Summary:
The city of Malvern, Arkansas, is served by eight schools across three districts—Malvern School District, Glen Rose School District, and Magnet Cove School District—educating approximately 3,526 students from elementary through high school.
For parents seeking top academic performance, Magnet Cove High School is the clear leader, boasting the highest proficiency rates in English, math, and science, along with the best graduation rate (92.3%) and smallest class sizes (5.7:1). Its district, Magnet Cove, is the highest-ranked in the city. Meanwhile, Glen Rose High School is the most improved, jumping from a 2-star to a 4-star rating in just two years. In contrast, schools in the Malvern School District—including Wilson Intermediate School and Malvern Middle School—consistently score below state averages, with Wilson Intermediate having the highest economic need (78% free/reduced lunch) and the lowest math scores (25.7% proficient). Notably, Magnet Cove Elementary School achieves strong results despite spending the least per student ($12,103), while Malvern Middle School spends the most ($15,859) but remains low-performing, suggesting that higher funding does not guarantee better outcomes.
A key takeaway is the "middle school dip": both Wilson Intermediate and Malvern Middle School are the lowest-performing schools overall, scoring below their own district's elementary and high schools. Additionally, Malvern Middle School reported an anomalous 85.2% Algebra proficiency rate in 2024-2025—far above the state average—which dropped to 25.9% the following year, a data point that warrants clarification. Overall, the Magnet Cove and Glen Rose districts offer the strongest academic environments, while the Malvern district faces systemic challenges tied to higher poverty rates.
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