Summary:
The Cutter Morning Star School District in Hot Springs, Arkansas, is home to a single elementary school, Cutter-Morning Star Elementary School, which serves students from Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade with a total enrollment of 357 students.
Cutter-Morning Star Elementary School presents a mixed picture of performance. The school has a 2-star rating and ranks in the 46th percentile statewide, a position that has remained stable over the past three years. A standout finding is the dramatic performance gap between grade levels. The 4th grade class is a clear highlight, outperforming the state average in all four tested subjects—English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, and Science—in the 2025-2026 school year. In contrast, the 5th grade class faces significant challenges, scoring well below state averages, particularly in Mathematics (16.3% vs. 45.0% state) and Science (23.3% vs. 43.8% state). This "4th grade peak, 5th grade cliff" pattern suggests a potential systemic issue, such as a change in curriculum or teacher effectiveness, that warrants immediate investigation.
Despite these challenges, the school has shown notable year-over-year improvement in its overall "All Grades" scores, with a 9-point increase in Mathematics and a 6.6-point increase in English Language Arts from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. The school serves a high-poverty population, with 78.43% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, yet it still manages to produce a top-performing 4th grade class. The school spends $14,451 per student, but its student-to-teacher ratio of 17.9 is relatively high, raising questions about how resources are allocated. Overall, while the school has bright spots and is making progress, the volatile performance between grade levels indicates that targeted support is needed to ensure consistent success for all students.
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