Summary:
In zip code 26346, there is exactly one middle school, Ritchie County Middle, serving grades 5 through 8 in the rural community of Ellenboro, WV, with an enrollment of 301 students.
Ritchie County Middle is the sole middle school in the Ritchie County Schools district, which is ranked 16th out of 54 districts in West Virginia. The school itself holds a strong position in the state, ranking 55th out of 161 middle schools (66th percentile) for the 2025-2026 school year, though this is a drop from its 75th percentile ranking the previous year. The school's biggest academic strength is mathematics, where 44.8% of students are proficient, outpacing the state average of 39.4%. This is particularly evident in 8th grade, where math proficiency reaches 44.9% compared to the state's 34.2%. However, science is a clear weakness, with only 28.5% proficiency, slightly below the state's 29.3% average. English Language Arts performance is essentially at the state average (47.8% vs. 47.6%), but this masks inconsistency—the school only exceeds the state in 8th grade, while underperforming in grades 5, 6, and 7.
For parents, the most important takeaway is that Ritchie County Middle offers a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10:1, suggesting smaller class sizes and more individualized attention. The school's math program is a standout, but science education needs improvement. There is also a notable "7th-grade slump" in math, where proficiency drops to 38.6%, nearly matching the state average, indicating a potential area for targeted support. While the school's overall ranking dipped this year, its math and ELA scores remain above or at state averages, suggesting the ranking may be heavily influenced by the lower science scores. The school's per-student spending is $13,290, and its performance is generally in line with its district, except in science where it significantly outperforms the district average (28.5% vs. 22.7%).
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