The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 42% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Malden Elementary School
Malden Elementary School sits on Salines Drive in the eastern reaches of Charleston, serving children from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as part of Kanawha County Schools. It is a small school, and that size shapes much of what families experience here. Grade-level cohorts are tight, with only a couple dozen students per tested grade, so every child's result carries real weight in the school's reported outcomes. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races and small representation across Black, Hispanic, and Asian students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch figures, special-education counts, or English-learner data in the available dataset, so the economic and special-population picture is incomplete. A parent evaluating fit may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
On the academic side, the most recent state assessment results tell a mixed but broadly serviceable story. In English language arts, proficiency rises steadily from third grade through fifth, with the oldest tested cohort showing a strong majority meeting or exceeding the proficiency bar. That upward arc in ELA is a genuine bright spot and suggests the school's literacy instruction builds momentum as children move through the upper elementary years. Math results are more uneven. Third grade starts respectably, fourth dips, and fifth lands in between. None of these math results are alarming, but the fourth-grade dip is the kind of soft spot a parent might want to look into further with the school, particularly whether it reflects a cohort issue or an instructional gap. Science, tested only in fifth grade, shows fewer than half of students reaching proficiency, which is a weaker result and worth a direct conversation with school staff about how science is taught and resourced in those upper grades.
Participation was full across every tested grade and subject, which means these results reflect the entire eligible cohort rather than a partial sample. That matters at a school this small, where a single absent student could shift the picture. No multi-year trend data is available, so there is no way to tell from the provided data whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability. Average scale scores were also not reported, so the proficiency rates are the sole academic window available here.
The school sits in a zip code where housing is inexpensive by any standard. Typical home values sit well below the state benchmark and far below national levels, making ownership accessible for many families. Rents are also modest, though they have been climbing recently. The price-to-income ratio suggests buying here is within reach for households earning near the national median. This is an affordable corner of a city that has been losing population gradually, with development efforts oriented toward downtown revitalization rather than new residential expansion on the edges. Charleston itself is the state capital, with government employment, healthcare, and services anchoring the regional economy. The riverfront, the capitol complex, and the Clay Center define civic life, and three interstates converge in the city, making car travel the norm outside the downtown core.
No district-level changes meeting a lasting-impact threshold were found in the available research, so there is nothing to report on recent referendums, consolidations, or curriculum overhauls in Kanawha County Schools. The district brief came back empty on that front, and we note that rather than speculate.
What Malden offers is a small, community-scale elementary experience in an affordable part of the Charleston metro area. Its ELA instruction appears to be doing its job well, building toward strong outcomes by fifth grade. Math and science are more variable. Families seeking a tight-knit setting where their child will be known, and who are comfortable advocating directly on the academic questions the data raises, will find a reasonable starting point here. Those wanting larger program breadth or clearer evidence of consistent math and science outcomes may want to compare with other Kanawha County elementaries before deciding.
See more original research from School Decision →