The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 32% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Midland Elementary School
Midland Elementary School sits in Elkins, the county seat of Randolph County, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public school within Randolph County Schools. The enrollment is small, which is typical for an elementary school in this part of the state, and the student body is almost entirely white, with only a handful of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. The data does not include free-or-reduced-price lunch counts, special education rates, English learner figures, or Title I status, so the economic and support profile of the student population is something a parent would need to ask the school about directly.
On state testing, Midland shows a mixed but generally middling picture. Fourth grade stands out as the strongest cohort, with a solid majority of students reaching proficiency in math and more than half in English language arts. Third grade lands in a moderate range in both subjects. Fifth grade is the soft spot: proficiency drops notably in math, English language arts, and science, with science results being the weakest area across the board. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly what happens between fourth and fifth grade that might explain the dip. Participation was full across every tested grade. Only one year of data is available, so there is no trend to read. Grades six through eight show no results, which is expected because the school does not serve those grades.
Elkins itself is a small town with a surprisingly rich institutional base for its size. It functions as a regional hub for healthcare, tourism, and wood products, anchored by two hospital complexes, Davis & Elkins College, and the headquarters of the Monongahela National Forest. The downtown along Davis Avenue has locally owned shops, restaurants, and bars, and the city has redeveloped its former railyard into a commercial and civic space with an amphitheater, farmer's market, and the West Virginia Railroad Museum. Multiple National Register historic districts give the built environment a layered, small-town texture. The Mountain State Forest Festival, the state's largest and oldest festival, brings large crowds downtown each fall with carnival rides on the streets, parades, and the coronation of Queen Silvia. The Augusta Heritage Festival spreads across the college campus and town over several weeks in summer. Outdoor recreation is central to life here, with the Allegheny Trail's western terminus in Elkins and the vast Monongahela National Forest at the city's doorstep.
The city's strategic plan has prioritized more walkable streets and growth in tourism, healthcare, and wood products, and an active Main Street organization and Chamber of Commerce work to keep downtown vibrant. Corridor H, a four-lane highway heading west toward Interstate 79, connects Elkins to broader regional markets, with long-term plans to extend it further east. These are the kinds of infrastructure and civic investments that shape a town's trajectory over time, though their direct effect on a young family's daily life depends on where you live and work.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks, with typical home values well below the national figure and a price-to-income ratio that suggests purchasing a home is within reach for many local households. Rent data was not available. Mortgage rates used for the affordability calculation reflect the broader national environment, which remains elevated by historical standards. For families considering buying rather than renting, the local market appears more accessible than most.
The district brief turned up no evidence of recent referendums, curriculum changes, property-tax shifts, or other parent-relevant developments within Randolph County Schools, so there is little to report on that front. This does not mean nothing is happening, only that nothing surfaced in the search.
What Midland offers is a small, community-rooted elementary experience in a town that punches above its weight culturally and institutionally. The academic results are uneven across grades, with a clear strength in fourth grade and a clear concern in fifth. Families drawn to outdoor recreation, a historic small-town setting, and a tight-knit school environment may find the fit appealing, provided they are comfortable asking direct questions about the upper-grade dip and the missing economic data.
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