Summary:
Portland, Arkansas is home to a single public school, Portland Elementary School, which serves students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade as part of the Hamburg School District.
This small, rural school of 136 students shows a clear academic strength in Mathematics, where its 48.9% proficiency rate for the 2025-2026 school year outpaces both the district (36.5%) and state (44.1%) averages. However, the school struggles in English Language Arts and Reading, with proficiency rates of 34.7% in both subjects, which fall below the state average of 39.4%. The 3rd grade class is a standout, achieving 61.1% proficiency in Math and 50% in both ELA and Science, dramatically exceeding district and state averages. In contrast, a concerning "4th grade slump" is evident, with 4th graders scoring only 21.4% in Math, compared to 61.1% in 3rd grade and 58.8% in 5th grade.
Despite serving a population where 75% of students are economically disadvantaged, the school has shown remarkable year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with proficiency jumps of over 10 percentage points in every subject. The school's per-student spending of $13,613 is notable, yet its overall state ranking remains low at 188 out of 251 (25th percentile). This suggests that while resources are being used effectively to boost math scores, targeted literacy interventions are needed, particularly for upper elementary students, to translate the school's strong math performance into balanced academic success across all subjects.
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