The top reported proficiency rate is 70% in Math. The lowest is 61% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Neale Elementary School
Neale Elementary School sits on Grand Central Avenue in Vienna, a residential city tucked against Parkersburg along the Ohio River in Wood County. Vienna grew quickly after World War II as a suburban outpost of its larger neighbor, and its commercial life still centers on the Grand Central Mall corridor rather than a traditional downtown. The city is auto-oriented, with limited walkability outside the retail strips, and its population has been edging downward in recent years. Neale serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and is one of three elementary schools in the city; older students move on to Jackson Middle School and then to Parkersburg High School just across the municipal line.
The school's enrollment is moderate for an elementary building in this band. Its student body is predominantly white, with small representations of students identifying as Hispanic, two or more races, Asian, Black, and American Indian or Alaska Native. Free and reduced-price lunch data, special education counts, and English learner figures were not reported in the available data, so the economic profile of the student population is something a parent would want to ask the school about directly. Title I status was also not specified.
On the most recent West Virginia General Summative Assessment, Neale posted results that paint a generally strong academic picture, with an encouraging upward trajectory as students move through the upper elementary grades. In math, third graders showed a solid majority proficient, fourth graders climbed higher, and fifth graders reached a level where the large majority demonstrated proficiency. English language arts followed a similar pattern: third grade was the softest point, with roughly half proficient, but fourth and fifth grades were notably stronger, with about three-quarters of students meeting the bar. Fifth grade science results landed at a respectable middle ground. Participation was near-universal across all tested grades, which gives the results weight. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not yet possible to say whether these numbers represent steady performance or recent improvement. A parent looking at the third grade results may want to look into this further with the school, since that is the one area where proficiency was closer to the middle of the range rather than clearly strong.
Because Neale ends at fifth grade, there are no sixth through eighth grade results and no graduation rate to report; those gaps simply reflect the grade band the school serves.
Housing in the immediate area is affordable by national standards. Typical home values in the school's zip code sit modestly above the West Virginia state benchmark but far below the national figure, and the price-to-income ratio is low. Rent data was not available. The economic context includes a prevailing mortgage rate environment that has been holding in the mid-six-percent range, and the broader unemployment picture has been stable. Vienna's economy leans heavily on retail and service work anchored by the mall and the Grand Central Avenue commercial strip, with healthcare and food service also present. Specific major employers beyond the mall were not identified in available sources.
The Wood County Schools district is the governing body. We looked for the district's strategic priorities and recent changes such as bond elections, curriculum shifts, or construction projects, but found little of lasting impact in available sources, so we left it out rather than guess.
For a family weighing Neale, the core academic signal is positive: proficiency strengthens meaningfully from third to fifth grade in both math and reading, with fifth grade math a particular bright spot. The school is a conventional public elementary in a quiet suburban setting along the river, with housing costs that compare favorably to most of the country. The main gaps in the public data concern the economic and special-population composition of the student body, and those are worth raising with the school directly.
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