Hackett School District

The Hackett School District in Arkansas is a small, two-school district serving 824 students from Pre-K through 12th grade, where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating very high economic need across the community.

Hackett Elementary School (Pre-K through 6th grade) shows a critical crisis at the 5th-grade level, where proficiency rates drop dramatically—English Language Arts falls from 42.5% in 4th grade to just 12.7% in 5th grade, and Science plummets from 52% to 18.2%. This "5th grade wall" suggests a systemic instructional or curricular challenge that drags down the school's overall performance. In contrast, Hackett High School (7th through 12th grade) has a bright spot in its graduation rate of 92.1%, which exceeds the state average of 90.1%, and its Geometry proficiency rate of 38.9% is significantly higher than the state average of 26.4%. However, the high school's state ranking has declined sharply from the 64th percentile to the 37th percentile over three years, and its Algebra proficiency (26.9%) lags behind the state average (36.9%).

Despite the high school spending $1,612 more per student ($13,307 vs. $11,695) and having a much lower student-teacher ratio (6.2:1 vs. 14.1:1) compared to the elementary school, both schools consistently score below state averages in most subjects. The district ranks 181st out of 251 Arkansas districts (28th percentile) with a 1-star rating. The key takeaway is that while the high school successfully graduates students, both schools struggle to ensure students meet grade-level academic standards, with the elementary school facing a particularly severe challenge in 5th grade that requires immediate attention.