South Preston School

Summary:

South Preston School is an elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the small town of Tunnelton, West Virginia, with a student population of 342. The school is part of the Preston County Schools district, which is ranked 34 out of 55 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite being part of the Preston County district, Terra Alta/East Preston School and Fellowsville Elementary both outperform South Preston School in academic measures and have higher statewide rankings. South Preston School consistently underperforms compared to the district and state in standardized test scores, with proficiency rates ranging from just 6.1% in 6th grade math to 48.2% in 3rd grade math. The school's statewide ranking has declined over the years, from 222 out of 380 elementary schools in 2020-2021 to 322 out of 368 in 2023-2024, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

South Preston School's student population is overwhelmingly White, with less than 2% of students identifying as non-White. The school has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, reaching 53.91% in the 2020-2021 school year, suggesting a relatively high proportion of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds. While the school's spending per student and student-teacher ratio are not outliers, its consistently low test scores and declining rankings suggest the need for a closer examination of the school's instructional practices, resource allocation, and strategies for supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds.


Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

 5258 S Preston Hwy
       Tunnelton, WV  26444-7538


(304) 568-2331

District: Preston County Schools

SchoolDigger Rank:
322nd of 368 West Virginia Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures:  $11,354 Help


Students who attend South Preston School usually attend:

High:    Preston High School

Student/teacher ratio:  14.2 Help
Number of students:  342

Racial breakdown:

White:
98.8%
Two or more races:
0.9%
Hispanic:
0.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients:  53.9% Help


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Performance Trends
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Compare Details South Preston School ranks worse than 87.5% of elementary schools in West Virginia. It also ranks last among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Preston County Schools District. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.03. (See more...)
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Compare Details South Preston School ranks worse than 80.5% of middle schools in West Virginia. (See more...)
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Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.53. (See more...)
Student Body
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Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (98.8%), two or more races (0.9%), Hispanic (0.3%). (See more...)
Teachers
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Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at South Preston School is 14.2. 4 elementary schools in the Preston County Schools District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)
Help
Compare South Preston School employs 24 full-time teachers.
Finance
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Compare Details The average total spent per student at South Preston School is $11,354, which is the 4th highest among 7 elementary schools in the Preston County Schools District.
Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

South Preston School:

SchoolDigger ranks South Preston School 322nd of 368 West Virginia public elementary schools. (See South Preston School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Special Education students:
Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:

SchoolDigger ranks South Preston School 136th of 169 West Virginia public middle schools. (See South Preston School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:


Low Socio Economic Status students:
Female students:
Male students:
White students:


Preston County Schools:

SchoolDigger ranks Preston County Schools 34th of 55 West Virginia school districts. (See district ranking list.)


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Rank History for South Preston School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 23.01 335th 383 12.5%
2021 41.12 222nd 380 41.6%
2022 38.77 236th 375 37.1%
2023 17.83 333rd 368 9.5%
2024 21.03 322nd 368 12.5%
See the entire list of West Virginia Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Special Education students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 43.49 203rd 377 46.2%
2018 28.73 219th 258 15.1%
2023 25.36 163rd 180 9.4%
2024 46.75 91st 183 50.3%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 22.78 350th 382 8.4%
2018 20.26 349th 368 5.2%
2021 23.17 306th 335 8.7%
2022 38.20 232nd 347 33.1%
2023 26.71 283rd 333 15.0%
2024 29.34 272nd 336 19.0%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 20.96 354th 381 7.1%
2018 17.30 352nd 366 3.8%
2019 30.75 257th 339 24.2%
2021 50.04 141st 322 56.2%
2022 45.72 174th 325 46.5%
2023 24.71 271st 317 14.5%
2024 21.55 281st 316 11.1%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 27.06 325th 382 14.9%
2018 29.78 294th 364 19.2%
2019 29.91 261st 338 22.8%
2021 32.56 241st 333 27.6%
2022 30.83 251st 330 23.9%
2023 15.73 302nd 322 6.2%
2024 18.72 297th 325 8.6%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school White students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Elementary Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 18.06 358th 382 6.3%
2018 19.81 350th 374 6.4%
2019 22.26 328th 373 12.1%
2021 39.84 229th 376 39.1%
2022 38.45 234th 373 37.3%
2023 16.33 338th 366 7.7%
2024 20.41 325th 367 11.4%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: West Virginia Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for South Preston School

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Rank History for all middle school students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2019 18.25 156th 171 8.8%
2021 25.74 139th 171 18.7%
2022 44.10 96th 169 43.2%
2023 35.85 115th 168 31.5%
2024 25.53 136th 169 19.5%
See the entire list of West Virginia Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Special Education students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 39.04 113th 174 35.1%
2018 45.44 72nd 142 49.3%
2019 16.90 128th 130 1.5%
2023 28.16 116th 132 12.1%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 27.19 149th 176 15.3%
2018 22.77 151st 165 8.5%
2021 23.86 148th 164 9.8%
2022 52.92 70th 162 56.8%
2023 48.79 70th 162 56.8%
2024 23.83 146th 164 11.0%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 32.70 134th 174 23.0%
2018 38.00 114th 166 31.3%
2019 27.35 137th 162 15.4%
2021 25.74 138th 162 14.8%
2022 56.84 60th 164 63.4%
2023 46.08 85th 158 46.2%
2024 32.19 112th 158 29.1%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Disabled students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2021 17.92 125th 129 3.1%
2022 28.34 112th 131 14.5%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 20.12 162nd 176 8.0%
2018 8.87 161st 164 1.8%
2019 16.28 150th 161 6.8%
2021 30.95 122nd 164 25.6%
2022 32.74 112th 161 30.4%
2023 24.12 136th 158 13.9%
2024 23.01 144th 165 12.7%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school White students at South Preston School

Year Avg Standard Score Statewide Rank Total # Ranked Middle Schools WV State Percentile SchoolDigger Rating
2017 20.62 158th 176 10.2%
2018 16.27 153rd 167 8.4%
2019 17.24 157th 168 6.5%
2021 24.59 139th 170 18.2%
2022 42.60 95th 168 43.5%
2023 34.82 116th 168 31.0%
2024 24.71 137th 169 18.9%
See the entire list of Best West Virginia Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: West Virginia Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

South Preston School Test Scores
Tests: 
  
Grades: 
  
Years: 
  
Group by: 
District Scores:
State Scores:    
  
Subgroup: 








Data source: West Virginia Department of Education

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Enrollment information for South Preston School

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Year White African American Asian Hispanic American Indian Pacific Islander Two or More Races Not Specified Total
2017 372 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 376
2018 386 2 0 0 0 0 3 0 391
2019 381 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 385
2020 365 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 369
2021 368 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 371
2022 351 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 355
2023 338 0 0 1 0 0 3 0 342

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at South Preston School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2017 376 27.8 13.5 46
2018 391 23.0 17.0 56
2019 385 24.0 16.0 54
2020 369 24.5 15.0 56.4
2021 371 24.5 15.1 53.9
2022 355 28.0 12.6 n/a
2023 342 24.0 14.2 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio South Preston School

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Compare
Year # Students Full-time Teachers Student/Teacher ratio % Free/Discounted Lunch
2017 376 27.8 13.5 46
2018 391 23.0 17.0 56
2019 385 24.0 16.0 54
2020 369 24.5 15.0 56.4
2021 371 24.5 15.1 53.9
2022 355 28.0 12.6 n/a
2023 342 24.0 14.2 n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.
Finances

Per Pupil Expenditures for South Preston School

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YearExpenditures from Federal FundsExpenditures from State and Local FundsTotal Expenditures Per Pupil (All Funds)
2019 $2,050 (18.1%) $9,304 (81.9%) $11,354

Data source: West Virginia Department of Education
Pre and Post Pandemic Data

Impact of COVID-19 on South Preston School

The coronavirus has had a profound impact on education in America. Learning shifted online overnight, attendance numbers dwindled, and enrollment decreased. SchoolDigger.com is making it easier for you to better assess how COVID-19 has impacted your school. Through the collection of pre-pandemic (2019) and current data, SchoolDigger.com is sharing test scores, enrollment numbers and school demographics from schools across the country – and we make it easy to see how impacted schools compare locally and statewide.

Rankings

Rank
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Rank
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Ranks 335th of 383 Elementary schoolsRanks 333rd of 368 Elementary schools
 3%
Ranks 156th of 171 Middle schoolsRanks 115th of 168 Middle schools
 22.8%

Test Scores

% proficient
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
% proficient
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
3rd Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)43.527
 16.5%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)46.350.4
 4.1%
   3rd Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)50.951.6
 0.7%
3rd Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)43.521.6
 21.9%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)3436.8
 2.8%
   3rd Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)4439.9
 4.1%
4th Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)34.626.5
 8.1%
   4th Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)3938.7
 0.3%
   4th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)47.345.7
 1.6%
4th Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)42.329.4
 12.9%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)42.738.3
 4.4%
   4th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)48.844.2
 4.5%
5th Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)33.324.3
 9%
   5th Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)33.137
 3.9%
   5th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)4038.1
 1.9%
5th Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)26.743.2
 16.5%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)40.840.9
 0.1%
   5th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)47.244.3
 2.9%
5th Grade Science (South Preston School)2024.3
 4.3%
   5th Grade Science (Preston County Schools)3430.9
 3.1%
   5th Grade Science (West Virginia)35.430.8
 4.6%
6th Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)10.96.8
 4.1%
   6th Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)21.423.7
 2.3%
   6th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)34.430.2
 4.2%
6th Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)30.925
 5.9%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)36.339.1
 2.8%
   6th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)45.345.4
 0.1%
7th Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)21.434.4
 13%
   7th Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)28.432.4
 4%
   7th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)36.830.7
 6%
7th Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)26.243.8
 17.6%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)36.340.6
 4.3%
   7th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)42.638.8
 3.8%
8th Grade Mathematics (South Preston School)18.623.1
 4.5%
   8th Grade Mathematics (Preston County Schools)25.229.4
 4.2%
   8th Grade Mathematics (West Virginia)36.628.2
 8.4%
8th Grade English Language Arts (South Preston School)32.646.2
 13.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (Preston County Schools)39.247.8
 8.6%
   8th Grade English Language Arts (West Virginia)43.942.7
 1.2%
8th Grade Science (South Preston School)32.612.8
 19.8%
   8th Grade Science (Preston County Schools)30.121.6
 8.5%
   8th Grade Science (West Virginia)33.127
 6.1%

Student Body

Number of students
Pre-pandemic (2018-2019)
Number of students
Post pandemic (2022-2023)
Change (%)
Total Students385342
 11.2%
African American00
American Indian00
Asian00
Hispanic01
Pacific Islander00
White381338
 11.3%
Two or More Races43
 25%


Schools Near South Preston School









Frequently Asked Questions about South Preston School

Students at South Preston School are 99% White.

South Preston School ranks in the bottom 12.5% of West Virginia elementary schools.

Students who attend South Preston School usually go on to attend:

High : Preston High School

In the 2022-23 school year, 342 students attended South Preston School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the West Virginia Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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