The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 14% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Midway Elementary School
Midway Elementary School sits on Midway Road in Alum Creek, a rural community straddling Lincoln and Kanawha counties along the Coal River. It is a regular public school serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, part of Lincoln County Schools. The surrounding area has no traditional downtown or walkable core. Development is strung along Coal River Road and the U.S. Route expressway corridor, with scattered residential properties, highway commercial strips, and farmland. Alum Creek sits roughly fifteen miles southwest of Charleston, close enough that the highway gives residents reasonable access to the capital's jobs and services while retaining a distinctly rural character. The community's history runs through coal mining and the chemical industry, with Union Carbide and the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway once anchoring the local economy. Those industries have declined over the decades, and the population has been gradually shrinking, though business growth along the Route corridor has brought some modest economic renewal and rising median incomes in recent years. Civic life centers on places like Lions Club Park and historic landmarks such as the Forks of Coal swinging bridges and Holley Hills Estate. No public library or transit system is documented. Housing here is inexpensive relative to state and national levels, with typical home values well below the West Virginia benchmark and far below the national one. The price-to-income ratio sits near one, meaning local homes are broadly affordable for area wages. Home values have been declining recently, which may reflect the area's population loss and limited new construction. No major housing developments were identified in available sources.
The school enrolls roughly two hundred and fifty students across its grade bands, making it a small elementary school. Its student body is overwhelmingly white, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Free and reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the economic profile of the student body cannot be characterized from the provided information. Data on individualized education programs and English learners was also missing. Lincoln County Schools' recent strategic priorities or district-level changes were not available from the search, so there is little to report on the district direction beyond the school itself.
On the most recent West Virginia General Summative Assessment, Midway's results paint a mixed picture that shifts sharply by grade level. Fourth grade stands out as a clear strength, with a majority of students reaching proficiency in both math and English language arts. Third grade results are more middling, with about half of students proficient in ELA and somewhat fewer in math. Fifth grade results drop off considerably, with only a small share of students reaching proficiency in math, ELA, and science. Science proficiency in fifth grade was particularly low. Participation was full across all tested grades, so the results reflect the whole cohort rather than a skewed subset. Average scale scores were not reported, and only one year of data is available, so no trend can be drawn. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly to understand what happens between fourth and fifth grade and whether the fifth-grade dip reflects a cohort effect, a curricular gap, or something else.
Because Midway serves only through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate, no advanced coursework, and no career or dual-credit pathway to evaluate. Middle and high school assessment data is absent for the same reason. Information on discipline, course access, staffing, attendance, and Title I status was not available. Program offerings beyond the standard elementary curriculum were not reported. Civil rights data was not provided.
Midway is a small, rural elementary school in an affordable, quietly changing community within commuting distance of Charleston. Its fourth-grade results are genuinely strong, and full participation speaks to a school that takes testing seriously. The fifth-grade proficiency drop is the most pressing question a prospective parent would want to explore, and the missing economic and program data means the picture is incomplete in ways worth asking about directly.
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