Summary:
The city of Blacksville, West Virginia is home to two schools - Clay-Battelle High School and Mason Dixon Elementary. While Clay-Battelle High School is a relatively high-performing school in the state, ranking 67 out of 112 West Virginia high schools, Mason Dixon Elementary is among the lowest-performing elementary schools, ranking 306 out of 368.
Monongalia County Schools district, which oversees both schools, has a stark contrast in academic performance between the two institutions. Clay-Battelle High School excels in English Language Arts, with 52.6% of 11th graders proficient or better, compared to the state average of 50.8%. However, both schools lag behind the county and state averages in mathematics, with Clay-Battelle High School's 11th-grade proficiency rate increasing from 30.1% in 2022-2023 to 38.8% in 2023-2024, and Mason Dixon Elementary's 3rd-grade proficiency rate at just 39.1%, compared to 65.1% for the county and 53.2% for the state.
Interestingly, both schools have very homogeneous student populations, with over 98% of students identifying as White. This lack of diversity may be a contributing factor to the schools' performance, as research has shown that diverse learning environments can benefit student outcomes. Additionally, the absence of free/reduced lunch data makes it difficult to assess the socioeconomic status of the student populations, which could also play a role in the stark differences in academic performance between the two schools.
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