Summary:
The Arkadelphia School District serves the city of Arkadelphia, Arkansas, with three public schools covering pre-kindergarten through 12th grade: Peake Elementary School (PK-4), Goza Middle School (5-8), and Arkadelphia High School (9-12). The district ranks in the 47th percentile statewide, earning a 2-star rating, but individual schools show very different trajectories.
Peake Elementary School is the district's rising star, climbing from a 1-star to a 3-star rating over three years and now matching or exceeding state averages in English and Reading. However, a concerning "4th-grade cliff" emerges where student performance drops sharply in all subjects compared to 3rd grade. Arkadelphia High School is the most consistent performer, maintaining a 3-star rating and the highest percentile rank (55th) in the district, with a standout Biology program where 10th graders score 11 points above the state average. Yet its graduation rate of 79.8% is over 10 points below the state average, a major red flag. Goza Middle School is the area of concern, with a three-year ranking decline from the 54th to the 38th percentile and significant underperformance in math (28.7% proficient vs. 44.1% state average). An interesting anomaly: its 8th-grade Algebra students achieve a 77.5% proficiency rate, far above the state average, suggesting a small group of high achievers in an accelerated track.
Resource allocation varies widely across the district. Arkadelphia High School enjoys a very low student-teacher ratio of 7.5:1 and the highest per-student spending ($12,844), while Peake Elementary has a high ratio of 19.5:1 and lower spending ($10,525). The percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch decreases with grade level, from 68% at Peake to 47% at the high school. Overall, the district shows pockets of excellence—like Peake's early grades and the high school's Biology program—but faces significant challenges with Goza's declining performance and the high school's low graduation rate.
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