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Virginia's nationally acclaimed education system serves as a pipeline, supplying businesses with a steady stream of skilled new entrants. Our attention to education is reflected in Virginia's superior, well-prepared labor force. Ranked among the best in the nation, Virginia's elementary and secondary schools offer a wealth of opportunity and diverse learning experiences for students. Over 1.2 million students are enrolled in over 2,200 elementary and secondary schools throughout the state. Virginia's high schools graduated around 85,000 students annually. Over 82 percent of these graduates continued to a two or four-year degree program or other continuing education plans.
- Five Virginia high schools were identified by Newsweek's "America's Best High Schools" as among the top 100 public high schools in the country, tying Virginia for 6th in the nation for the number of schools recognized.
- In the "State Technology Report 2008" released by Education Week magazine, Virginia received a grade of A- compared to the national average of B for its use of technology in schools.
- Virginia has the 6th best education climate according to Business Facility.
- Virginia's 11th and 12th graders are taking the 4th most AP exams in the nation and 38.1% of the graduating class of 2010 took at least one AP exam during high school, compared to 28.3% nationally.
- Virginia has the 5th most schools offering the International Baccalaureate Program in the U.S.
- Private Schooling: the Commwealth offers a wide-variety of school options at over 330 accredited institutions.
- With six military schools in the Commwealth, Virginia has the largest concentration of military schools in the nation.
- Over 550,000 middle and high school students are enrolled in one or more Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses and programs in Virginia.
- Career and Technical Education (CTE) annually serves more than 550,000 secondary students in courses offered in high schools, middle schools or at one of the 49 local and regional technical centers.
- Researchers at Editorial Projects in Education Inc. rated Virginia fourth in the nation in overall educational quality in the 2011 “Quality Counts” report. Virginia ranked higher than the U.S. average in the report that measured state education in several categories including academic achievement, school finance, and standards, assessments and accountability.
- U.S. News & World Report's 2010 America's Best High Schools lists 2 Virginia high schools as gold medal schools, of which one (Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology) is ranked as the "Best High School" in the nation. Virginia also has 6 silver and 28 bronze medal schools.
- Education Week ranks Virginia's public education system 4th in the nation.
- Results of national science tests from the 2009 National Assessment of Education Progress show that Virginia public school students are among the highest achieving students in science in the nation.
For additional information on Virginia’s Elementary
and Secondary Education, please visit the Virginia
Department of Education.
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