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Best Public Schools in Zip Code 26101

New rankings! SchoolDigger recently updated its West Virginia rankings with newly released test scores for the 2025-26 school year.

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At a glance

Schools

6,369

Students

5-star schools

Top rankedCriss Elementary School5^th of 355 West Virginia elementary schools

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Biggest riser

Blennerhassett Elementary School up 25 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Jefferson Elementary Center 8.4 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

5★

4★

3★

2★

1★

3 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked West Virginia schools →

Summary:

Zip code 26101 in Parkersburg, West Virginia, is served by 12 schools within the Wood County Schools district, which holds a 5-star rating and ranks 6th out of 54 districts in the state, covering elementary through high school grades for approximately 6,527 students.

This area offers a striking contrast in school quality. At the top, Criss Elementary School is a standout, ranking 5th in the state with exceptional proficiency rates (80.4% in ELA and 77.5% in math), while Lubeck Elementary School also excels at 19th statewide. However, Franklin Elementary Center and Jefferson Elementary Center rank in the bottom 20% of the state, showing a massive 86-percentile gap within the same district. At the secondary level, Parkersburg South High School is improving (now 73rd percentile with a 92.2% graduation rate), while Parkersburg High School has declined to the 46th percentile with only 15.4% math proficiency. Edison Middle School remains a consistent bright spot, maintaining 4-star status for three years.

Perhaps the most important takeaway for parents is that higher spending and smaller class sizes do not guarantee better results. The three lowest-performing elementary schools (Franklin, Jefferson, and Martin Elementary School) actually have the highest per-student spending ($16,495-$18,101) and the lowest student-teacher ratios, yet they underperform schools like Criss and Lubeck that spend near the median. Additionally, there is a dramatic proficiency drop-off as students advance—elementary schools show 60-80% math proficiency, but middle schools fall to 34-51% and high schools to just 15-21%. Science proficiency is a universal weakness across all schools, even top performers. Parents should also note the concerning downward trends at Gihon Elementary School (dropped from 97th to 79th percentile) and Martin Elementary, while Blennerhassett Elementary School is trending upward. The middle school transition appears to be a critical intervention point, and the practices at Criss and Lubeck are worth investigating for replication across the district.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				WV Assessment Mathematics (2026)								WV Assessment English Language Arts (2026)								WV Assessment Science (2026)			Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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 (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	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 Mathematics 11th Grade	WV Assessment Mathematics All Grades	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 English Language Arts 11th Grade	WV Assessment English Language Arts All Grades	WV Assessment Science 5th Grade	WV Assessment Science 8th Grade	WV Assessment Science 11th Grade	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Franklin Elementary Center	Public	PK, KG-5	1511 Division Street Ext	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 420-9534	262	30	8.7		238 (90.8%)	3 (1.1%)	13 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.1%)	21.4	309^th of 355 public elementary schools	13.0%		32.6	256^th of 355 public elementary schools	27.9%	53	40.0	30.0	34.3					34.6	28.6	30.0	42.9					33.6	31.4			$16,055	$2,828	$13,227
Martin Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1301 Hillcrest St	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 420-9625	250	28	8.9		222 (88.8%)	1 (0.4%)	5 (2.0%)	4 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.2%)	41.8	215^th of 355 public elementary schools	39.4%		54.1	158^th of 355 public elementary schools	55.5%	57	59.6	48.7	43.6					50.4	40.4	48.7	43.6					44.0	23.6			$16,622	$2,336	$14,286
Blennerhassett Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	448 Jewell Rd	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 863-5128	522	34	15.3		470 (90.0%)	12 (2.3%)	9 (1.7%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (5.4%)	80.8	47^th of 355 public elementary schools	86.8%		71.6	72^nd of 355 public elementary schools	79.7%	25	76.1	69.2	56.9					67.4	64.8	70.5	56.9					64.3	40.3			$9,046	$170	$8,876
Criss Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2800 22nd St	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 420-9522	267	18	14.8		239 (89.5%)	2 (0.7%)	6 (2.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (7.1%)	96.2	5^th of 355 public elementary schools	98.6%		95	7^th of 355 public elementary schools	98.0%	2	77.5	72.2	79.9					77.5	75.0	77.8	87.1					80.4	72.6			$9,356	$699	$8,656
Edison Middle School	Public	6-8	1201 Hillcrest St	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 420-9525	551	38	14.5		521 (94.6%)	2 (0.4%)	9 (1.6%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.5%)	75.9	27^th of 161 public middle schools	83.2%		78.7	22^nd of 168 public middle schools	86.9%	5				45.5	50.3	57.2		50.9				52.7	54.6	42.1		50.1		39.6		$8,144	$614	$7,530
Gihon Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	2000 Belmont Rd	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 420-9539	261	20	13.0		244 (93.5%)	4 (1.5%)	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.4%)	71.8	75^th of 355 public elementary schools	78.9%		80	47^th of 355 public elementary schools	86.8%	28	61.5	56.4	65.2					60.4	56.4	53.9	65.2					57.4	39.1			$12,087	$1,453	$10,635
Jefferson Elementary Center	Public	PK, KG-5	1103 Plum St	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	Yes	(304) 420-9554	475	56	8.4		406 (85.5%)	18 (3.8%)	15 (3.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (7.2%)	26.8	289^th of 355 public elementary schools	18.6%		42.8	207^th of 355 public elementary schools	41.7%	82	35.9	44.4	24.7					35.1	28.3	39.5	53.3					41.7	28.6			$15,293	$3,116	$12,177
Lubeck Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	206 Lubeck Rd	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 863-3321	381	26	14.6		372 (97.6%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.0%)	91.2	19^th of 355 public elementary schools	94.6%		91.6	13^th of 355 public elementary schools	96.3%	6	79.3	71.7	83.9					78.3	62.3	70.0	69.4					67.4	51.6			$10,026	$385	$9,641
Parkersburg High School	Public	9-12	2101 Dudley Ave	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 420-9595	1,491	87	17.1		1,323 (88.7%)	47 (3.2%)	32 (2.1%)	16 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	72 (4.8%)								(n/a)																				$8,121	$627	$7,494
Parkersburg South High School	Public	9-12	1511 Blizzard Dr	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 420-9610	1,373	84	16.3		1,285 (93.6%)	19 (1.4%)	28 (2.0%)	7 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (2.4%)	68.1	28^th of 105 public high schools	73.3%		59.5	42^nd of 111 public high schools	62.2%	14							20.5								56.5				25.3	$9,020	$920	$8,100
Blennerhassett Middle School	Public	6-8	444 Jewell Rd	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 863-3356	534	30	17.8		500 (93.6%)	7 (1.3%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (3.7%)	49.8	69^th of 161 public middle schools	57.1%		59.3	55^th of 168 public middle schools	67.3%	14				33.6	38.6	31.6		34.6				47.1	50.0	43.6		46.9		21.9		$8,765	$590	$8,175
Wood County Vocational Technical Center	Public	9-12	1515 Blizzard Dr	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 420-9501	2	20	.1		2 (100.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Summit Success Center	Public, Alternative	K-12	2507 9th Ave	Parkersburg	26101	Wood County	Wood County Schools	No	No	No	No	(304) 893-9737	0	4	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)

Cities Near Zip Code 26101

City	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Parkersburg	0.4 mi	18	97^th
Vienna	4.19 mi	4	25^th
Davisville	6 mi	1	37^th
Mineral Wells	6.09 mi	1	111^th
Williamstown	10.31 mi	2	15^th

See the top WV West Virginia cities

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.