Summary:
The Magnolia School District in Arkansas contains one high school, Magnolia High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 with a total enrollment of 797 students in a community where nearly all students (98.62%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage.
Magnolia High School is a 1-star school ranked 216 out of 293 high schools in Arkansas (26th percentile) for the 2025-2026 school year, with a stable but low ranking trend. The school spends a substantial $13,500 per student and maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.4:1, yet academic proficiency lags significantly behind state averages. The most critical weakness is math, with only 12.9% of students proficient in Algebra and 13.2% in Geometry, compared to state averages of 36.9% and 26.4% respectively. English Language Arts proficiency stands at 32.4% (state: 39.4%), Reading at 32.7% (state: 40.4%), and Biology at 29.3% (state: 42.7%).
A striking anomaly is the dramatic performance gap between 9th and 10th graders: in Biology, 87.5% of 9th graders are proficient versus only 20.2% of 10th graders, a pattern that repeats across all subjects and warrants investigation into curriculum continuity and student support. Despite low proficiency rates, the school boasts a graduation rate of 92.4%, above the state average of 90.1%, with a dropout rate of 3.8%. This "diploma gap" suggests students may advance without mastering core material, pointing to potential issues with grading standards or course rigor. The high per-student spending paired with low academic outcomes indicates that resources may not be directed toward the most effective interventions, such as targeted math tutoring or addressing non-academic barriers common in high-poverty schools.
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