Summary:
The two elementary schools in Gentry, Arkansas—Gentry Intermediate School (grades 3-5) and Gentry Primary School (grades K-2)—serve 763 students within the Gentry School District, a district ranked in the 66th percentile statewide with a 3-star rating and over $12,000 spent per pupil annually.
Gentry Intermediate School stands out as the academic benchmark, consistently outperforming state averages in all core subjects. Its strongest subject is Science, where 53.4% of students are proficient—9.4 points above the state average. The 4th grade cohort excels, with top proficiency rates in Math (54.8%) and Science (57.5%). The school’s state ranking has improved for two consecutive years, from the 62nd to the 68th percentile, and test scores rose in every subject from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. In contrast, Gentry Primary School focuses on early childhood education with a lower student-to-teacher ratio of 13.2:1 (versus 15.4:1 at the Intermediate School), suggesting more personalized attention for foundational learning.
A key takeaway is the successful educational pipeline: Gentry Primary’s smaller classes build a strong base, and students then achieve proficiency rates 6 to 9 points above state averages at Gentry Intermediate. However, a "3rd grade slump" is evident, with 3rd graders falling below state averages in ELA (39.9%) and Reading (39.1%), though strong 4th and 5th grade performance shows students overcome this transition. The district’s high investment per student appears to yield positive returns, as Gentry Intermediate’s consistent improvement and science strength highlight effective instruction and curriculum alignment across both schools.
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