Mansfield School District

The Mansfield School District is a small, rural district in Arkansas serving approximately 751 students across three schools: Mansfield Elementary School (K-4), Mansfield Middle School (5-8), and Mansfield High School (9-12). The district ranks 179th out of 251 in Arkansas, earning a 1-star rating, and a high percentage of students (66% to 72%) are eligible for free or reduced lunch, indicating a predominantly low-income student population.

Mansfield High School stands out as the district's strongest performer, with a 93.7% graduation rate and a low 0.4% dropout rate, both exceeding state averages. It excels in Biology, where 44.6% of students are proficient, and its ranking has shown improvement, reaching the 62nd percentile in 2024-2025. In contrast, Mansfield Elementary School is the most challenged, with a 1-star rating and steep ranking decline from the 36th to the 14th percentile. Its proficiency rates in English Language Arts (22.1%), Reading (21.7%), Mathematics (30.7%), and Science (28.9%) are all well below state averages. Mansfield Middle School is a leader in Mathematics, with a 41.9% proficiency rate in 2024-2025, outperforming the district and state, though its ranking has steadily declined from the 66th to the 45th percentile.

An interesting finding is the "Algebra Anomaly" at the middle school, where the "All Grades" Algebra proficiency rate of 60.8% is dramatically higher than the district average of 26.6%, but this is because only advanced 8th-grade students take the test, and they perform slightly below their advanced peers statewide. The high school shows a "two-speed" math department, with Geometry students performing relatively well while Algebra students struggle significantly. Despite higher per-student spending at the elementary school ($14,004) compared to the middle school ($14,069), the elementary school's performance is much lower, suggesting that targeted interventions, not just spending, are needed to address its challenges.