Summary:
The Marvell Elaine School District in Arkansas is served by a single elementary school, Marvell-Elaine Elementary School, a small, rural institution for grades PK through 6 with 121 students where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Marvell-Elaine Elementary School presents a striking paradox: it spends a very high $23,598 per student and maintains a low 11:1 student-teacher ratio, yet its overall academic performance ranks near the bottom of the state (474th out of 491 schools, 3rd percentile). Overall proficiency rates are critically low, with only 10.9% of students proficient in English Language Arts, 5.4% in Reading, 23.7% in Mathematics, and 7.3% in Science—all far below state averages. The most notable bright spot is a 61.6% proficiency rate in 3rd-grade Mathematics, which actually exceeds the state average, but this success does not carry into 4th grade (11.1% proficient). Reading and Science scores are alarmingly low, with 0% proficiency in Reading for 3rd and 6th grades, and 0% in Science for 5th and 6th grades.
The school's state ranking has been highly volatile, jumping from the very bottom (0th percentile) in 2023-2024 to the 14th percentile in 2024-2025, only to drop back to the 3rd percentile in 2025-2026. This inconsistency, combined with the high spending and low performance, suggests that financial resources alone are not overcoming the deep challenges tied to the community's 100% poverty rate. For parents, the key takeaway is that while the school invests heavily in its students, the academic outcomes remain among the lowest in Arkansas, with a few isolated bright spots that have not been sustained across grades or subjects.
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