Westside High School

Westside High School in Hartman, AR, is a small, rural school serving 306 students in grades 6 through 12 within the WESTSIDE SCHOOL DISTRICT (Johnson), and it stands out for serving an exceptionally high-poverty community where over 99% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Academically, the school has consistently ranked in the bottom 20-25% of Arkansas high schools, with proficiency rates in core subjects like English Language Arts (15.5%) and Math (22.7%) roughly half the state average. However, there is a notable paradox: despite low test scores, the school boasts a strong graduation rate above the state average for four consecutive years (94.5% in 2024-2025) and a declining dropout rate that fell to just 0.7%. This suggests the school is effective at keeping students on track to graduate, even if many are not meeting grade-level benchmarks. A critical concern is a sharp drop in proficiency between 6th and 8th grade, indicating a systemic issue in the middle school years. On a positive note, Biology scores are a bright spot, with 45.5% of 10th graders proficient—10.4 percentage points above the state average.

Compared to nearby schools, Westside’s poverty rate is the highest in the region, far exceeding Scranton High School (48% poverty) and Ozark Junior Senior High School (51% poverty), which have significantly higher proficiency rates. Interestingly, County Line High School has a similar poverty level (98.69%) but performs much better, ranking in the top 40% of schools with proficiency rates roughly double Westside’s. This comparison shows that high poverty does not have to dictate low performance, suggesting room for improvement. While Westside excels at graduating students, the data points to a need for stronger academic support, especially in middle school, to help students achieve proficiency alongside their diploma.