https://zoomwv.k12.wv.us/Dashboard/dashboard/7301
https://g.co/gemini/share/35a117036924
create a table of student performance test results for the year 2024. Include all 55 counties and the average of all counties in west virginia
An Analysis of West Virginia Student Performance in 2024: Statewide Trends, County-Level Disparities, and Strategic Imperatives
Executive Summary
This report provides an exhaustive analysis of student academic performance in West Virginia for the 2023-2024 school year, synthesizing data from state assessments, national benchmarks, and accountability reports. The findings reveal a complex educational landscape characterized by modest statewide gains, persistent challenges in key areas, and significant disparities in outcomes across the state's 55 county-level school districts.
Statewide, West Virginia saw a slight but encouraging one-percentage-point increase in proficiency rates for both English Language Arts (ELA), which rose to 45%, and Mathematics, which reached 36%.1 Science proficiency, however, remained static at 29%.1 While this progress signals a continued recovery toward pre-pandemic achievement levels, it is tempered by national benchmarks that show the state lagging significantly behind the U.S. average, particularly in mathematics.3
Beneath these statewide averages lies a stark reality of variation among districts. While a comprehensive dataset of proficiency percentages for every county is not publicly available, the state's accountability system offers a clear proxy for performance. In 2024, a concerning 41 of 55 counties were placed "On Watch" for failing to meet standards on at least one performance indicator. Seven counties required "Intensive Support" for chronic underperformance in mathematics, indicating a critical need for intervention.4 This contrasts sharply with high-performing districts like Putnam County, which ranked first in the state in both ELA and math for the third consecutive year, demonstrating that excellence is achievable within the West Virginia system.5 Other bright spots include Marshall, Ohio, and Raleigh counties, which have surpassed their pre-pandemic achievement levels in math.6
Two critical drivers emerge from this analysis as central to the state's educational future. First, chronic absenteeism remains a pervasive impediment to academic progress. With a statewide rate of 23.5%, nearly one in four students missed 10% or more of the school year, a factor that directly correlates with lower achievement scores.8 Second, the impact of targeted policy and leadership is undeniable. The "Third Grade Success Act" is credited with a significant 6% gain in third-grade ELA proficiency, showcasing the effectiveness of focused, evidence-based interventions.2 Conversely, the state of emergency declared in Pocahontas County, stemming from fundamental breakdowns in district operations and leadership, illustrates how managerial competence is a prerequisite for student learning.6
This report aims to provide a data-rich foundation for strategic planning, resource allocation, and policy development. The analysis moves from the architecture of the state's accountability system to a detailed review of statewide and county-level data, an examination of key influencing factors, and finally, a set of actionable recommendations. The central conclusion is that accelerating student achievement across West Virginia will require a dual focus: a relentless, system-wide effort to combat chronic absenteeism and a differentiated strategy of support and intervention tailored to the vastly different needs and capacities of the state's 55 county school districts.
Section 1: The Architecture of Accountability in West Virginia Education
1.1 Introduction to the West Virginia Accountability System (WVAS)
To accurately interpret student performance data in West Virginia, one must first understand the framework through which it is measured and reported: the West Virginia Accountability System (WVAS). This system is not merely a data repository; it is a comprehensive structure designed to meet the requirements of federal and state law, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA).10 Its primary purpose is to provide a clear and multifaceted view of student, school, and district performance to all stakeholders, from families to state policymakers. The ultimate goal is to use this information to shape decisions and drive a cycle of continuous improvement across the state's public education system.12
The WVAS is profoundly dependent on the availability, validity, and reliability of multiple sources of information.13 The principal data sources are the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS), into which local school districts submit and certify data, and the state's assessment results, which are processed and made public through ZoomWV, West Virginia's central hub for P-12 educational data.12 This infrastructure underpins the entire accountability process, from calculating individual student progress to determining county-level performance designations.
1.2 Components of Statewide Summative Assessment
The core academic data for the WVAS is derived from a suite of annual summative assessments administered across various grade levels. These tests provide the raw data for calculating key indicators like academic achievement and progress.13
West Virginia General Summative Assessment (WVGSA)
The WVGSA is the primary assessment for students in grades 3 through 8. It measures proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA), which includes both reading and writing components, and mathematics. Additionally, students in grades 5 and 8 are assessed in science.14 The WVGSA is an untimed test, with each content area session taking approximately two hours to complete.15
The assessment is administered each spring within a statewide window established by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE). Individual districts then set their own specific testing schedules within that window.15 Results are disseminated through multiple channels and on a rolling basis. Educators and administrators can access district and school-level data shortly after test completion through the Cambium Reporting System. For parents and families, detailed individual student reports, including Lexile and Quantile measures for reading and math, are made available through a secure online Family Portal.5 Beginning in 2024, the WVDE also provides individualized video score reports to help families better understand their child's performance.5
SAT School Day
For students in grade 11, the SAT School Day serves as the general summative assessment for ELA and mathematics.13 This aligns the state's high school accountability measure with a nationally recognized college entrance exam. A significant change occurred in the spring of 2024, as West Virginia transitioned from the traditional fixed-form, paper-and-pencil SAT to the new staged-adaptive digital version of the test. This shift not only modernized the assessment but also shortened the overall testing time for students.1 Student scores are typically available through their personal College Board accounts approximately three weeks after the test administration.15
West Virginia Alternate Summative Assessment (WVASA)
The WVASA, also known as the Dynamic Learning Maps (DLM) assessment, is administered to students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who receive instruction based on the West Virginia Alternate Academic Achievement Standards.14 It serves as the alternative to the WVGSA for students in grades 3-8 and the SAT School Day for students in grade 11. Like the WVGSA, it is administered in the spring, and individual student reports are provided to families in August of each year.15
1.3 The West Virginia Balanced Scorecard: Interpreting Performance
The data from these assessments, combined with other key metrics, are presented publicly through the West Virginia Balanced Scorecard. This tool is central to the WVAS, designed to provide a more holistic view of school and district quality beyond just test scores.8
Performance Indicators
The Balanced Scorecard evaluates performance across a range of indicators, reflecting a multi-dimensional definition of school success 25:
Academic Achievement: Measures student proficiency on the annual statewide assessments (WVGSA and SAT School Day) in ELA and math.13
Academic Progress: Measures student growth on these assessments between two consecutive years for grades 4-8, providing insight into how much students are improving year-over-year.25
Graduation Rate: Considers the percentage of high school students who graduate within four and five years.25
English Learner Progress: Measures how well students learning English are progressing toward language proficiency.25
Student Success: A composite indicator that includes non-academic factors. For elementary and middle schools, it considers attendance rates and out-of-school suspension rates. At the high school level, it includes attendance, credits earned by 10th graders, and post-secondary readiness measures like completion of Career Technical Education (CTE) programs or earning college credit.25
The inclusion of indicators for academic progress and student success alongside pure achievement is a deliberate structural choice. It establishes a framework where a school's performance is not judged solely on the absolute scores of its students, which can be heavily correlated with socioeconomic factors outside the school's control. By also measuring growth, the system recognizes schools that are effectively accelerating learning for all students, regardless of their starting point. Furthermore, by elevating attendance and discipline to the level of a key performance indicator, the state formally acknowledges that a safe and consistently attended learning environment is a non-negotiable prerequisite for academic achievement. This nuanced structure demands a more sophisticated interpretation of performance; a county's strengths and weaknesses can only be understood by examining the pattern across all its indicators, not by focusing on a single number.
Performance Level Classifications
For each indicator on the Balanced Scorecard, schools and counties receive one of four color-coded performance level classifications. These classifications are determined by comparing a school's performance against state-established standards.13
Exceeds Standard (Green): Indicates distinctive performance that is significantly above the expected level set by the state.
Meets Standard (Blue): Indicates that performance is within the expected range set by the state.
Partially Meets Standard (Yellow): Indicates that performance is approaching, but still below, the expected range.
Does Not Meet Standard (Red): Indicates that performance is unacceptably below the state's expected level.
County-Level Accountability Designations
When a county's overall performance on a specific indicator falls into the "Does Not Meet Standard" category, it triggers a formal accountability designation from the WVDE. These designations are based on the duration and severity of the underperformance and are outlined in WVBE Policy 2322.27
On Watch: A county is designated as "On Watch" for an indicator if it receives a "Does Not Meet Standard" rating for a single year. This serves as an initial warning and requires the county to diagnose the issue and address it in its strategic plan.28
Support: If a county-level indicator "Does Not Meet Standard" and shows no improvement for two consecutive years, the designation is elevated to "Support." This triggers more direct involvement from the WVDE, which provides technical assistance and monitors the county's progress on a corrective action plan.28
Intensive Support: If a county-level indicator "Does Not Meet Standard" for three consecutive years, it is placed under "Intensive Support." This signifies a chronic and deeply entrenched problem that requires the most significant level of state intervention.27
This tiered system of accountability creates a methodical, time-delayed intervention model. A county can underperform for a full academic year before being formally placed "On Watch," and for two full years before mandatory state "Support" is triggered. This structure is likely intended to be supportive rather than punitive, giving districts ample time to self-correct after a single year of poor results. However, this built-in lag carries a significant potential risk. For districts with systemic, deep-seated problems, the one-to-two-year delay before intensive intervention begins can represent a critical loss of instructional time for thousands of students. Problems that might have been addressed more easily in year one can become more complex and difficult to resolve by year three, potentially increasing the ultimate cost and effort required for a successful turnaround.
Section 2: A Statewide Panorama of Student Achievement in 2024
2.1 Analysis of 2024 Statewide Proficiency Rates
The 2024 statewide summative assessment results, which combine performance on the WVGSA and the SAT School Day, show a pattern of modest but positive growth in core subjects, signaling a continued, albeit slow, recovery from the academic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The data, presented to the West Virginia Board of Education in August and September 2024, reflects the performance of students enrolled for a full academic year.1
Key statewide proficiency rates for the 2023-2024 school year are as follows:
English Language Arts (ELA): The statewide proficiency rate increased by one percentage point, from 44% in the 2022-2023 school year to 45% in 2023-2024.1
Mathematics: The proficiency rate in mathematics also saw a one-percentage-point gain, rising from 35% in 2022-2023 to 36% in 2023-2024.1
Science: Science proficiency remained static, with 29% of students meeting the standard, the same rate as the previous year.1
The WVDE has noted that these results indicate student proficiency is approaching pre-pandemic levels, with more than 95% of eligible students in grades 3-8 and 11 participating in the assessments.1 The most significant gains were observed among early learners, particularly in third-grade reading, a success attributed to new legislative initiatives.1 While the overall trend is positive, the slow pace of improvement and the stagnation in science highlight the considerable work that remains to accelerate student learning across the state.
2.2 National Benchmarking: West Virginia in Context
While internal, year-over-year trends provide one measure of progress, a complete picture requires benchmarking against national performance. The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called "The Nation's Report Card," offers a standardized measure to compare student achievement across states. The 2024 NAEP results reveal a significant performance gap between West Virginia and the rest of the country, particularly in mathematics.
According to the 2024 NAEP State Snapshot Report for Grade 8 Mathematics 3:
The average score for eighth-grade students in West Virginia was 261. This was significantly lower than the average score of 272 for public school students across the nation.
Only 18% of West Virginia's eighth graders performed at or above the NAEP Proficient level (which includes 14% at Proficient and 3% at Advanced). This is substantially lower than the national figure, where 27% of students scored at or above proficient (19% Proficient, 8% Advanced).
Conversely, 52% of West Virginia eighth graders scored below the NAEP Basic level, indicating they have not mastered fundamental skills for their grade level. This is notably higher than the national rate of 41%.
The NAEP data also illuminates persistent equity challenges within the state. In 2024, West Virginia students identified as economically disadvantaged had an average math score that was 21 points lower than that of their non-disadvantaged peers. This performance gap has remained largely unchanged for over two decades.3
The juxtaposition of the state's internal assessment data with the national NAEP results creates a more complex narrative. The WVDE data shows slow but steady improvement, a positive story of internal progress. The NAEP data, however, provides a stark reminder that this progress is occurring from a baseline that is considerably lower than the national average. This suggests that while West Virginia's schools may be improving on their own terms, the state is not yet closing the achievement gap with the rest of the nation at a pace that would make it competitive. The implication is that simply returning to pre-pandemic performance levels may not be a sufficiently ambitious goal if those levels were already nationally non-competitive.
2.3 The Post-Pandemic Academic Recovery Trajectory
The final layer of statewide analysis comes from the Education Recovery Scorecard, a project from researchers at Harvard and Stanford Universities that tracks academic recovery following the pandemic. This data provides crucial context for both the state's internal results and its national standing.
The scorecard reveals that West Virginia's academic recovery has gained significant momentum in the most recent period. Between 2022 and 2024, the state ranked an impressive 6th in the nation for growth in math and 11th for growth in reading.6 This demonstrates that recent state and local efforts to accelerate learning have been among the most effective in the country.
However, this strong recent growth must be viewed in the context of the entire recovery period. When measured from 2019 to 2024, West Virginia's overall recovery ranks 22nd in math and a concerning 42nd in reading.7 The combination of these two data points—a low long-term recovery rank but a high short-term growth rank—paints a clear picture. It strongly suggests that the initial learning loss experienced in West Virginia between 2019 and 2022 was exceptionally severe, more so than in many other states. The state's recent top-tier growth has not yet been sufficient to erase that deep initial deficit.
As of spring 2024, the average West Virginia student's achievement remains the equivalent of 0.45 grade levels below 2019 levels in math and 0.74 grade levels below in reading.7 This highlights the profound and lasting impact of the pandemic on the state's students and underscores the need for a sustained, intensive recovery effort for years to come. The depth of the initial academic decline also points to underlying systemic vulnerabilities, such as potential challenges with remote learning infrastructure or the compounding effects of high poverty rates, which made the state's education system particularly susceptible to the disruptions of the pandemic. Future resilience planning must address these core vulnerabilities.
Section 3: County-by-County Performance Analysis
3.1 Introduction to County-Level Data and Limitations
Analyzing performance at the county level is essential for understanding the diverse educational landscape of West Virginia and for targeting resources and support effectively. However, it is crucial to acknowledge a significant limitation in the publicly available data for the 2023-2024 school year. The West Virginia Department of Education's primary public data portal, ZoomWV, which houses detailed assessment results, could not be accessed for this report as it requires a browser with JavaScript enabled.30 Consequently, a complete, official table of ELA and Math proficiency percentages for all 55 counties is not available from the provided documentation.10
To address the user's query as comprehensively as possible, this section presents a synthesized table of county-level performance based on all available accountability data. The primary metrics used are the official county-level accountability designations ("On Watch," "Support," "Intensive Support") for key Balanced Scorecard indicators, as these are direct proxies for performance. A county is only placed on these lists if its performance on an indicator "Does Not Meet Standard".28 This table consolidates fragmented information from multiple WVDE reports and news releases into a single, comparative view, allowing for an analysis of relative performance using the state's own evaluative framework.
3.2 Table 3.1: 2024 West Virginia County Accountability and Performance Summary
The following table summarizes the available 2024 accountability statuses for West Virginia's 55 county school districts on the key Balanced Scorecard indicators of ELA Achievement, Math Achievement, and Attendance. The "Notes" column includes additional qualitative information on performance where available. Statuses are based on reports from the 2023-2024 school year and reflect data reviewed in late 2023 and 2024.
Note: The county status data is primarily from a WVDE report reflecting the 2023 accountability cycle reviewed for the 2023-2024 school year.28 Some counties may have shown improvement in the most recent 2024 assessments that is not yet reflected in a formal change of status. "Met Requirements" is inferred for counties not appearing on any "On Watch" or "Support" lists for a given indicator in the source documents. Many counties lack specific data due to the limitations of the available reports.
3.3 Analysis of County Performance Tiers
The data, though incomplete, reveals distinct tiers of performance across West Virginia, highlighting a pattern of systemic challenges and concentrated success.
High-Performing Counties
A small number of counties consistently demonstrate high levels of academic achievement. Putnam County stands out as the state's premier district, ranking #1 in both ELA and Math for the third consecutive year.5 This sustained excellence suggests the presence of effective, deeply embedded educational practices. Putnam is also one of four counties—along with
Marshall, Ohio, and Raleigh—identified by the Education Recovery Scorecard as having surpassed its pre-pandemic achievement levels in mathematics, a significant accomplishment given the statewide deficit.6 These districts serve as crucial "bright spots," proving that high achievement and robust academic recovery are possible within the state's context.
Counties Showing Improvement
There is evidence of widespread, if modest, improvement across the state. According to the WVDE's summary of the 2024 results, 46 of 55 districts made gains in ELA proficiency, and 36 districts improved in mathematics.8 This broad base of improvement is encouraging and aligns with the statewide one-percentage-point increase in both subjects. It indicates that many districts are successfully implementing strategies that are moving the needle on student learning, even if they have not yet reached the "Meets Standard" benchmark in all areas.
Counties "On Watch"
The largest group of counties falls into the "On Watch" category, signaling a widespread prevalence of moderate challenges. In the most recent accountability cycle, 41 counties were designated as "On Watch" for failing to meet the standard on one or more indicators, a slight improvement from 49 the previous year.4 Specifically for academic achievement,
11 counties are on watch for ELA and 17 are on watch for math.4 This large number indicates that a majority of the state's districts are grappling with at least one significant area of underperformance that requires focused attention and strategic planning to avoid escalating to a more severe accountability status.
Counties Requiring "Support" and "Intensive Support"
This tier represents the most acute areas of need in the state. The "Support" designation is applied after two consecutive years of underperformance, while "Intensive Support" is reserved for three or more years of failing to meet the standard. In 2024, seven counties were designated as needing "Intensive Support" for math achievement, a clear sign of chronic, systemic failure in mathematics instruction and outcomes in those districts.4 Additionally,
McDowell County was formally designated as needing "Support" for Math Achievement, placing it on the precipice of the most severe category.32 These districts face deep, multi-year challenges that are unlikely to be resolved without significant, sustained, and targeted intervention from the WVDE.
The clear clustering of counties into these performance tiers is significant. It demonstrates that the challenges facing the state's education system are not random or isolated. The existence of a consistent high-performer like Putnam proves that structural barriers within West Virginia are not insurmountable. However, the large number of districts on watch and the small but critical group requiring intensive support suggest that the root causes of underperformance are systemic within certain districts or regions. This reality necessitates a differentiated approach to state policy and intervention, as a one-size-fits-all strategy will fail to meet the unique needs of districts across these vastly different performance tiers.
Section 4: Critical Drivers of Educational Outcomes
The variations in student performance across West Virginia are not arbitrary; they are driven by a complex interplay of student circumstances, school-level practices, and state-level policies. Analysis of the 2024 data points to three particularly powerful drivers shaping educational outcomes: the pervasive crisis of chronic absenteeism, the targeted impact of a new early literacy law, and a growing challenge in secondary mathematics.
4.1 The Overarching Impact of Chronic Absenteeism
Among all the factors influencing student achievement, chronic absenteeism emerges as the most significant and widespread impediment to progress in West Virginia. The WVDE defines chronic absenteeism as a student missing 10% or more of enrolled school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.8 For the 2023-2024 school year, the statewide chronic absenteeism rate was
23.5%.8 While this represents a notable improvement from the 27.6% rate in the 2022-2023 school year, it remains critically high, signifying that nearly one in every four students in the state is not attending school regularly enough to benefit fully from instruction.
The link between attendance and achievement is direct and officially acknowledged by the WVDE, which states that "Data shows a decrease in the achievement scores of chronically absent students".8 The problem's scale makes it a systemic threat to academic goals. The Balanced Scorecard data reveals the depth of the issue at the county level:
22 counties are "On Watch" for attendance, and an additional 20 counties are designated for "Support," meaning they have failed to meet the attendance standard for at least two consecutive years.4 In total, 42 of the state's 55 districts are under some level of state monitoring for poor attendance.
The profound and widespread nature of this crisis represents a fundamental threat to the state's entire educational improvement strategy. The state is making significant investments in new curricula, instructional initiatives, and teacher development. However, the potential return on these investments is severely constrained by the reality that a large portion of the student population is not consistently present in the classroom. A student who is not in school cannot benefit from an improved math curriculum or a specialized reading intervention. This creates a direct conflict in resource efficacy. Chronic absenteeism should therefore not be viewed as a peripheral "student support" issue but as the primary enabling condition for academic success. Addressing it effectively is a prerequisite for realizing the full potential of any academic investment. Recognizing this, State Superintendent Michele L. Blatt has joined a national "50% Challenge" initiative, a collaborative effort to cut chronic absenteeism by 50% over five years.8
4.2 Policy in Action: The "Third Grade Success Act" and Early Literacy
In stark contrast to the persistent challenge of absenteeism, the 2024 results offer a powerful example of how targeted, well-designed policy can yield rapid and significant results. The most substantial academic gains in 2024 were seen in early grades, a success directly attributed to the implementation of House Bill 3035, also known as the "Third Grade Success Act".2
Passed by the state legislature in 2023, this law was a direct response to low reading and math scores in early grades. It mandates a renewed focus on fundamental skills and requires schools to provide individualized interventions for students who are not on track, utilizing teaching aides and paraprofessionals in grades one through three.2
The impact of this legislation was evident in the first year of its implementation. The 2024 assessment data revealed a 6% gain in third-grade ELA proficiency and a corresponding 7% decrease in the percentage of third graders performing at the lowest level ("Does Not Meet Standard").1 State Superintendent Blatt explicitly credited these gains to the interventions required by the new law, stating, "We're very optimistic that if we continue that trajectory and we stay the course on what we're currently doing, kind of with this back to the basics with our reading and math, that we'll be able to continue to see those gains".2 This outcome serves as a compelling case study in effective governance, demonstrating that when the state identifies a specific problem and applies a focused, evidence-based legislative solution, measurable improvement can be achieved quickly.
4.3 The Secondary Mathematics Challenge and "Unite with Numeracy"
While the "Third Grade Success Act" has created positive momentum in early grades, the 2024 data reveals a troubling and opposite trend in secondary mathematics. Proficiency in 11th-grade math, as measured by the SAT School Day, experienced a three-percentage point drop, falling from 21% in 2023 to just 18% in 2024.2 This decline is a major area of concern and points to systemic issues in high school math instruction and student readiness.
In response to this clear and urgent problem, the WVDE has announced the launch of a new statewide initiative called "Unite with Numeracy," set to begin in the fall of 2024.1 This initiative is designed to be a comprehensive effort to target math proficiency and success. It is being rolled out in conjunction with two other key changes: the implementation of newly revised state mathematics standards that went into effect on July 1, 2024, and a curriculum adoption year, during which all counties are selecting and implementing new instructional materials for math.1
The state's educational landscape thus presents a tale of two distinct strategic approaches. In early literacy, a proactive, targeted intervention has produced clear success. In secondary math, a reactive, broad-based initiative is being launched in response to a developing crisis. This divergence suggests that while the state's theory of action—intensive, fundamentals-focused intervention—can be highly effective, its application may be inconsistent across the K-12 spectrum. The challenge for the WVDE will be to translate the principles that made the "Third Grade Success Act" successful to the more complex environment of secondary education, addressing the deep-seated issues that have led to the decline in high school math achievement.
Section 5: Illuminating Case Studies: Profiles in Performance
Statewide averages and accountability lists provide a broad overview, but a deeper understanding of the forces shaping West Virginia's educational outcomes requires examining individual counties. The following case studies profile three districts that represent the distinct tiers of performance across the state: a model of consistent excellence, a system in profound crisis, and a district grappling with multiple, interconnected challenges.
5.1 A Model of Consistent Excellence: Putnam County
Putnam County Schools serves as West Virginia's primary exemplar of sustained academic success. For the third consecutive year, the district proudly announced that it was ranked #1 in the state in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Math based on the 2024 statewide summative assessment results.5 This consistent, top-tier performance distinguishes Putnam from every other district in the state.
This success is not limited to state-level comparisons. Putnam County is also a leader in post-pandemic academic recovery. It is one of only four districts in West Virginia identified by the Education Recovery Scorecard where student achievement in math has not only recovered to pre-pandemic levels but has actually surpassed the 2019 benchmarks.6 This indicates that the district has implemented exceptionally effective strategies to accelerate learning and overcome the disruptions of recent years.
While a deep forensic analysis of Putnam's specific pedagogical strategies is beyond the scope of this report, its public communications and practices offer clues to its success. The district demonstrates a strong commitment to data transparency and family engagement. Following the release of the 2024 scores, the district proactively communicated with families via email, providing unique access codes for the online Family Portal, links to individualized video score reports, and clear explanations of the available resources.5 This proactive approach ensures that parents are treated as key partners in their children's education. The district's consistent messaging, which proudly celebrates its academic achievements, likely fosters a culture of high expectations among staff, students, and the broader community. Putnam County's record provides an invaluable in-state model, demonstrating that high achievement is possible and offering a potential source of best practices for other districts to study and adapt.
5.2 A System in Crisis: The State of Emergency in Pocahontas County
At the opposite end of the performance spectrum from Putnam lies Pocahontas County, a district whose challenges became so severe that they prompted an extraordinary intervention from the state. In February 2024, the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) took the rare step of declaring a State of Emergency for Pocahontas County Schools.6 This action was taken after a Special Circumstance Review, requested by the county superintendent herself, identified profound and systemic deficiencies, particularly at Pocahontas County High School.6
The findings of the WVDE's review paint a picture of a system in a state of operational collapse, where the fundamental functions necessary for education had broken down 6:
Leadership and Staffing Failures: The high school lacked a certified school counselor, and consequently, there was no process in place to develop students' legally required Personal Education Plans (PEPs). The school principal lacked access to the state's core data system (WVEIS) and was unable to perform basic tasks like transcribing grades or releasing transcripts for graduates.
Academic and Instructional Breakdown: Student schedules were not prepared in advance of the 2024-25 school year. The review found evidence of intentional, inaccurate transcription of student transfer credits. There was no established Student Assistance Team (SAT) to support struggling learners, and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for students with disabilities were not tailored to individual needs, with evidence suggesting all such students were simply placed in the same math course.
Safety and Discipline Deficiencies: The review noted inconsistent implementation of disciplinary protocols and insufficient security measures, leading to an environment with inadequate safety supports.
The case of Pocahontas County is a stark illustration that academic failure is often a symptom of a deeper operational and leadership crisis. The issues identified were not primarily about curriculum or pedagogy but about the basic, non-negotiable functions of running a school and district.
5.3 A District Facing Headwinds: McDowell County
McDowell County represents a third, and perhaps more common, profile: a district grappling with multiple, compounding challenges across both academic and operational domains. The county's 2023 accountability report reveals a district facing significant headwinds on several fronts.32
Academically, McDowell County was designated as needing "Support" in both Math Achievement and Math Progress, indicating two consecutive years of underperformance in this critical subject. It was also placed "On Watch" for ELA Achievement and Attendance, signaling that these areas are also failing to meet state standards.32 This combination of low achievement, low growth in math, and high absenteeism creates a formidable barrier to academic improvement.
Compounding these student-level challenges, the district was also flagged for its operational effectiveness, receiving a "Needs Assistance" designation for Finance.32 This indicates a lack of efficient operation in ensuring public funds are spent appropriately and for allowable purposes, requiring the district to develop a corrective action plan under WVDE oversight.
The profile of McDowell County is critical because it exemplifies the interconnected nature of the challenges facing many of West Virginia's struggling districts. Academic underperformance, chronic absenteeism, and operational or financial difficulties are not isolated problems; they are often intertwined, creating a cycle that is difficult to break. A district with financial oversight issues may struggle to properly resource academic interventions, while a district with high absenteeism will see a poor return on any academic investment it does make. McDowell's situation underscores the need for a coordinated, multi-pronged support strategy from the state, one that addresses operational effectiveness and student support services simultaneously with academic instruction.
The stark contrast between these three counties is revealing. It strongly suggests that the quality of district-level leadership and operational competence are the most critical variables determining a county's trajectory. While socioeconomic factors and funding levels undoubtedly play a role, the case of Pocahontas County shows that a breakdown in basic management functions will lead to failure regardless of other factors. Conversely, the success of Putnam County demonstrates that effective leadership can create a culture of excellence. This places a premium on the state's role in developing, supporting, and, when necessary, intervening in district leadership as its most powerful lever for system-wide improvement.
Section 6: Synthesis and Strategic Recommendations for a Stronger West Virginia
6.1 Synthesis of Findings
The 2024 student performance data for West Virginia presents a narrative of incremental progress set against a backdrop of deeply entrenched challenges and stark regional disparities. The state has achieved modest, hard-won gains in ELA and math proficiency, with a particularly encouraging surge in early-grade reading attributed to targeted legislative action. This positive momentum is further evidenced by a nationally recognized acceleration in academic recovery since 2022.
However, these gains are fragile and far from uniform. The state as a whole continues to perform well below national averages, and the cumulative academic deficit from the pandemic remains substantial. More critically, the statewide averages mask a fractured reality at the county level. A handful of districts, led by Putnam County, consistently excel, providing a clear model of what is possible. Yet, a vast majority of counties are under some form of state monitoring, with 41 "On Watch" for at least one indicator and a significant number facing "Support" or "Intensive Support" for chronic underperformance, especially in mathematics and attendance.
Two factors rise above all others as determinative. First, chronic absenteeism, affecting nearly a quarter of all students, acts as a powerful brake on every academic initiative. No curriculum or instructional strategy can succeed if students are not in the classroom. Second, the quality of district leadership and operational competence appears to be the single most critical variable distinguishing successful districts from failing ones. The systemic breakdown in Pocahontas County was a failure of management, not a lack of resources. The sustained excellence in Putnam County is a testament to effective leadership.
To build on recent momentum and forge a path toward equitable, high-quality education for all students, West Virginia's leaders must address these core issues with strategic focus and a renewed sense of urgency. The following recommendations are offered to the West Virginia Department of Education, the state legislature, and county-level leaders to guide this essential work.
6.2 Recommendations for the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE)
Recommendation 1: Elevate Chronic Absenteeism to the Top Strategic Priority
The WVDE should formally re-frame chronic absenteeism from a student support issue to the foundational prerequisite for all academic achievement. This requires moving beyond awareness campaigns to direct, funded action. The Department should lead a statewide, multi-agency initiative, partnering with the Department of Health and Human Resources, to address the root causes of absenteeism, which often lie outside the school walls. This should include seeking dedicated funding to establish and train county-level attendance officers and family support liaisons whose primary role is direct intervention with chronically absent students and their families through home visits, resource connection, and problem-solving.
Recommendation 2: Differentiate County Support Based on Accountability Tiers
A one-size-fits-all approach to county support is inefficient. The WVDE should develop and implement distinct intervention playbooks for each accountability tier.
"On Watch" Counties: Should receive targeted technical assistance, data analysis support, and access to a clearinghouse of best practices to facilitate self-correction.
"Support" Counties: Should be assigned a dedicated WVDE improvement specialist to co-develop and actively monitor a mandatory corrective action plan, with quarterly reporting to the WVBE.
"Intensive Support" Counties: Should be subject to direct operational and leadership intervention. This could include the embedding of WVDE staff within the district's central office to oversee critical functions (e.g., finance, curriculum, special education), a mandatory leadership change, or other corrective actions modeled after the decisive response in crisis situations like Pocahontas County.
Recommendation 3: Codify and Scale Best Practices from High-Performing Districts
The consistent success of districts like Putnam County is a vital state asset that must be leveraged. The WVDE should commission a formal, qualitative study of Putnam and other high-growth districts (e.g., Marshall, Ohio, Raleigh) to identify the specific, replicable strategies they employ in areas such as curriculum implementation, instructional leadership, professional development, data utilization, and community engagement. The findings should be used to create a "Best Practices for West Virginia" toolkit and training module that becomes a central part of the state's school improvement efforts.
6.3 Recommendations for the West Virginia Legislature
Recommendation 1: Fund a Statewide Leadership and Operations Academy
The analysis clearly shows that district operational competence is a critical driver of student success and a significant point of failure in struggling districts. The Legislature should acknowledge this by funding a dedicated West Virginia Leadership and Operations Academy through the WVDE. This academy would provide ongoing, mandatory, and credentialing-focused training for all current and aspiring superintendents, finance officers, special education directors, and principals. The curriculum should be directly informed by the deficiencies most commonly identified in state reviews, such as WVEIS data management, master scheduling, special education compliance, and fiscal oversight.
Recommendation 2: Resource the Fight Against Chronic Absenteeism
Legislators should appropriate new, categorical funding specifically for addressing chronic absenteeism, separate from the general school aid formula, to ensure it is not diverted to other needs. This funding should be distributed to counties via a grant process that requires a clear, evidence-based local plan. The law should allow for flexible use of these funds for proven strategies such as hiring attendance-focused social workers, implementing transportation solutions for hard-to-reach families, funding "walking school bus" programs, or establishing partnerships with local health and social service agencies to address barriers to attendance.
6.4 Recommendations for County-Level Education Leaders
Recommendation 1: Conduct a Local Absenteeism Root-Cause Analysis
County superintendents and school boards must move beyond simply tracking attendance numbers. Each district should conduct a deep, qualitative root-cause analysis to understand why students are absent in their specific community. This involves surveying and interviewing students and families to identify the primary barriers, whether they are transportation, health issues, housing instability, lack of engagement, or safety concerns. The results of this analysis must then be used to develop a targeted, data-driven local attendance improvement plan that addresses the community's actual needs.
Recommendation 2: Perform a "Best Practices" Gap Analysis
District leaders in underperforming counties should not wait for the state to mandate change. Using the publicly available information about high-performing peers like Putnam County, leaders should conduct an honest and rigorous self-assessment to identify the gaps between their district's current practices and those of the most successful districts in the state. This gap analysis should cover leadership behaviors, data practices, instructional programs, and family engagement. The findings should be used to prioritize the one or two most critical gaps to be addressed in the district's next strategic plan.
Works cited
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An Anatomy of Systemic Failure and a Blueprint for Reconstruction: A Performance Audit of Pocahontas County Schools
Introduction: From Data Portal Inquiry to Crisis Diagnosis
This report was initially commissioned to conduct an analysis of Pocahontas County, West Virginia, through the lens of the state's public education data portal, ZoomWV. However, the designated dashboard proved technically inaccessible, requiring a necessary pivot in analytical strategy.1 This initial obstacle, while seemingly minor, foreshadowed a much deeper and more consequential data problem. A subsequent investigation into the broader educational data ecosystem surrounding Pocahontas County Schools (PCS) uncovered a matter of grave concern: the declaration of a State of Emergency for the district by the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) in February 2025.3
The central thesis of this report is that the critical failure in Pocahontas County is not the functionality of a public-facing dashboard but the systemic breakdown of data governance, integrity, and utilization at the district level. The West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) is the state's longitudinal data system, designed to record granular educational detail over time to inform policy and improve student outcomes.5 ZoomWV is merely the public portal for aggregated data drawn from this system.5 The crisis in Pocahontas County represents a fundamental corruption of the data at its source, rendering the promise of data-driven school improvement—a core principle of both state and national education policy—entirely void for the district.7 The challenges are a case study in how the potential of such systems can be completely undermined by catastrophic failures in local leadership, capacity, and operational control.
The objective of this performance audit is therefore to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based analysis of the systemic failures that precipitated the State of Emergency in Pocahontas County Schools. It synthesizes demographic, financial, academic, and operational data to construct a coherent narrative of chronic stress, performance decline, and acute governance collapse. The report will proceed by first establishing the district's baseline context, then analyzing its quantitative academic performance, forensically dissecting the state's official findings that led to the intervention, and finally, proposing a detailed, phased blueprint for recovery and reconstruction.
Section 1: Profile of a District Under Chronic Stress: A Baseline Audit
The crisis that unfolded in Pocahontas County did not occur in a vacuum. It is the acute manifestation of chronic stressors that have been compounding for decades, eroding the district's capacity to withstand shocks and execute its fundamental duties. An analysis of the district's demographic and financial context reveals a system already under immense strain long before the declaration of a State of Emergency.
1.1 The Geographic and Demographic Context: Isolation and Decline
Pocahontas County Schools operates under a unique and challenging set of geographic and demographic conditions. It is geographically the third largest school district in West Virginia and is described as the most rural school district east of the Mississippi River.9 This vast, remote territory is served by just five schools catering to a small student population of 921 as of the 2022-2023 school year.10 The student body is demographically homogenous, with 98.8% of students identifying as White, a figure significantly higher than the state average of 88.6%.12
The most critical factor defining the district's baseline condition is a severe and uninterrupted trend of enrollment decline. Over the past two decades, the student population has plummeted. Data shows a fall from 1,447 students in the 1999-2000 school year to just 893 in 2022-2023, a staggering decline of nearly 40%.12 This is not a temporary fluctuation but a profound demographic hollowing-out that has immense consequences for the district's operational and financial stability.
This long-term decline creates a vicious cycle. Fixed costs associated with operating and maintaining school buildings and providing transportation across a vast, sparsely populated county must be spread across a progressively smaller student base. This financial pressure inevitably forces difficult choices, often leading to a reduction in capacity. The WVDE's later finding that the number of central office leadership positions had been reduced over the years, leading to an unsustainable redistribution of duties, is a direct consequence of this long-term demographic erosion.4 The district's resilience—its ability to adapt to challenges such as leadership turnover, a global pandemic, or critical staffing vacancies—has been systematically worn down over a twenty-year period. The current crisis, therefore, must be understood not as a sudden event, but as an acute failure precipitated by a chronic, debilitating condition.
1.2 Financial Health and Resource Allocation: The Paradox of High Spending and Low Performance
An examination of the district's finances reveals a telling paradox. In the 2020-2021 fiscal year, Pocahontas County Schools reported total revenues of $18.655 million, with the state providing the largest share at 59% ($10.948 million), supplemented by local (25%) and federal (16%) funds.12 Total expenditures were $16.984 million, resulting in a per-student expenditure of $17,673.12 Furthermore, the district maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of approximately 10.6 to 1, a level of personalized access that is significantly better than the West Virginia state average of 13 to 1.11
On the surface, these figures suggest a well-resourced district. However, when juxtaposed with the persistent academic underperformance detailed in the following section, a different picture emerges. The high per-student expenditure and low student-teacher ratio are not translating into positive educational outcomes. This disconnect strongly indicates that the systemic failures within PCS are rooted in governance, operational execution, and leadership, not in a raw lack of financial resources.
The high per-student cost is likely inflated by the diseconomies of scale created by the "hollowing-out" effect described previously. As enrollment shrinks, the fixed costs per student rise, creating an illusion of robust investment. In reality, the district is struggling with an efficiency problem, failing to convert its financial inputs into student achievement. The core issue is not the availability of funds, but the district's inability to manage its resources and operations effectively. This points directly to the governance and leadership failures that would eventually necessitate state intervention.
Table 1: Pocahontas County Schools District Profile vs. State Averages (2022-2023)
Section 2: A Pattern of Underperformance: A Quantitative Performance Audit
The operational and demographic pressures on Pocahontas County Schools provide the context for its academic record. A review of quantitative performance data reveals a district characterized not by a recent dip in achievement, but by a long-term pattern of stagnation and, more recently, a failure to recover from the educational disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic. This underperformance stands in stark contrast to both the district's own public statements and the positive academic trends seen elsewhere in the state.
2.1 Longitudinal Academic Proficiency: A Decade of Stagnation and Decline
Data from multiple sources paint a consistent picture of mediocre student achievement. According to state test scores, only 36% of PCS students are proficient in mathematics, and 38% are proficient in reading.10 This is not a new development. A longitudinal review of proficiency rates from 2012 to 2021 shows a district trapped in a narrow band of low performance. Math proficiency fluctuated between a low of 31% and a high of 43% over this period, while reading proficiency ranged from 39% to 44%.12 There is no evidence of sustained improvement or a positive trajectory over the last decade. Graduation rates, while claimed by the district to be "higher than the state average," are reported in broad ranges (e.g., 85-89% in 2019-2020), which obscures precise year-over-year comparison and suggests performance that may be less than exemplary.9
This chronic state of low achievement appears to have fostered a normalization of underperformance within the district's leadership culture. This is most evident in the jarring disconnect between the empirical data and the district's public self-assessment. The official district website boasts of a "highly successful mathematics program, with students achieving some of the highest math scores in the state".9 This claim is directly contradicted by a decade of state proficiency data showing that nearly two-thirds of its students are not proficient in the subject 10, as well as by more recent, sophisticated analyses of student learning.14 This chasm between reality and rhetoric is a significant governance red flag. It suggests a leadership culture that is either profoundly out of touch with its own performance data or is knowingly misrepresenting its record to the community, thereby eroding public trust and precluding any possibility of meaningful self-correction.
2.2 The Pandemic Shock and A Failed Recovery
The most damning quantitative evidence of the district's failure comes from the Education Recovery Scorecard, a collaborative project between researchers at Harvard and Stanford Universities that measures academic recovery following the pandemic using NAEP-equivalent data.3 This analysis isolates the district's performance and compares it directly to state and national trends.
The results for Pocahontas County are alarming. Between 2019 and 2024, the average math performance of students in grades 3-8 fell by 0.23 grade-level equivalents relative to the 2019 national average.14 While the district experienced a slight rebound from its post-pandemic nadir in 2022, its 2024 math performance remained significantly worse than its pre-pandemic level. In 2019, PCS students were 0.81 grade equivalents below the national average; by 2024, they had fallen to 1.05 grade equivalents below.14
This local failure is magnified when placed in the context of statewide performance. During the same period that PCS was regressing, West Virginia as a whole was being celebrated for its strong academic recovery. The same Education Recovery Scorecard ranked West Virginia 6th in the nation for math growth and 11th for reading growth between 2022 and 2024.3 This contrast is critically important: Pocahontas County Schools was not simply being dragged down by a statewide trend of pandemic-related learning loss. On the contrary, it was an outlier, actively failing and regressing while the state system it belongs to was, on average, succeeding and earning national recognition. This fact isolates the failure squarely at the district level, invalidating any potential excuse that might blame broader state policies or a generalized post-pandemic malaise. The academic regression is endogenous to the district's specific operational and leadership breakdowns, providing a clear and compelling justification for the state's targeted intervention.
Table 2: Longitudinal Academic Proficiency & Graduation Rates (2013-2021)
Table 3: Education Recovery Scorecard Analysis, Math Grades 3-8 (2019-2024)
(Performance measured in grade equivalents relative to the 2019 national average)
Section 3: The Breaking Point: A Forensic Audit of the State of Emergency
The chronic demographic pressures and persistent academic underperformance set the stage for the acute governance crisis that finally triggered state intervention. The declaration of a State of Emergency was not a precipitous action but the culmination of a formal review process that uncovered a profound breakdown in the district's most basic operational and leadership functions.
3.1 The Catalyst: The WVDE Special Circumstance Review
In October 2024, at the request of County Superintendent Lynne Bostic, the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) initiated a Special Circumstance Review of Pocahontas County High School.3 The review was comprehensive, targeting the school's counseling program, scheduling and grading procedures, leadership practices at both the school and county levels, school safety, and the provision of special education services.3 The findings of this review were so severe and pointed to such fundamental failures that in February 2025, the West Virginia Board of Education took the extraordinary step of declaring a State of Emergency in accordance with state code, effectively seizing control of the district.3 The following sections provide a forensic analysis of the key failure points identified in the WVDE's official review.
3.2 Failure Point 1: The Collapse of the Comprehensive School Counseling Program
The WVDE review identified a catastrophic failure in student support services, beginning with the district's inability to staff a critical position. After the high school's previous counselor retired, the position was advertised multiple times without attracting a qualified candidate.4 This was not a minor administrative lapse; it was the removal of a keystone in the arch of student academic support.
The direct result was the complete collapse of the process for developing student Personal Education Plans (PEPs). PEPs are the primary mechanism for guiding students through their academic careers, ensuring their course selections align with state graduation requirements and their own post-secondary goals.3 Without a counselor to lead this process, the responsibility was pushed onto homeroom teachers, who lacked the specific training and time to adequately perform this complex advisory function.4
This single staffing failure created a cascade of downstream operational disasters. Without properly developed PEPs, the entire master scheduling process for the high school became chaotic and untethered from student needs. This directly contributed to the finding that student schedules were not prepared in advance of the 2024-25 school year, a fundamental failure of school administration.3 The inability to fill one position crippled the high school's ability to perform one of its most essential functions: guiding students coherently through their education.
3.3 Failure Point 2: The Corruption of Data Integrity and Management (The WVEIS Breakdown)
Perhaps the most alarming finding of the WVDE review was the systemic breakdown in the management and integrity of student data within the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS). The review uncovered evidence suggesting that a student was transcribed inaccurate transfer credits, with interview comments indicating this "may have been done intentionally and not as the result of a data entry error".4
This was part of a larger pattern of data mismanagement. The review found that the high school principal lacked the necessary access to the WVEIS platform, rendering her unable to perform essential duties such as completing important tasks or releasing official transcripts for graduates.3 Furthermore, the investigation revealed that "no school policy exists for grade changes," and one staff member had been informally making grade changes based on verbal or email requests from administrators.4 This demonstrates a profound lack of expertise in, and governance over, the state's official system of record.
The implications of this failure are severe. A student's transcript is a legal document, and its integrity is paramount for college applications, scholarships, and employment. When a district's leadership cannot properly access its own data system and when grades can be altered without a formal process, the entire system loses its legitimacy. This failure means that the data for Pocahontas County within the statewide WVEIS database is fundamentally unreliable. This not only harms individual students but also corrupts the state's ability to perform accurate oversight and analysis, making a mockery of the goal of data-driven decision-making. The initial inquiry of this report, which began with an inaccessible ZoomWV dashboard, ultimately led to the discovery that the data behind the dashboard was compromised at its very source—a profound breach of the district's duty and the public's trust.
3.4 Failure Point 3: A Crisis of Leadership, Support, and Culture
The operational failures in counseling and data management were symptoms of a deeper crisis in leadership and professional culture. The WVDE report paints a damning picture of a dysfunctional leadership environment, particularly from the central office.
Teachers expressed confidence in the new high school principal and her efforts, but the report states that "central office support for the principal has been inadequate to meet the needs of a beginning school leader".4 The principal's specific request for a mentor was met by providing contact information for a consultant whose expertise did not align with her needs.4 This lack of meaningful support extended to a general absence of oversight and instructional guidance; the review team found that "district leaders do not visit schools on a regular basis" and no evidence of instructional walkthroughs was provided.4
Most disturbingly, the report documents a toxic professional culture. Several staff members shared "concerns about retaliation and hostility from the central office in the past," and many expressed feeling unsupported, particularly when they attempted to raise concerns and present solutions for the scheduling crisis at the end of the 2023-2024 school year.4 A culture characterized by a lack of support and fear of retaliation makes systemic improvement impossible. It ensures that problems are hidden rather than identified and solved. Even if competent and well-intentioned individuals exist within the system—as the teachers' support for the new principal suggests—a dysfunctional leadership culture will inevitably stifle initiative, suppress dissent, and allow problems to fester until they reach a breaking point. The ultimate failure in Pocahontas County was not merely one of process or personnel, but one of the fundamental professional culture established and maintained by the district's central office leadership.
Table 4: Summary of Deficiencies from WVDE Special Circumstance Review
Section 4: Contextualizing the Crisis: Statewide Pressures and Local Manifestations
The collapse in Pocahontas County, while driven by unique local failures, occurred within the broader context of challenges facing many rural school districts in West Virginia. Understanding this interplay between statewide pressures and local vulnerabilities is essential for crafting effective and sustainable solutions.
4.1 A Microcosm of Broader State Challenges
The West Virginia Department of Education's 2024 report on County Approval Status and Accreditation reveals that many districts across the state are struggling to meet performance benchmarks. In that report, a staggering 41 out of 55 county school systems were designated as being "on watch" for failing to meet one or more standards.15 Chronic absenteeism is a particularly widespread problem, with 22 counties on watch for that indicator alone. Math achievement is another area of significant statewide concern, with 17 counties on watch for low performance.15
At first glance, Pocahontas County's struggles might seem to be just one example of this broader trend. However, a closer look reveals a critical distinction. The situation in Pocahontas is different in kind, not merely in degree. The "on watch" status for other counties signifies a need for monitoring, support, and improvement in specific performance areas. The State of Emergency in Pocahontas was triggered by a complete breakdown of fundamental governance and operational functions. While issues like chronic absenteeism and low math scores were undoubtedly present in PCS, it was the collapse of the counseling program, the systemic corruption of data within the WVEIS, and the documented culture of hostility from the central office that set it apart.4 These are not performance issues; they are core governance failures. Statewide academic pressures may have exacerbated the strain on the district, but it was the unique, severe internal breakdowns that pushed Pocahontas County over the precipice from being "on watch" to requiring a full state takeover.
4.2 The Human Capital Deficit as a Crisis Accelerant
A critical statewide pressure that directly contributed to the crisis in Pocahontas is the shortage of qualified education personnel. Dale Lee, president of the West Virginia Education Association, stated the problem bluntly: "We have a shortage in teachers, aides, bus drivers, cooks, custodians. You name it, we have those shortages".15 This human capital crisis provides the direct context for the district's failure to hire a qualified school counselor, the event that served as the first domino in the subsequent cascade of failures.4
This statewide staffing shortage does not affect all districts equally. A remote, rural district like Pocahontas is at a profound disadvantage in a competitive hiring market.9 The district's isolation and long-term demographic decline make it a less attractive destination for education professionals. Therefore, the inability to fill the counselor position demonstrates how a broad, systemic pressure (staffing shortages) can be magnified by local context (rurality) to trigger a catastrophic local failure. The district's eroded resilience, a product of its chronic decline, meant it lacked the capacity or flexibility to absorb the shock of this single critical vacancy. This interaction highlights the acute vulnerability of the state's most rural districts and underscores the need for state-level policies that provide targeted support to prevent such systemic pressures from causing localized collapses.
Section 5: A Blueprint for Reconstruction: Phased Strategic Recommendations
A crisis of this magnitude requires more than a simple course correction; it demands a fundamental reconstruction of the district's operational systems, leadership culture, and community trust. The following recommendations are structured as a three-phase blueprint designed to move Pocahontas County Schools from immediate crisis management to long-term, sustainable health. The recommendations are intended to be specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound.
5.1 Phase 1: Immediate Triage and Stabilization (0-6 Months)
The primary objective of this initial phase is to halt the ongoing operational damage, restore core functions, establish clear lines of authority, and begin the process of assessing the full extent of the data integrity crisis.
Appoint a State-Empowered District Administrator: The WVBE must immediately appoint a qualified administrator to assume full operational control of Pocahontas County Schools. This individual must be granted explicit authority over all personnel decisions, budget allocations, and district policies, superseding the authority of the existing county superintendent and central office staff to ensure that reforms can be implemented without obstruction.
Secure Emergency Student Support Services: The district must immediately contract with an external provider, such as a Regional Education Service Agency (RESA) or a private counseling group, to provide certified school counseling services to all students at Pocahontas County High School. This team's first priority will be to conduct a full audit of every high school student's academic record and begin the process of developing accurate and meaningful Personal Education Plans (PEPs) for the upcoming school year.
Launch a Full WVEIS Data Audit: An independent, third-party auditor must be commissioned by the WVDE to conduct a forensic audit of all student transcripts at Pocahontas County High School for at least the preceding four years. The audit's purpose is to identify and document every instance of grading and credit transcription error. A process for correcting these records and notifying affected students and families must be established. Concurrently, the state-appointed administrator must ensure that a designated, trustworthy school-level data manager is given full WVEIS access and receives intensive, immediate training on the system's proper use.
5.2 Phase 2: Systemic Rebuilding and Capacity Development (6-24 Months)
With core functions stabilized, the focus must shift to rebuilding the broken systems and developing the internal district capacity to manage them effectively and ethically in the long term.
Implement a Formal Data Governance Charter: Drawing on best practices for data management, the district must develop and implement a formal Data Governance Charter.8 This legally binding policy document must define clear roles and responsibilities for data entry, verification, access, and security. It must include a strict, transparent protocol for any grade changes, requiring multi-level approval and documentation. An ethics component, with mandatory annual training for all staff with WVEIS access, must be included.
Redesign the Master Scheduling Process: The entire process for creating the high school's master schedule must be rebuilt from the ground up. The new process must be transparent and explicitly driven by the data from student PEPs. It must involve structured input from a team comprising the school principal, the certified counselor, and teacher representatives to ensure the schedule meets both student needs and instructional requirements.
Mandate a Leadership Development and Mentorship Program: A mandatory, structured professional development program must be implemented for all school and district administrators. This program should focus on instructional leadership, ethical data analysis for school improvement, and strategies for creating a positive and supportive professional culture. To ensure its effectiveness, the district should partner with state institutions like the WVU Extension Service, which has expertise in community leadership capacity building, to provide high-quality, relevant mentorship for principals.16
5.3 Phase 3: Fostering Resilience and a Culture of Excellence (24+ Months)
The final phase aims to move the district beyond recovery toward building a sustainable, high-performing culture that can attract and retain talent, regain community trust, and adapt to future challenges.
Develop a "Grow Your Own" Talent Pipeline: To address the underlying human capital crisis magnified by its rurality, PCS must create a long-term, strategic partnership with West Virginia's universities, such as West Virginia University and Marshall University, which are already popular destinations for its graduates.10 This "Grow Your Own" initiative should create clear pathways for local Pocahontas County graduates to return to the county as certified teachers, counselors, and administrators by offering scholarships, guaranteed student teaching placements, and other hiring incentives.
Launch a Transparency and Community Engagement Initiative: Rebuilding trust with the community is paramount. The district should develop and launch a new public "District Dashboard"—distinct from the state's ZoomWV portal—that uses the newly audited and reliable data to track progress on key academic, operational, and cultural goals. This should be coupled with regular town hall meetings hosted by the district leadership to provide candid updates, explain decisions, and gather community feedback.
Leverage Unique Assets for Innovative Programming: To combat the long-term enrollment decline, the district must leverage its unique local assets. It should strategically expand and market programs like the "Nature's Mountain Classroom," which integrates outdoor adventures with standard curriculum.9 Furthermore, it should formalize partnerships with world-class local institutions like the Green Bank Observatory to create unique, place-based STEM magnet programs.9 Such distinctive offerings could help make the district a more attractive choice for families, potentially stabilizing or even reversing the demographic decline.
Conclusion
The declaration of a State of Emergency in Pocahontas County Schools was not the result of a single event or a simple failure. It was the predictable culmination of chronic demographic and financial stress, a long-term normalization of academic underperformance, and an acute and catastrophic collapse of the most fundamental governance functions. The evidence clearly indicates that while the district operates within a challenging statewide context of staffing shortages and academic struggles, its crisis is uniquely severe and internally driven. The failures in leadership, data integrity, and basic operational control are not merely performance issues; they represent a profound breach of the district's responsibility to its students and its community.
The analysis reveals a district where the systems designed to ensure student success and institutional accountability had completely broken down. The inability to staff a key counseling position triggered a cascade of operational chaos. The corruption of the state's official data system eroded the very foundation of institutional legitimacy. And a leadership culture that was unsupportive at best and hostile at worst created an environment where improvement was impossible.
The situation is dire, but it is not irreversible. The blueprint for reconstruction outlined in this report provides a phased, structured path forward. It begins with the immediate and necessary triage of a state-led intervention to restore order and audit the damage. It progresses to the methodical rebuilding of broken systems and the development of local leadership capacity. Finally, it aims for long-term resilience by addressing the root causes of the district's vulnerability—its human capital deficit and declining enrollment.
The success of this blueprint will depend entirely on the will to see it through. It requires sustained and vigilant oversight from the West Virginia Department of Education, a commitment to investing in the development of new leadership, and a fundamental cultural shift within the district itself toward transparency, accountability, and an unwavering focus on student outcomes. The path ahead for Pocahontas County Schools will be long and difficult, but it is a necessary journey to restore public trust and ensure that every student in the county receives the high-quality education they deserve.
Works cited
ZoomWV, accessed June 24, 2025, https://zoomwv.k12.wv.us/Dashboard/dashboard/7301
ZoomWV, accessed June 24, 2025, https://zoomwv.k12.wv.us/
WV Board of Ed. Receives County Updates and Harvard Recovery Scorecard Overview, accessed June 24, 2025, https://wvde.us/wv-board-of-ed-receives-county-updates-and-harvard-recovery-scorecard-overview/
WVDE places Pocahontas County Schools under a state of emergency after deficiencies found at high school - Real WV, accessed June 24, 2025, https://therealwv.com/2025/02/14/wvde-places-pocahontas-county-schools-under-a-state-of-emergency-after-deficiencies-found-at-high-school/
West Virginia - State Longitudinal Data Systems, accessed June 24, 2025, http://slds.rhaskell.org/state-profiles/west-virginia
Education Data | West Virginia Department of Education, accessed June 24, 2025, https://wvde.us/data-school-improvement/education-data
Forum Guide to Strategies for Education Data Collection and Reporting (SEDCAR), accessed June 24, 2025, https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2021/NFES2021013.pdf
Data Business - West Virginia Department of Education, accessed June 24, 2025, https://wvde.us/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/ASBO_Presentation_Data-Business.pdf
About Us | Pocahontas County Schools, accessed June 24, 2025, https://boe.pocahontas.k12.wv.us/page/pcs-by-the-numbers
Pocahontas County Schools - West Virginia - Niche, accessed June 24, 2025, https://www.niche.com/k12/d/pocahontas-county-schools-wv/
Pocahontas County Schools - Search for Public School Districts - District Detail for - Department of Education, accessed June 24, 2025, https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/district_detail.asp?Search=2&ID2=5401140&DistrictID=5401140&details=1
Pocahontas County Schools, West Virginia - Ballotpedia, accessed June 24, 2025, https://ballotpedia.org/Pocahontas_County_Schools,_West_Virginia
West Virginia - Digest State Dashboard - Department of Education, accessed June 24, 2025, https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest-dashboard/state/west%20virginia
Pocahontas County Schools, WV - Education Recovery Scorecard, accessed June 24, 2025, https://educationrecoveryscorecard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/report_WV_5401140_pocahontas-county-schools.pdf
West Virginia Department of Education Takes Some School Districts Off Watch List, accessed June 24, 2025, https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2024/10/west-virginia-department-of-education-takes-some-school-districts-off-watch-list/
Current West Virginia Data - WVU Extension, accessed June 24, 2025, https://extension.wvu.edu/about/current-state-of-west-virginia
Pocahontas County Schools Test Scores and Academics - Niche, accessed June 24, 2025, https://www.niche.com/k12/d/pocahontas-county-schools-wv/academics/
create a table of student performance test results for ELA for the year 2024. Include all 55 counties and the average of all counties in west virginia
Create a table of student performance test results for Math for the year 2024. Focus on Pocahontas County. Include the average of all counties in West Virginia.
Research the schools in Pocahontas County, West Virginia for scores of student performance test results for Science for the year 2023 in West Virginia. Include the average of all counties in West Virginia as one variable. Focus on Pocahontas County schools. Format as a scatter plot.
Deep Research
Research the schools in Pocahontas County, West Virginia for scores of student performance test results for Math for the year 2024 in West Virginia. Include the average of all counties in West Virginia as one variable. Focus on Pocahontas County schools.
Canvas
Create a scatter plot.
Choose option question
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An Analysis of 2024 Mathematics Performance in Pocahontas County Schools: Data, Deficiencies, and a Path Toward Recovery
Executive Summary
This report provides an exhaustive analysis of student mathematics performance in the Pocahontas County Schools district for the 2024 academic year. It situates the district’s results within the broader context of statewide assessment data and delves into the profound operational challenges that have culminated in a state-level intervention. The findings of this report are derived from a comprehensive review of data released by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE), news reports from credible agencies, and analyses from third-party educational research organizations.
Statewide, West Virginia saw a marginal increase in mathematics proficiency in 2024, with the average rising from 35% to 36% of students meeting or exceeding the standard. This figure serves as a critical, albeit low, benchmark for performance. Pocahontas County’s district-wide proficiency rate of 36% ostensibly meets this state average. However, this top-line number conceals severe internal disparities and masks a district in crisis.
Analysis from the Education Recovery Scorecard reveals that while Pocahontas County's elementary and middle schools demonstrated a rate of academic recovery in math from 2022 to 2024 that outpaced the state average, the district's overall performance remains significantly below that of its demographically similar peer districts. This indicates that the district entered the post-pandemic recovery period from a position of pre-existing weakness.
A granular, school-by-school analysis uncovers the most critical finding: the district’s performance is a tale of two systems. Two elementary schools, Marlinton and Hillsboro, demonstrate math proficiency rates of 47% and 45% respectively, well above the state average. In stark contrast, Green Bank Elementary/Middle School and Pocahontas County High School show proficiency rates of just 27%. This "performance cliff" between the elementary and secondary levels points to a systemic breakdown as students advance through the district.
The explanation for this breakdown is found in the WVDE's fall 2024 Special Circumstance Review of Pocahontas County High School, which uncovered a cascade of systemic failures. These included a lack of qualified leadership and counseling staff, a fundamental inability of school personnel to access and operate the state's student information system for essential tasks like grade transcription and scheduling, and non-compliance with state and federal policies for special education and student planning. These findings were so severe that the West Virginia Board of Education declared a "State of Emergency" for the district in February 2025.
The low mathematics scores at the secondary level are not merely an academic issue; they are a direct and predictable symptom of this profound operational collapse. It is impossible for students to achieve proficiency when the foundational systems of their school are non-functional.
This report concludes with a series of targeted recommendations for the WVDE, the Pocahontas County Board of Education, and district administrators. The overarching principle is that administrative and operational stability is the non-negotiable prerequisite for any sustainable academic improvement. Recommendations focus on enforcing rigorous state oversight, prioritizing the recruitment of qualified leadership, mandating intensive staff training on essential systems, and stabilizing the high school environment. By addressing these foundational deficiencies, Pocahontas County can begin the difficult but necessary work of rebuilding a school system capable of providing every student with the opportunity for academic success.
Section 1: The West Virginia Benchmark: Statewide Assessment and Accountability in 2024
To accurately assess the performance of schools within Pocahontas County, it is essential to first establish the statewide context against which local results are measured. This involves understanding the assessment instruments used, the structure of the state's accountability system, and the overall performance of West Virginia students in 2024. This statewide benchmark provides the critical yardstick for interpreting whether Pocahontas County is lagging, meeting, or exceeding the standard for public education in the state.
1.1 The Assessment Framework: WVGSA and SAT School Day
The West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) utilizes a suite of summative assessments to measure student learning and school performance annually.1 The primary instruments for gauging proficiency in core academic subjects are the West Virginia General Summative Assessment (WVGSA) and the SAT School Day.
The WVGSA is administered to students in grades 3 through 8 and covers the subjects of English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.1 For high school students, the state uses the SAT School Day as its summative assessment for 11th graders, measuring the same core subjects.1 The results from these tests are intended to measure student mastery of the West Virginia College-and Career-Readiness Standards, which define the knowledge and skills students are expected to acquire at each grade level.3
A significant change occurred in the spring of 2024 for the 11th-grade assessment. West Virginia transitioned from a fixed-form, paper-and-pencil version of the SAT to a new digital-adaptive format. This new test is staged-adaptive, meaning it adjusts the difficulty of questions based on a student's performance on a preceding module. A key feature of this transition was a reduction in testing time from approximately four hours to about two hours.4 While designed to be a more efficient and precise measure, this change in format and administration represents a notable shift that should be considered when making direct comparisons to prior years' high school performance data.
For students with the most significant cognitive disabilities who receive instruction based on alternate academic standards, the state administers the West Virginia Alternate Summative Assessment (WVASA) in grades 3-8 and 11.2 The results from the WVGSA, SAT School Day, and WVASA are aggregated to provide a comprehensive picture of student achievement across the state and within each district.5
1.2 The Accountability Mechanism: The West Virginia Balanced Scorecard
The data generated by these assessments serves as a primary input for the West Virginia Accountability System (WVAS), the state's framework for evaluating and rating public schools and districts.6 The public-facing component of this system is the West Virginia Schools Balanced Scorecard, which is released annually to provide families, educators, and community stakeholders with a multi-faceted view of school performance.8
The Scorecard moves beyond simple test scores to incorporate a range of indicators designed to reflect a more holistic view of school quality. These indicators are broadly grouped into categories such as Academic Achievement, Academic Progress, and Student Success.3
Academic Achievement is primarily based on the percentage of students performing at or above proficient on the annual WVGSA and SAT School Day assessments in mathematics and ELA.10
Academic Progress measures the growth of individual students from one year to the next, providing insight into the value a school adds to a student's education over time.9
Student Success indicators include metrics like student attendance rates, out-of-school suspension rates, and, at the high school level, cohort graduation rates and post-secondary achievement criteria.9
Based on their performance across these indicators, schools and districts receive a designation in one of four performance levels: Exceeds Standard, Meets Standard, Partially Meets Standard, or Does Not Meet Standard.3 This classification system provides a clear, standardized language for discussing school quality and identifying areas of strength and those in need of improvement. All data for the accountability system is submitted by districts through the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) and is intended to be made publicly accessible through the ZoomWV data dashboard.1
1.3 2024 Statewide Mathematics Performance: The State Average
In August 2024, the WVDE presented the statewide results from the spring 2024 assessments to the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE).4 The headline finding for mathematics revealed a slight improvement in overall student proficiency. Across all tested grades (3-8 and 11), the percentage of students meeting or exceeding the proficiency standard in mathematics rose from 35% in 2023 to
36% in 2024.11 This one-percentage-point gain indicates a positive, albeit modest, trend in student performance.
This result can be further contextualized by performance in other subjects. English language arts also saw a one-point increase in proficiency, from 44% to 45%, while science proficiency remained unchanged at 29%.4 The WVDE noted that these figures reflect a continued, gradual recovery toward pre-COVID-19 pandemic achievement levels, which were disrupted significantly across the nation.4
The state's modest proficiency rate in mathematics has not gone unnoticed by policymakers. In conjunction with the release of the 2024 scores, the WVDE announced the full launch of its "Unite with Numeracy" initiative for the fall of 2024.4 This statewide program, which involves the rollout of revised mathematics standards and new instructional materials at the county level, is explicitly designed to target and improve math proficiency and success.11 The creation of such a major, branded initiative is a clear signal that the WVDE views the current 36% proficiency rate as a significant challenge that requires a concerted, statewide response. This context is crucial: even a district performing at the state average is operating in an environment that the state itself has identified as needing substantial improvement.
1.4 Data Sourcing and Methodological Caveats
A critical methodological note is required for this report. The WVDE directs the public to the ZoomWV data dashboard, located at wveis.k12.wv.us/essa/dashboard.html and zoomwv.k12.wv.us/Dashboard/dashboard/7301, as the primary source for detailed, interactive school- and district-level accountability data.5 However, throughout the research and data collection phase for this report, these official state-provided websites were inaccessible.12
Consequently, this analysis is constructed through a meticulous synthesis of data from official WVDE press releases and presentations, comprehensive reporting by established news agencies that covered the release of the 2024 data, and aggregated statistics from reputable third-party educational research organizations that have access to the underlying data files. These sources include the WV Press Association, WV MetroNews, Niche.com, and the Education Recovery Scorecard project at Stanford and Harvard universities.4 While this approach provides a robust and reliable picture of performance, it relies on publicly reported figures rather than direct access to the state's raw data dashboard.
Section 2: A District in Context: Pocahontas County's Overall Math Performance
With the statewide performance landscape established, the analysis now narrows to the Pocahontas County Schools district. By comparing the district's performance against state and peer benchmarks, a more nuanced picture emerges. This section moves beyond a single proficiency percentage to examine the district's academic trajectory, particularly its recovery from the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, revealing a complex story of recent progress overshadowed by long-term challenges.
2.1 District Profile
Pocahontas County Schools is a small, rural public school district headquartered in Buckeye, West Virginia.14 The district is responsible for the education of approximately 921 students in grades Pre-K through 12, spread across five schools: three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.14 A notable characteristic of the district is its low student-teacher ratio of 11 to 1.14 This is more favorable than the West Virginia state average of 13 students per teacher, suggesting that smaller class sizes and the potential for more individualized instruction are structural advantages for the district.18
2.2 Analyzing Pandemic-Era Performance: The Education Recovery Scorecard
To gain a deeper understanding of the district's performance over time, this report utilizes data from the Education Recovery Scorecard. This research project, a collaboration between the Center for Education Policy Research at Harvard University and The Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University, provides a standardized metric for comparing academic performance across districts and states.19 The Scorecard measures student achievement in terms of "grade-level equivalents" relative to the 2019 national average. A score of 0.0 indicates that students in a district are performing, on average, at the same level as students nationally did in 2019, before the pandemic. A negative score, such as -1.0, signifies that students are performing, on average, one full grade level below that 2019 national benchmark.15
This metric is particularly powerful because it allows for an analysis of both absolute performance (how students are doing now) and relative change (the pace of their recovery). The following table presents the Scorecard's mathematics performance data for grades 3-8, comparing Pocahontas County to the West Virginia state average and to an average of similar rural districts within the state.
Table 1: Comparative Mathematics Performance (Grades 3-8), 2019-2024
Source: Education Recovery Scorecard.15
*Similar districts include Nicholas, Hampshire, Barbour, Tucker, and Pendleton Counties.15
2.3 Interpretation of District-Level Data
The data presented in the Education Recovery Scorecard reveals a multi-layered and complex narrative for Pocahontas County.
First, the positive aspect of the data is the district's recent recovery rate. Between 2022 and 2024, students in Pocahontas County gained an average of 0.36 grade-level equivalents in math. This pace of recovery was stronger than the statewide average recovery of +0.28 and slightly better than the average recovery of its peer districts (+0.34).15 This indicates that the instructional strategies and support systems implemented in the district's elementary and middle schools during this two-year period were, on average, more effective at accelerating student learning than those in many other parts of the state.
However, this positive trend is set against a more troubling backdrop. Despite the strong recent recovery, Pocahontas County's overall academic standing in 2024 remains weak. Its average score of -1.05 grade-level equivalents is significantly worse than the average of its peer districts, which stands at -0.79.15 This means that an average student in Pocahontas County is performing more than a quarter of a grade level behind their counterpart in a comparable rural West Virginia district. The district is not keeping pace with its peers.
The trajectory of this data over time provides the most crucial context. The district's current struggles are not solely a product of the pandemic. In 2019, before the pandemic's onset, Pocahontas County's average math score (-0.81) was already substantially lower than the average of its peer districts (-0.60).15 This points to a pre-existing, chronic performance gap. The learning disruptions of the pandemic appear to have hit both Pocahontas and its peer districts hard, driving them to an identical low point in 2022 (-1.41). While Pocahontas has rebounded slightly faster since then, its weaker starting position means it has been unable to close the gap. In fact, the district remains further behind its pre-pandemic performance level (-0.23) than its peers are (-0.19).
The conclusion is unavoidable: the central challenge for Pocahontas County is not simply pandemic-related learning loss but a longer-term, systemic issue that has caused it to lag behind comparable districts. The pandemic did not create this problem; it exacerbated it, making the need for effective intervention all the more urgent.
Section 3: A School-by-School Examination of Mathematics Proficiency
While district-level averages provide a useful overview, they can often mask significant variations in performance among individual schools. To fully understand the state of mathematics education in Pocahontas County, it is necessary to disaggregate the data and examine each school's results. This granular analysis reveals a starkly divided district, where pockets of notable success at the elementary level are undermined by profound challenges at the secondary level.
3.1 Overview of School-Level Data
The most direct answer to the question of student performance lies in the proficiency rates for each of the five schools in the district. The following table presents the 2024 mathematics proficiency rates, defined as the percentage of students who scored at or above the "proficient" level on the state's summative assessments. These school-level figures are compared to the West Virginia state average of 36% to provide immediate context.
Table 2: 2024 Mathematics Proficiency Rates by School, Pocahontas County
Note: Data is compiled from the most recent available sources citing 2024 assessment results. Figures from the 2022-23 Balanced Scorecard reported by The Intermountain 16 show a similar pattern with slightly different values.
3.2 Analysis of Performance Disparities
The data in Table 2 immediately dismantles the notion that Pocahontas County is an "average" district. The district-wide proficiency rate of 36% is not the result of uniform mediocrity across all schools. Rather, it is a statistical artifact created by averaging together schools with dramatically different outcomes. This reveals a clear and troubling pattern of declining performance as students progress through the school system.
Elementary School Success: The data highlights a significant area of strength for the district at the early elementary level. Both Marlinton Elementary School, with a 47% proficiency rate, and Hillsboro Elementary School, at 45%, are performing well above the district and state averages. These schools are outperforming the state benchmark by 11 and 9 percentage points, respectively. This suggests that the foundational mathematics curriculum, instructional methods, and school leadership at these two institutions are effective and serve as a model of success within the county.
The Middle School/K-8 Challenge: In sharp contrast, Green Bank Elementary/Middle School presents a serious concern. Serving students from Pre-K through grade 8, its math proficiency rate of 27% is alarmingly low. It falls 9 percentage points below the state average and a staggering 20 points below Marlinton Elementary. Because Green Bank spans both elementary and middle school grades, its low score pulls down the district's overall elementary- and middle-grade performance and points to significant challenges that appear to be localized to that specific school's environment, curriculum implementation, or leadership.
The High School Crisis: The most significant red flag in the data is the performance of Pocahontas County High School. With a math proficiency rate of just 27.2%, the high school is failing to prepare the vast majority of its students to meet state standards. Less than three out of every ten 11th graders demonstrated proficiency on the SAT School Day assessment. This result is nearly 9 percentage points below the state average and represents a catastrophic drop-off from the high-achieving elementary schools that feed into it.
This dynamic can be described as a "performance cliff." Students who demonstrate strong foundational skills at schools like Marlinton and Hillsboro appear to see that advantage erode as they move into the district's secondary education system. The district-wide average of 36% is therefore profoundly misleading. It is not a reflection of a consistent educational experience. Instead, it is the mathematical consequence of high-performing elementary schools being canceled out by severely underperforming secondary levels. This understanding is critical, as it shifts the focus of any potential intervention. A one-size-fits-all strategy for the district would be inefficient and ineffective. The root causes of failure at Pocahontas County High School and Green Bank are clearly different from the challenges faced by the more successful elementary schools, demanding a targeted and differentiated approach to improvement. The data compels a deeper inquiry: what is happening at the secondary level to cause such a precipitous decline in student achievement?
Section 4: The Core Challenge: A District in a State of Emergency
The alarming mathematics proficiency scores at Pocahontas County's secondary schools are not isolated academic data points. They are symptoms of a much deeper institutional malaise. In the fall of 2024, a review by the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) uncovered such profound operational and governance failures at Pocahontas County High School that it prompted the State Board of Education to take the drastic step of declaring a "State of Emergency" for the entire district. This section connects the "what" of the poor test scores to the "why" of this systemic collapse, arguing that the academic failures are a direct and predictable consequence of the administrative chaos documented by the state.
4.1 The Special Circumstance Review and Declaration of Emergency
In February 2025, the West Virginia Board of Education (WVBE) invoked its authority under state law and policy to declare a State of Emergency for Pocahontas County Schools.19 This is one of the most serious interventions the state can impose on a local school district, signaling a complete loss of confidence in the district's ability to operate effectively and legally.
The declaration was the culmination of a Special Circumstance Review of Pocahontas County High School (PCHS) that the WVDE's Office of Accountability conducted beginning in October 2024.26 The review was not initiated by the state as a punitive measure but was requested by the Pocahontas County Superintendent, Lynne Bostic, who sought assistance in reviewing the high school's master schedule to inform staffing decisions.24 What began as a request for technical assistance quickly escalated as WVDE personnel uncovered "significant concerns" and multiple, severe areas of "noncompliance" with state and federal education laws and policies.19
4.2 Key Findings: A Cascade of Systemic Failures
The WVDE's final report on PCHS painted a picture of a school in a state of administrative collapse. The failures were not marginal or isolated but struck at the very core of what is required to run a functional educational institution. The key findings, which directly impact the learning environment and, by extension, student achievement, include:
Leadership and Staffing Failure: A new principal was hired at PCHS in August 2024, but the county provided inadequate mentorship, training, or support for this critical leadership transition.19 Compounding this, the school's counselor retired in September 2024, and despite multiple advertisements, the district was unable to hire a qualified replacement.26 This left the high school without two of its most essential leadership and student-support positions at a critical time.
Data and Systems Failure: The review found a shocking lack of expertise and access related to the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS), the state's mandatory platform for all student data. The new principal and other central office staff lacked the necessary access and training to perform fundamental tasks.19 This included an inability to properly transcribe student grades, create or modify the school's master schedule, or access student records.25 In one particularly egregious example, the principal reported on October 22, 2024, that she could not access the security camera footage from special education classrooms, as required by state policy for safety and accountability. By a second site visit on November 7, this basic access had still not been granted.25
Instructional and Counseling Failure: The consequences of the leadership and systems failures were devastating for students. The WVDE found that there was no process in place at PCHS to develop student Personal Education Plans (PEPs), a state-mandated tool used to guide students' course selections and map their academic and career pathways.19 Furthermore, student schedules for the entire 2024-2025 school year had not been prepared in advance, creating chaos and uncertainty.24 Most alarmingly, the review found evidence that student transfer credits may have been transcribed inaccurately, not as a simple error, but as a possible "intentional act".25
Special Education Non-Compliance: The review determined that some of the processes and procedures for serving students with disabilities did not meet state or federal standards and requirements, placing the district in legal jeopardy and failing its most vulnerable students.19
4.3 Causal Link: From Operational Chaos to Academic Failure
The low 27.2% mathematics proficiency rate at Pocahontas County High School cannot be understood in a vacuum. It is the direct, logical, and inevitable outcome of the operational crisis detailed above. It is a fundamental impossibility for a school to achieve academic success when its foundational systems have disintegrated.
A school that cannot create a master schedule cannot ensure that students are in the correct math classes with certified teachers. A school that cannot accurately transcribe grades cannot track student progress or identify who needs intervention. A school without a certified counselor cannot provide academic guidance or support to struggling learners. A school with an unsupported principal cannot foster a culture of high expectations and instructional excellence. A school that fails to comply with special education law cannot provide the tailored instruction necessary for those students to succeed.
In this context, the low math score is not an indictment of the students' ability or the teachers' effort. It is an indictment of a system that failed to provide the bare minimum conditions necessary for teaching and learning to occur. The crisis at PCHS reveals a breakdown in the most basic contract between a school system and the community it serves. The failure to perform essential duties like providing accurate, legally sound student transcripts has consequences that extend far beyond a single test score. It jeopardizes students' post-secondary opportunities, potentially invalidating college applications and scholarship eligibility, and creating an erroneous permanent record of their academic careers. The math proficiency rate is merely the most visible and easily quantifiable symptom of this much larger and more destructive disease.
Section 5: Strategic Pathways Forward: Recommendations for Recovery
The convergence of poor academic outcomes and a state-declared emergency necessitates a clear, decisive, and strategic path forward for Pocahontas County Schools. The analysis presented in this report—from the statewide context to the granular school-level data and the profound operational failures—points toward a series of targeted actions. These recommendations are structured for the key stakeholders with the authority and responsibility to enact change: the West Virginia Department of Education, the Pocahontas County Board of Education, and the district's own administrative leadership.
5.1 Overarching Principle: Foundational Stability Before Academic Initiatives
The central conclusion of this report is that the academic crisis in Pocahontas County is a symptom of an operational crisis. Therefore, the immediate priority cannot be the implementation of new academic programs, curriculum overhauls, or instructional strategies. While these may be necessary in the long term, any such efforts are destined to fail if they are built upon the unstable foundation of a dysfunctional system. The district must first commit to a period of intense focus on restoring administrative and operational integrity. The primary goal must be to get the basics right: ensuring qualified and supported leadership is in place, creating accurate and stable student schedules, guaranteeing the integrity of all student data and records, and providing the essential counseling and support services required by law and policy. Only when these foundational elements are secured can the district hope to achieve sustainable academic improvement.
5.2 Recommendations for the WV Department of Education and State Board of Education
As the entity that declared the State of Emergency, the WVDE has a critical and ongoing role to play in the district's recovery.
Enforce Rigorous Oversight and Support: The WVBE should maintain the State of Emergency for the full six-month period mandated by WVBE Policy 2322, with the explicit possibility of extension if the district fails to make sufficient progress.24 To ensure the district's corrective action plan is implemented with fidelity, the WVDE should assign a dedicated, on-site representative to work directly with district leadership, providing both oversight and hands-on assistance. This presence would ensure accountability and provide the district with immediate access to state-level expertise.
Provide Targeted Expertise in System Operations: The WVDE must immediately address the critical knowledge gap identified at PCHS and the district office. The department should dispatch personnel with deep, practical expertise in the West Virginia Education Information System (WVEIS) to conduct intensive, mandatory training for all relevant staff. This training must cover the non-negotiable functions of master scheduling, grade transcription, data verification, and the proper development and management of Personal Education Plans (PEPs), directly remediating the core failures documented in the Special Circumstance Review.26
Support Critical Leadership Recruitment: The inability to hire a qualified school counselor and the challenges of supporting a new principal are not unique to Pocahontas County but are common in many rural West Virginia districts. The WVDE should leverage its statewide resources to actively assist the district in its search for and vetting of qualified candidates for the permanent high school principal and certified school counselor positions. This could include promoting the vacancies through statewide networks, providing guidance on crafting competitive compensation packages, and offering access to state-sponsored mentorship programs for new leaders.
5.3 Recommendations for the Pocahontas County Board of Education
The local Board of Education holds the ultimate responsibility for governance and for rebuilding community trust.
Embrace and Champion the Corrective Action Plan: The Board must publicly and unequivocally commit to implementing every directive issued by the WVDE as part of the State of Emergency. This requires moving beyond passive compliance to active leadership. The Board should schedule regular public meetings specifically to report on the district's progress in meeting the corrective action plan's benchmarks, providing transparent updates to a community whose trust has been broken.27
Prioritize and Fund Key Leadership Positions: The Board must make the recruitment and hiring of a permanent, experienced, and highly qualified high school principal and a fully certified school counselor its single most urgent priority. The Board should direct the superintendent to review the district budget and re-allocate funds if necessary to create a compensation and benefits package that is competitive enough to attract strong candidates to a rural, high-needs district.
Mandate Comprehensive Professional Development: The Board should enact a policy requiring intensive, ongoing, and mandatory professional development for all district and school administrators and relevant support staff on the use of WVEIS and the implementation of the West Virginia School Counseling Model. This policy should include a verification mechanism to ensure that all personnel demonstrate competency in these critical areas, preventing a recurrence of the systemic failures of 2024.
5.4 Recommendations for District and School Administrators
The superintendent and school principals are responsible for the day-to-day execution of the recovery plan.
Triage and Stabilize Pocahontas County High School: The superintendent's immediate and overwhelming focus must be on restoring basic functionality at PCHS. A dedicated task force should be formed to address the following non-negotiable items before the start of the next academic year:
Finalize, verify, and distribute a correct and stable master schedule that aligns with student needs and teacher certifications.
Conduct a complete audit of all current student transcripts, identifying and correcting any errors found in consultation with students and families.
Implement an emergency plan to create and review a PEP for every single high school student, ensuring compliance with state policy.26
Diagnose and Support Green Bank Elementary/Middle School: The district must launch a deep-dive diagnostic review of Green Bank to understand the root causes of its significant underperformance relative to the other elementary schools. This review should analyze curriculum implementation, instructional practices, school climate, and leadership to determine why its math proficiency (27%) is so much lower than that of Marlinton (47%) and Hillsboro (45%). Based on these findings, a targeted school improvement plan with dedicated resources and support must be developed.
Learn from and Leverage Internal Success: The district must formally recognize that it has models of success within its own system. The superintendent should task the principals of Marlinton and Hillsboro Elementary Schools with documenting the specific leadership strategies, instructional routines, and data-use practices that have contributed to their high performance. The district should then institutionalize this knowledge by creating structured opportunities for inter-school collaboration, professional learning communities, and peer observation, allowing the best practices from its strongest schools to be shared and adapted across the district.
Conclusion
The 2024 mathematics assessment results for Pocahontas County Schools are more than a collection of statistics; they are a clear and urgent signal of a district at a critical crossroads. The data reveals a story of paradox: pockets of significant success at the elementary level are being systematically erased by a profound collapse at the secondary level. The district-wide average, which mirrors the modest state benchmark, belies the reality of a "performance cliff" that students face as they advance through the system.
This academic failure, particularly at Pocahontas County High School, is not an abstract problem of curriculum or instruction alone. It is the direct and measurable outcome of a catastrophic breakdown in the fundamental operations of governance, leadership, and data management. The declaration of a State of Emergency by the West Virginia Board of Education validates this conclusion, laying bare a series of systemic deficiencies that made a positive learning environment impossible. The inability to perform basic functions such as creating schedules, maintaining accurate transcripts, or providing essential counseling services represents a failure of the district's most basic obligations to its students and community.
The path to recovery, therefore, is not primarily academic but administrative. Launching new educational initiatives without first repairing the shattered operational foundation would be an exercise in futility. The immediate and overriding priority for all stakeholders—from the State Board of Education to the local school board and district administrators—must be the restoration of stability, accountability, and competence.
By focusing relentlessly on implementing the state's corrective action plan, securing qualified and supported leadership, ensuring the integrity of all school systems, and rebuilding community trust through transparency, Pocahontas County can create the stable environment necessary for teachers to teach and students to learn. The challenges are severe, but they are not insurmountable. The success within the district's own elementary schools proves that excellence is possible. The task now is to build a system where that opportunity for excellence is not a matter of chance based on which school a child attends, but a guarantee for every student, at every grade level, in Pocahontas County.
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Mathematics Percent Proficient by Grade
West Virginia Statewide Summative Assessment (2022-2024)
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