The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in Science. The lowest is 57% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Pymatuning Valley Middle School
Pymatuning Valley Middle School sits at the edge of Andover, a small village in southeastern Ashtabula County that nestles against Pymatuning Lake. The school is a rural, car-dependent place where the day-to-day rhythm centers on family neighborhoods, the historic village square, and the state park rather than an urban or even suburban setting. The broader region draws some economic life from manufacturing and tourism tied to the lake, but the area remains economically modest. Housing prices in the area are well below state and national medians, and a substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. This is a working-family and fixed-income community.
The school enrolls students in grades five through eight. The student body is predominantly white, with a small number of Hispanic students and virtually no other racial diversity. The school is small for its grade span, with enrollment distributed fairly evenly across the four grades. It sits on a consolidated campus just west of town, where the district has recently invested in a new multi-purpose building housing a bus garage, administrative offices, and an on-site day care center operated with the Ashtabula County YMCA. That day care option is a tangible benefit for families navigating work and school schedules.
On state testing, the school shows uneven academic performance. In science, proficiency runs well above the state's midline for middle grades, which is a clear strength. In English language arts and math, proficiency is solidly in the middle range but below where stronger-performing districts in the county sit. Math scores lag slightly behind ELA scores. The school tests the full enrollment in these subjects with no participation gaps. Science results, however, are drawn from a smaller tested group, which is typical for middle grades. One social-studies assessment result from 2016-17 is available but is now old enough that it does not reflect current instruction. Overall, when proficiency across all tested subjects and grades is averaged together, the school falls above the midpoint among Ashtabula County districts, a positioning that reflects solid but not leading performance.
The school has no available data on chronic absenteeism or other attendance measures, nor is there reported information on special education or English learner populations, so a parent may want to look into those details directly with the school. The district implemented universal free breakfast and lunch for all students at the middle school for this school year, eliminating meal costs as a household expense.
Recent district-level changes shape the classroom environment. For 2024-2025, the district adopted a formal cell phone policy across all schools that restricts student phone use in ways parents and students will encounter daily. The district has also completed notable facility upgrades: the high school received a multi-year renovation and expansion funded locally, including a new auditorium and modernized systems, and the middle and elementary schools occupy the same consolidated campus where the new day care building opened in 2023. These physical upgrades reflect a commitment to infrastructure, though the academic climb toward higher proficiency in core subjects remains steady work.
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