The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 40% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ravenswood Grade School
Ravenswood Grade School sits in a small industrial river town along the Ohio River in Jackson County, West Virginia. The town's identity is tied to aluminum manufacturing, and the school sits just outside the town limits while the rest of Ravenswood's public schools cluster within the municipal boundary. The school serves grades three through five, a narrow band that bridges early elementary and middle school, and it operates as a regular public school within Jackson County Schools.
The academic picture from the most recent state assessment is mixed, with real strengths in the upper grades and softer results in third grade. In math, fourth graders posted a strong proficiency rate, and fifth graders landed at a solid level as well, while third grade results were lower. The same pattern appears in English language arts: fifth graders performed well, fourth graders landed around the midpoint, and third graders showed a lower rate. Science was tested only in fifth grade, and the proficiency rate there was modest. Participation was full or nearly full across all tested grades, which gives these results reliability. A parent looking at this pattern might see a school where students tend to improve as they move through the grades, though the third-grade results in both math and reading are worth asking about. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly whether the third-grade dip reflects the transition into state testing or something about early instruction.
No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results are improving, declining, or holding steady over time. The school's grade band means there is no graduation rate, no middle school data, and no high school outcomes to report. Those gaps are expected for a school serving only grades three through five.
The student body is small and largely homogeneous. Nearly all students are white, with a small number of Hispanic students and a single Black student enrolled. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not available, nor were figures for students with individualized education programs or English learners. Title I status was not reported. Without FRPL or IEP figures, it is hard to gauge the economic context of the student population or the level of specialized support services the school provides. These are data points a parent might reasonably request from the administration.
Ravenswood itself is a town shaped by industry. The Constellium aluminum rolling mill, descended from the original Kaiser Aluminum plant, remains the largest employer in Jackson County. The town suffered a major economic loss when the Century Aluminum smelting operation was idled and then permanently closed, eliminating a large number of jobs. A recent development is the announcement by Our Next Energy to locate a battery storage manufacturing facility in Ravenswood, pointing toward a clean-energy pivot. The town has a compact historic street grid, an Old Town district on the National Register of Historic Places, and riverfront access along the Ohio. The broader county housing market is affordable relative to national levels, with typical home values well below the national benchmark and roughly in line with the state benchmark. Rent data was not available for this area.
No information was available on the school's course offerings, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, discipline data, or specific programs. The district brief did not surface any recent parent-relevant changes in Jackson County Schools, such as curriculum shifts, facility plans, or tax changes. A family considering this school would be looking at a small upper-elementary school in a working river town, with assessment results that strengthen in the higher grades and a peer environment that is modest in size and largely homogeneous. The missing data on economic disadvantage and special populations means a parent would need to go directly to the school for a fuller picture of what support looks like inside the building.
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