The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 12% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Elm Grove Elementary School
Elm Grove Elementary School sits on Mil Acres Drive in Wheeling, a small post-industrial river city along the Ohio River in West Virginia's Northern Panhandle. The school is part of Ohio County Schools and serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. It is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Wheeling itself was once known as "Nail City" for its manufacturing heritage, and while heavy industry has largely receded since the mid-twentieth century, the city has reoriented toward healthcare, education, legal services, and tourism. Wheeling Hospital, part of WVU Medicine, is a leading regional employer, and the casino and greyhound racetrack on Wheeling Island anchor the entertainment sector. The city retains a historic downtown core with nineteenth-century architecture, a riverfront redevelopment area called The Wharf, and Oglebay Park to the east with its golf courses, zoo, and recreational facilities. Population has declined from the city's industrial peak, and the current trajectory is stabilization and selective redevelopment rather than rapid growth.
The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with small numbers of Black students and students of two or more races, and a handful of Hispanic and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education programs, and English learner status was not available, so the socioeconomic and special-population picture is incomplete from what we have. A parent wanting to understand the community the school serves may want to ask the school directly about those indicators.
On the most recent West Virginia General Summative Assessment, Elm Grove's results in math and English language arts through the early tested grades are a genuine strength. Third-grade math proficiency sits well above the halfway mark, and fourth-grade math is similarly solid. Fourth-grade ELA is the school's strongest result, with close to two-thirds of tested students reaching proficiency. Third-grade ELA is also respectable. Participation rates across all tested grades are near-universal, which means these results reflect nearly the entire grade cohort rather than a selected subset.
The picture shifts in fifth grade. Math proficiency drops to half of tested students, and ELA proficiency falls further, with fewer than half reaching proficiency. Science, which is tested only in fifth grade at this level, is a particular soft spot: only a small fraction of fifth graders demonstrated proficiency. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, asking how instruction in the upper elementary grades is structured and what supports are in place for students as content becomes more demanding.
State testing data was not available for grades six through eight, which is expected because Elm Grove does not serve those grades. Students presumably move on to a middle school elsewhere in Ohio County Schools after fifth grade. No graduation rate applies here for the same reason. Multi-year trend data was not available beyond the current year, so we cannot say whether these results represent improvement, decline, or stability over time. No neighbor comparison data was provided, so we cannot position Elm Grove against nearby schools in the county. Information on Title I status, discipline, course access, staffing, attendance, and specialized programs was also not available.
The housing market around the school is affordable by almost any standard. Typical home values in the 26003 zip code sit well below the state benchmark and dramatically below national levels, with recent year-over-year appreciation that is modest but positive. Rents are similarly low relative to income. For families considering the area, housing costs are unlikely to be a barrier, and the estimated monthly mortgage on a typical home is close to what a family would pay in rent. The trade-off is that Wheeling is a city navigating long-term population loss and economic transition, with limited new housing development and a labor market anchored by healthcare, public sector employment, and hospitality rather than high-wage industry.
Elm Grove fits a family looking for a small, community-rooted elementary school with solid early-grade instruction in reading and math, in a city where housing is inexpensive and civic amenities like Oglebay Park and the riverfront are genuine assets. The fifth-grade slide in math, ELA, and especially science is the piece a parent should probe before enrolling an older elementary student.
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