Summary:
The East End School District in Bigelow, Arkansas, is served by a single elementary school, Anne Watson Elementary School, which educates 357 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade.
This school is a remarkable standout for its dramatic academic turnaround. After earning a 2-star rating for two consecutive years, it jumped to a 4-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year, ranking in the 75th percentile statewide. This leap is even more impressive given that over 72% of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch, a common indicator of economic disadvantage. Despite this challenge, the school now significantly outperforms the state average in every core subject. For example, 65% of students are proficient in Math compared to the state average of 44.1%, and 56% are proficient in English Language Arts versus the state average of 39.4%.
The school’s 3rd grade class is a particular highlight, with extraordinary proficiency rates of 82.2% in ELA and 83.9% in Reading—roughly double the state average. However, a clear trend emerges as students get older: proficiency rates decline, with 6th grade ELA proficiency dropping to 40%, below the state average. This suggests the school excels at building early foundational skills but may need to focus on sustaining that success through upper elementary grades. Overall, Math is the school’s strongest subject across all grades, and because the district has only one elementary school, its high ranking is entirely dependent on the continued success of Anne Watson Elementary School.
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