Summary:
The city of Green Forest, Arkansas, is served by the Green Forest School District, which includes three public schools: Green Forest Elementary School (grades PK-3), Green Forest Intermed School (grades 4-8), and Green Forest High School (grades 9-12). The district is ranked 160th out of 251 in Arkansas, earning a 2-star rating, and serves a community where an average of 83.4% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating high economic disadvantage.
Green Forest Elementary School stands out as the district's strongest performer, with 53.2% of 3rd graders proficient in Math—beating both the district and state averages—despite an 87.6% free/reduced lunch rate. In contrast, Green Forest Intermed School consistently underperforms across all subjects and grade levels, with 6th and 7th-grade Reading proficiency rates 15-17 percentage points below the state average. Green Forest High School shows extreme variance: 9th graders outperform the state in Reading (44.7% vs. 40.6%) and Biology (80% vs. 72.2%), but 10th graders struggle with only 9.7% proficient in Geometry, and the graduation rate is a critical 75.8%—14.3 points below the state average of 90.1%.
Key metrics reveal a sharp "middle school slump" as students transition from elementary to intermediate grades, with literacy skills declining significantly. The high school spends the most per student ($13,569) and has the lowest student-teacher ratio (5.9:1), yet produces the lowest graduation rate and struggles in Algebra (28.7% proficient vs. 36.9% state). This suggests that while early elementary education builds a strong foundation, it is not sustained through later grades. The district trails the state in all core subjects, with the largest gap in Science (35% district vs. 44% state), highlighting systemic challenges that likely stem from the high poverty rate affecting student outcomes over time.
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