Summary:
The Pea Ridge School District in Arkansas serves approximately 2,670 students across five schools—Pea Ridge Primary School, Pea Ridge Intermediate School, Pea Ridge Middle School, Pea Ridge Junior High School, and Pea Ridge High School—and is ranked 108th out of 251 districts in the state, earning a 3-star rating with a moderate economic disadvantage rate averaging around 32% free/reduced lunch.
The standout school for core academics is Pea Ridge Middle School (grades 5-6), which leads the district in English, math, and science proficiency, with 65.5% of students proficient in math compared to the state average of 44.1%. In contrast, Pea Ridge Junior High School (grades 7-9) excels in advanced subjects, achieving 72.4% proficiency in Geometry and 75.3% in Biology—far exceeding district and state averages—despite having the lowest per-student spending at $9,280. Pea Ridge High School (grades 10-12) stands out for student retention, with a 94.7% graduation rate and a 0.8% dropout rate, but struggles academically, with only 11.7% proficiency in Geometry and 33.6% in Biology, despite having the highest per-student spending at $13,869.
A key concern is the "middle school paradox": Pea Ridge Middle School is the top performer, but Pea Ridge Junior High School sees a sharp drop in core subjects, such as 8th-grade math proficiency falling to 24.2% from 73.7% in 6th grade. Additionally, ranking declines across the district—like Pea Ridge Intermediate School dropping from the 84th to the 57th percentile—suggest a need for curriculum alignment and improved academic rigor, especially in STEM fields at the high school level.
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