grade (30% ELA) experience a precipitous drop. Despite the academic struggles, the high school maintains a perfect 100% graduation rate, well above the state's 92.8%. The elementary school's success proves improvement is possible here, but whether that momentum can eventually transform the high school remains the critical question for this small community.
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