Enrollment
278
Middle
DISTRICT 214 · STATE 750
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LEE COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS·NCES 510219000900
Pennington Middle
121 Bobcat Circle, Pennington Gap, VA 24277 · (276) 546-1453 · Lee County
GRADES 05–07MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL278 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 57% of Virginia public middle schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Virginia public middle schools
Student : Teacher
9.1:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.1:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
100%
277 students
DISTRICT 92% · STATE 66%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 85 | 31% |
| Grade 6 | 96 | 35% |
| Grade 7 | 97 | 35% |
Student demographics
6%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 71% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
SOL 2024-25 . % PassingEnglish Language Arts
73.0%
VA avg 74.2% . +8.0pp since 2022
Math
76.0%
VA avg 72.7% . -1.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the SOL, Virginia's statewide test, about 73 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 76 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Virginia schools, those numbers are about 74 and 73. Reading and writing scores are up about 8 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 1 points.
SOL results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 73.0% | 76.0% |
| 2023-24 | 66.0% | 77.0% |
| 2022-23 | 65.0% | 77.0% |
% Passing, all students and all tested grades.
Source: SOL. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
68.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.0%
based on VA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 69% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% typical for Virginia schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Virginia's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Pennington Middle
Pennington Middle's state test result (68.5% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennington Middle this school | 278 | 99.6% | 68.5% |
| Jonesville Middle Jonesville | 231 | 100.0% | 72.9% |
| Luray Middle Luray | 315 | 98.4% | 74.5% |
| Coeburn Middle Coeburn | 304 | 92.8% | 81.5% |
| Lebanon Middle Lebanon | 301 | 92.4% | 67.9% |
| Marion Middle Marion | 401 | 100.0% | 63.8% |
Matched among Virginia middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Pennington Middle ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Virginia |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 68.5% | #182 of 337 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 76.0% | #113 of 342 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 73.0% | #171 of 342 ▲ 42 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 278 | #319 of 343 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.1:1 | #10 of 327 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 6.3% | #330 of 333 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.6% | #26 of 340 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -22.1% | #26 of 224 |
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
278
-30 (-10%) vs 2020
-55% since 1990-91, when it was 621
Student : Teacher
9.1:1
was 11.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 278 | 30.5 | 9.1:1 | 100% (277) |
| 2023-24 | 287 | 29.8 | 9.7:1 | 100% (287) |
| 2022-23 | 274 | 28.8 | 9.5:1 | 100% (274) |
| 2020-21 | 308 | 27 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 357 | 28.2 | 12.6:1 | 92% (327) |
| 2015-16 | 363 | 24 | 15.1:1 | 66% (241) |
| 2010-11 | 327 | 18 | 18.2:1 | 62% (202) |
| 2000-01 | 484 | 41 | 11.8:1 | 60% (289) |
| 1990-91 | 621 | 41 | 15.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Pennington Middle.
Since 2017-18: students down 22% (357 to 278); teachers up 8% (28.2 to 30.5).
About Pennington Middle
Pennington Middle is a middle school in Pennington Gap, Virginia, according to federal school records. It reported 278 students in grades 5 through 7 in 2024-25. By comparison, middle schools in Virginia enroll about 750 students on average.
Enrollment across the 10 schools in Lee County Public Schools totals 2,966 students.
Pennington Middle is 97% White by enrollment. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Pennington Middle scores 6%.
With 30.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 9.1:1. Middle schools in Virginia have an average ratio of 13.1:1. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Pennington Middle, 100% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
Pennington Middle earns a B on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 57% of Virginia public middle schools.
A school with Pennington Middle's lunch-eligibility share in Virginia is predicted to score 61.0%. Pennington Middle scores 68.5%, 7.5 points above that line.
The county, Lee County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $41,827 a year, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 14%, and about 23% of people live in poverty. Counting Pennington Middle, Lee County has 11 public schools.
Elk Knob Elementary is about 2.6 miles from Pennington Middle, the shortest distance to any other public school. The five-mile area around Pennington Middle holds 4 other public schools. Among 9 nearby schools that report test results, Pennington Middle ranks 5th on proficiency.
Under the NCES locale system, Pennington Middle is Rural: Distant.
The school shrank from 308 students in 2020-21 to 278 in 2024-25. Federal data show the ratio falling from 11.4:1 to 9.1:1.
You can use this page to share news and ask questions about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. You can also rate the school on this page.
Lee County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
21,900
Census ACS
Median income
$41,827
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
14%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
23%
Below federal line
Schools in county
11
2,966 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lee County Public Schools
- Lee HighHigh · 803 students
- Flatwoods ElementaryElementary · 336 students
- Elk Knob ElementaryElementary · 291 students
- Thomas Walker HighHigh · 291 students
- Rose Hill ElementaryElementary · 256 students
- Dryden ElementaryElementary · 237 students
Nearby schools
- Elk Knob Elementary2.6 mi · 291
- St. Charles Elementary3.6 mi · 110
- Dryden Elementary4.3 mi · 237
- Lee High4.6 mi · 803
- Jonesville Middle8.1 mi · 231
- Black Mountain Elementary School10.7 mi · 248
Frequently asked questions
About Pennington MiddleWhat is the total enrollment at Pennington Middle?
Pennington Middle enrolls approximately 278 students in grades 05-07.
What grades does Pennington Middle serve?
Pennington Middle serves grades 05-07.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Pennington Middle?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Pennington Middle is approximately 9.1:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Pennington Middle?
At Pennington Middle, the student body is approximately 97% White, 1% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Two or more.
What district is Pennington Middle in?
Pennington Middle is part of Lee County Public Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.