Summary:
The city of Cove, Arkansas, is served by a single public school, Cossatot River High School, which educates students in grades 7 through 12 within the Cossatot River School District.
Cossatot River High School serves a student body of 388, with an exceptionally high rate of economic need—99.23% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school benefits from a very low student-teacher ratio of 8.8:1 and spends $13,701 per student. Despite these resource advantages, the school's overall state ranking has dropped sharply from the 60th percentile (3 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 24th percentile (1 star) for the projected 2025-2026 school year. The graduation rate stands at 84.9%, which is below the state average of 90.1%.
Academic performance reveals significant challenges, particularly in mathematics. Overall proficiency in math is 25.5%, nearly 19 points below the state average of 44.1%. A dramatic "8th grade cliff" is evident: 7th-grade math proficiency is 40.8%, but it plummets to just 6.8% in 8th grade. There is also a paradox in Algebra: 69.3% of 8th graders taking the exam are proficient, but only 7.0% of 9th graders are. Science is a relative strength, with Biology proficiency (40.3%) nearly matching the state average (42.7%). The low test scores contrast with the graduation rate, suggesting students may be advancing without meeting grade-level standards. The school's primary struggle appears to be overcoming the profound effects of extreme poverty on academic readiness, rather than a lack of funding or large class sizes.
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