Summary:
Gentry, Arkansas is home to a single middle school, Gentry Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with 425 students as part of the Gentry School District, a district ranked 86th out of 251 in the state.
Gentry Middle School shows a mixed but improving performance profile. The school's most remarkable strength is in Algebra, where 81.5% of students are proficient—more than double the state average of 36.9%. Science is another bright spot, with overall proficiency at 48.1%, outperforming the state average of 44%. However, the school trails the state in core subjects like English Language Arts (36.1% vs. 39.4%), Reading (36.5% vs. 40.4%), and Mathematics (37.5% vs. 44.1%). A concerning trend is that proficiency in English Language Arts declines as students progress through grades, from 42.2% in 6th grade to just 30.9% in 8th grade. Despite these challenges, the school has shown impressive year-over-year improvement, with proficiency gains of 7.7 to 11.4 percentage points across all core subjects from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, lifting its state ranking from the 39th percentile (2 stars) to the 52nd percentile (3 stars).
With a student-teacher ratio of 13.4:1 and spending of $11,439 per student, the school has reasonable resources, though 55% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The rapid recent improvement suggests that instructional changes are having a positive impact, even as the school works to address gaps in core subjects. For parents, Gentry Middle School offers a standout Algebra program and strong science instruction, but families should be aware of the declining ELA performance by grade level and the need for continued support in mathematics.
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