Middle Schools in Bentonville School District

The Bentonville School District in Arkansas operates nine middle-level schools serving grades 5-8, split into four junior highs (grades 7-8) and five middle schools (grades 5-6), with a total enrollment of 6,052 students across a highly-ranked district in the 97th percentile statewide.

Lincoln Junior High School stands out as the academic powerhouse, ranked #2 in Arkansas with exceptional advanced math scores, including 100% proficiency in Geometry and 98.2% in Algebra. Bright Field Middle School is the efficiency champion, achieving the highest overall test scores among all nine schools—79.5% in ELA and 86.3% in Math—despite having the highest student-teacher ratio (19.7:1) and second-lowest per-student spending ($10,617). In contrast, Creekside Middle School is the lowest-performing school district-wide, with proficiency rates in ELA (53.1%), Reading (51.3%), and Science (62.3%) significantly below the district average. J. William Fulbright Junior High School is a consistent high-achiever, ranked #6 in the state and boasting the highest ELA proficiency rate (72.3%) among all schools.

Key metrics reveal wide variation: state rankings for junior highs range from #2 (Lincoln) to #15 (Grimsley Junior High School), while test score proficiency spans from 53.1% to 79.5% in ELA and 63.0% to 86.3% in Math. Per-student spending ranges from $10,369 (Grimsley) to $15,040 (Lincoln), with no clear link to performance—Bright Field outperforms many higher-spending schools. Student-teacher ratios vary from 14.2:1 (Fulbright) to 19.7:1 (Bright Field). A notable finding is the "Bright Field Paradox," where the school with the highest ratio and lowest spending achieves top scores, likely due to its very low free/reduced lunch rate (4.59%). The junior highs excel in advanced math, with Lincoln and Washington Junior High School both achieving 100% Geometry proficiency, far exceeding state averages. Overall, the district shows strong performance but significant internal variation, with socioeconomic factors strongly correlating with outcomes.