Summary:
The Marion School District in Arkansas is home to a single high school, Marion High School, which serves 927 students in grades 10 through 12 and has shown a clear upward trajectory in its state ranking over the past two years.
Marion High School has improved its state ranking from the 18th percentile to the 32nd percentile, earning a 2-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year. This improvement is reflected in rising test scores across English Language Arts (33.5% proficient), Reading (35% proficient), and Biology (33.7% proficient), all of which have seen significant year-over-year gains. The school also boasts a strong graduation rate of 92.8%, which is above the state average of 90.1%, and a low dropout rate of just 1.6%. With a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.2:1 and per-student spending of $13,363, the school appears well-resourced to support its predominantly low-income student population, where nearly 79% qualify for free or reduced lunch.
However, a critical area of concern is the school's performance in Geometry, where 0% of students were proficient in the 2025-2026 school year—a stark contrast to the state average of 26.4%. This persistent weakness, which was only slightly better at 1.5% proficiency the previous year, indicates a fundamental challenge in math instruction that requires immediate attention. Despite this, the school's overall improvement in other subjects and its ability to graduate students at a high rate despite academic hurdles suggest that recent initiatives are having a positive impact. While proficiency rates in most subjects remain 5-10 percentage points below state averages, the upward trend in rankings and test scores offers a hopeful sign for parents considering this school.
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