Baileysville Elementary & Middle School, Brenton WV

Original Research by School Decision on Baileysville Elementary & Middle School

Baileysville Elementary and Middle School sits along R. D. Bailey Highway in Brenton, West Virginia, serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade as a regular public school within Wyoming County Schools. Brenton is an unincorporated census-designated place in southern West Virginia's coal country, with no local government of its own and almost no commercial presence. The nearest civic center is Pineville, the county seat, a short drive away. The area is overwhelmingly residential and rural, with scattered housing across a low-density landscape rather than any traditional walkable streetscape. Population has been declining for years, and projections show that trend continuing through the end of the decade. No major housing developments or commercial growth projects have been publicly reported.

The housing market here is among the most affordable you will find anywhere in the country. Typical home values sit far below the statewide and national benchmarks, and the price-to-income ratio runs well below the national level, meaning a household earning a median income can carry a mortgage on a typical home without the strain common in most markets. Rental data was not available, so renters would need to look elsewhere for pricing. Home values have dipped slightly over the past year, consistent with the broader population decline rather than any visible market distress signal. For a family looking to buy, the cost barrier is very low.

The school enrolls a small student body spread across all grade levels from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The student population is almost entirely white, with only a handful of students identifying as Black, Hispanic, or multiracial. Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, individualized education programs, and English learner status was not available, so it is hard to assess the full economic and support profile of the student body from the provided information.

State assessment results from the current school year paint a clear and mixed picture. In English language arts, proficiency is moderate and holds relatively steady from third through eighth grade, with the strongest showing in fourth grade and consistent results through the middle grades. A family looking at reading and writing would find a reasonably stable academic pathway across the grade span.

Mathematics tells a different story. Third and fourth grade proficiency is moderate, with fourth grade standing out as the strongest. From fifth grade onward, math proficiency drops sharply, and the middle grades show very low proficiency, with sixth grade being the weakest by a wide margin. Science, tested only in fifth and eighth grade, runs low as well. Participation was full across every grade and subject, so the results reflect the student body rather than a testing gap. The decline from elementary to middle grade math is the kind of pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school, especially as a child approaches sixth grade and beyond.

No trend data across multiple years was available beyond the current school year, so it is not clear whether these results represent a one-year dip or a longer pattern. The district brief turned up no recently reported strategic priorities or changes that would help contextualize these numbers.

The setting itself is quiet and isolated. Brenton has no downtown, no identified parks or libraries, and no public transit. Civic infrastructure and amenities are concentrated in nearby incorporated towns. For a family comfortable with rural life and willing to travel for services and activities, this is a place where the school functions as a primary community anchor. The academic question that matters most here is the middle-grade math gap, and that is where a visit or a conversation with school staff would be most informative.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 36% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 42% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 26% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 25% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 32% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 31% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 37% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 46% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 40% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 40% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 41% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 843%

School 43% · District 42% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 21% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 19% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median

This schoolWYOMING COUNTY SCHOOLS, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.