Mammoth Spring School District

The Mammoth Spring School District in Arkansas is a small, rural district serving 472 students across two schools: Mammoth Spring Elementary School (Pre-K through 6th grade) and Mammoth Spring High School (7th through 12th grade), with 100% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.

The district presents a clear tale of two schools with very different trajectories. Mammoth Spring Elementary School is the standout performer, consistently exceeding state averages in English Language Arts (47.6% vs. 39.4%), Reading (50% vs. 40.4%), and Mathematics (49.6% vs. 44.1%). Its state ranking has steadily improved from the 56th percentile to the 66th percentile over the past two years, demonstrating strong, upward momentum despite serving a high-poverty student body. In contrast, Mammoth Spring High School has experienced a dramatic decline, falling from a 5-star, 90th-percentile ranking in 2023-2024 to a 3-star, 59th-percentile ranking for 2025-2026. While the high school maintains a strong 91.6% graduation rate and a very low 0.5% dropout rate, its test scores now lag behind state averages in most subjects, with the exception of advanced math courses like Algebra and Geometry.

Key metrics highlight the contrast. The elementary school has a healthy student-teacher ratio of 12.5:1, while the high school has an extraordinarily low ratio of 3.4:1, which may indicate a lack of specialized instruction. Both schools spend over $15,000 per student, well above the national average, yet the elementary school is getting a much stronger academic return on that investment. The data also suggests a difficult transition period, with a notable drop in proficiency from 5th grade to 7th grade, indicating a systemic challenge the district needs to address at the secondary level.