Best Public Schools in Scranton, AR

The city of Scranton, Arkansas, is served by the Scranton School District, which includes two public schools—Scranton Elementary School (grades K-6) and Scranton High School (grades 7-12)—with a combined enrollment of 449 students and a moderate level of economic need across the district.

Scranton Elementary School is the district's standout performer, showing a remarkable upward trajectory from the 48th percentile to the 80th percentile in state rankings over just two years. In the 2025-2026 school year, it exceeded state averages in every subject, with 62.9% of students proficient in Mathematics compared to 44.1% statewide and 53.4% proficient in Reading versus 40.4% statewide. In contrast, Scranton High School presents a more volatile picture, with rankings swinging from the 78th percentile to the 24th and back to the 68th percentile over three years. Its most critical weakness is mathematics, where only 23.6% of all students are proficient, far below the state average of 44.1%, and performance in advanced courses like Geometry (12.1% proficient) and Algebra (20% proficient) is especially concerning. However, the high school does show strength in Biology, with 55.1% of students proficient versus 42.7% statewide, and maintains a very low dropout rate of 0.5%.

Despite the high school having a lower student-teacher ratio (7.4:1) and higher per-pupil spending ($13,156) compared to the elementary school (14:1 ratio and $10,671 per student), the elementary school achieves far superior academic outcomes. This highlights that the quality of instruction and resource allocation matters more than raw numbers. The district's overall 3-star rating is largely driven by the elementary school's success, while the high school's math crisis—especially with only 8.6% of 8th graders proficient in standard Math and 4.2% of 10th graders proficient in Geometry—demands urgent attention. The district should investigate what makes the elementary school so effective and consider adapting those practices for the high school to stabilize its performance and address the systemic math challenges.