Summary:
The Clarendon School District in Arkansas is home to a single high school, Clarendon High School, which serves 193 students in grades 7 through 12 in a small, rural community.
Clarendon High School is defined by extreme economic disadvantage, with 100% of its students eligible for free or reduced lunch. This context is critical, as the school spends a notably high $17,275 per student—well above the state average—and maintains a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 9.6:1, yet academic proficiency rates are roughly half or less than half of the state average. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of Arkansas high schools, sitting at the 5th percentile for the 2025-2026 school year. Its graduation rate is 80.9%, significantly below the state average of 90.1%, though the dropout rate is a positive 0.5%.
Despite these challenges, there are glimmers of progress. Year-over-year test scores from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 show improvement, with English Language Arts proficiency rising from 11.2% to 17.3%, Reading from 11.9% to 18.1%, and Mathematics more than doubling from 8.9% to 20%. However, performance is highly inconsistent by subject and grade. While 26.2% of students are proficient in Science (the school's strongest subject), proficiency in Algebra (3.4%) and Biology (4.3%) is nearly non-existent. Grade-level data also varies, with 8th graders outperforming peers in Reading and Science, while 10th graders struggle in Biology. This suggests that while the school is making some headway, significant gaps remain, particularly in advanced coursework, and that financial investment alone has not yet overcome the profound challenges of poverty.
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