The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Math. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Madison Elementary School
Madison Elementary School sits on 32nd Street in Parkersburg, the county seat of Wood County and the hub of the Parkersburg-Vienna metropolitan area. The city lies at the confluence of the Ohio and Little Kanawha rivers, with the Little Kanawha splitting it into north and south sides. Once a leading industrial center of the Ohio Valley, producing chemicals, glass, tools, textiles, and steel, Parkersburg now carries a quieter mix of industrial heritage and civic life. The federal Bureau of the Fiscal Service remains a major employer, and the city has a defined downtown core with several museums, including the Blennerhassett Museum of Regional History and the Oil and Gas Museum. Publicly reported sources describe a slow population decline, with no major new housing developments identified. The surrounding area is car-oriented, served by Interstate 77 and US 50, with suburban communities like Blennerhassett and Lubeck to the south.
Madison serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is a regular public school within Wood County Schools. Enrollment is modest for its grade band, with a fairly even distribution across the early grades. The student body is predominantly White, with smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, Black, and Asian students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, so the economic profile of the student population cannot be characterized from the information at hand. Title I status was also not reported.
On the most recent West Virginia General Summative Assessment, math proficiency rises steadily from third through fifth grade. Third grade sits below the midpoint, fourth grade moves above it, and fifth grade holds strong. English language arts shows the same upward pattern, with third grade the lowest, fourth grade middling, and fifth grade the strongest. Science was tested only in fifth grade, and proficiency there was the weakest result across all tested subjects and grades. Participation was full or nearly full in every grade and subject. No multi-year trend data was available beyond the current year, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement or decline over time. Average scale scores were not reported.
The grade-by-grade pattern, with older students outperforming younger ones, is worth noting. It could reflect cohort differences, instructional emphasis in upper elementary, or other factors the data does not capture. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly the third-grade results in both math and English language arts, which are the soft spots in the picture.
Housing in the school's zip code is affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks. The typical home value sits well below the national figure and roughly in line with the West Virginia statewide benchmark. Estimated monthly mortgage costs are modest, and the price-to-income ratio is low by national standards. Rental data was not available. For families considering a move to the area, this is a market where homeownership is relatively attainable compared with most of the country.
Parkersburg's civic infrastructure includes Blennerhassett Island Historical State Park, Fort Boreman Historical Park, and several community parks. The city hosts annual events like the Parkersburg Homecoming Festival and the Mid-Ohio Valley Multi-Cultural Festival. West Virginia University at Parkersburg sits on the outskirts, and Wood County Schools operates the Wood County Technical Center and the Caperton Center for Applied Technology, which become relevant as students move into secondary grades. The district brief turned up no recent levy elections, construction projects, curriculum changes, or policy shifts of lasting impact, so there is nothing to report on that front.
Madison Elementary presents as a small, community-serving elementary school with solid upper-elementary academic results and a weaker showing in the earliest tested grades and in fifth-grade science. The student population is largely White and relatively homogeneous for the region. Housing around the school is affordable. Families looking at this school would do well to ask about how the building supports its youngest learners and what drives the upward trajectory from third to fifth grade, since those questions are the ones the available data leaves open.
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