Brookland School District

The Brookland School District in Arkansas is a high-performing, mid-sized district serving approximately 3,213 students across five schools: two elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school, and is ranked in the 90th percentile statewide.

Brookland Elementary School is the district's academic star, showing a dramatic improvement from a 3-star to a 5-star ranking and achieving the highest test scores in the district, significantly outpacing both district and state averages in all subjects. In contrast, Brookland High School experienced the most volatility, jumping from a 1-star to a 4-star ranking in a single year, though its current test scores in core subjects like English Language Arts (45.1%) and Geometry (15.5%) remain below district averages. Brookland Junior High School has the lowest core subject scores in the district but is a standout for Biology, with 81.6% of 9th graders proficient, far exceeding the state average. Brookland Middle School has the lowest spending per student ($9,786) and the highest student-teacher ratio (18.5:1), yet maintains solid, above-average scores. Brookland Primary School serves Pre-K and Kindergarten, has no test score data, and has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (40.36%) with a low student-teacher ratio of 13.2:1.

Key findings include a clear "middle school slump" where performance drops from elementary to junior high, and a district-wide strength in Biology. Spending does not correlate with performance, as the highest-spending school (Brookland High at $12,583) has volatile results, while the lowest-spending school (Brookland Middle) performs well. Geometry is a critical weakness, especially at the high school level, where only 15.5% of students are proficient. The district consistently outperforms the state average, with a strong graduation rate of 94.8% at the high school and a low dropout rate of 0.5% at the junior high.