Summary:
Zip code 26501 in Morgantown, West Virginia, is served by two middle schools—South Middle School and Westwood Middle School—both part of the highly rated Monongalia County Schools district, which ranks in the top 10% of West Virginia districts. Together, these schools educate 1,130 students in grades 6-8, but they offer vastly different academic experiences.
South Middle School is the clear standout, ranking 10th out of 161 middle schools statewide (94th percentile) with a 5-star rating. Its students significantly outperform state averages in math (52.2% vs. 39.4%), English language arts (60.1% vs. 47.6%), and 8th-grade science (40.8% vs. 29.3%). In contrast, Westwood Middle School sits in the 58th percentile with a 3-star rating, and its students fall below state averages in both math (36.6%) and ELA (39.6%). The gap between the two schools is stark—South outperforms Westwood by roughly 15-20 percentage points in most subjects. Notably, Westwood actually spends 23% more per student ($15,345 vs. $12,431) and has a better student-to-teacher ratio (10.4:1 vs. 12.9:1), yet this resource advantage has not translated into better outcomes.
Both schools show specific areas of concern. Westwood experiences a dramatic 7th-grade dip, with ELA proficiency plummeting to 31.1%—the lowest score at either school—suggesting a possible transition or instructional issue at that grade level. South Middle, despite its overall strength, sees an 8th-grade math decline to 44.1%, a 17-point drop from 7th grade, which narrows the gap with Westwood (41.5%) in that subject. Science remains a shared challenge, though both schools still beat the state average. For families in this zip code, the choice is significant: South offers top-tier performance while Westwood provides average results, a 36-percentile-point divide that likely shapes housing and school selection decisions.
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