Summary:
Zip code 26288 is home to just one school, Webster Springs Elementary School, a small rural school in Webster Springs, West Virginia, serving grades PK through 6 with an enrollment of 195 students.
For parents considering this area, the most important takeaway is that Webster Springs Elementary offers a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.5:1 and above-average per-student spending of $12,399, yet academic outcomes lag significantly behind state averages. The school's overall ranking has been volatile, dropping from the 43rd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 19th percentile in 2024-2025, before recovering slightly to the 21st percentile in 2025-2026. The most concerning trend is in mathematics, where proficiency falls dramatically as students advance: 30% of 3rd graders are proficient, but this drops to just 18.8% in 5th grade and 16.7% in 6th grade, creating a widening gap compared to state averages. English Language Arts is a relative strength, with 4th graders actually exceeding the state average at 55.6% proficiency, and the school consistently outperforms its Webster County Schools district, which ranks 53rd out of 54 districts statewide.
The most promising sign is in 5th grade science, which improved by 11.3 percentage points year-over-year, from 20% to 31.3% proficiency, bringing the school within 5 points of the state average. This improvement occurred despite the school's overall ranking decline, suggesting that targeted interventions can work. However, the lack of free/reduced lunch data limits socioeconomic context, and the school's small size means resources are spread across few students without translating into top-tier results. For parents, the priority should be understanding the math curriculum in grades 5-6, where proficiency falls below 20%, while recognizing that the school's ELA program and improving science scores provide a foundation to build upon.
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