Summary:
The Lawrence County School District is home to a single high school, Walnut Ridge High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 and provides the entire community's secondary education in one institution.
Walnut Ridge High School has a total enrollment of 437 students and shows a positive three-year trend in state rankings, improving from the 54th percentile to the 61st percentile. The school boasts a strong graduation rate of 91.9% and an exceptionally low dropout rate of just 0.4%. With a very favorable student-teacher ratio of 6.9:1, students have access to more individualized attention. Over half of the student body (52.63%) is eligible for free or reduced lunch, indicating a moderate-to-high level of economic disadvantage, and the district spends $11,948 per student.
Academically, the school presents a mixed picture with notable strengths and weaknesses. The school excels in Biology, with 55.7% of all students proficient compared to the state average of 42.7%, and 10th graders achieving a remarkable 56.9% proficiency rate. The 10th-grade class also demonstrates strong literacy skills in English Language Arts and Reading. However, the school struggles significantly in advanced math, with Geometry proficiency at just 15.1% and Algebra at 30.4%, both below state averages. There is also a dramatic drop in math proficiency between 7th grade (52%) and 8th grade (28.8%), suggesting the transition to more complex concepts is a major hurdle. Additionally, while Biology is a strength, general Science proficiency is a weakness at 32.1% compared to the state's 44%, indicating the broader science curriculum may need revision.
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