Summary:
The Mountainburg School District is served by a single high school, Mountainburg High School, which educates 185 students in grades 9-12 in a rural Arkansas setting with a very high level of economic disadvantage, as 97.3% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Mountainburg High School presents a mixed academic profile. The school is a standout in Biology, with 51.8% of students proficient—well above the state average of 42.7%. It also performs slightly above the state average in Reading (41.2% vs. 40.4%). However, the school struggles significantly in mathematics, with only 9.1% proficient in Algebra (27.8 points below the state average) and 7.4% in Geometry (19 points below). This stark contrast between science and math performance suggests a need for targeted math improvement. The school benefits from an exceptionally low student-to-teacher ratio of 8.4:1 and spends $10,952 per student, indicating a high level of investment that has not yet translated into math success.
Key concerns include a graduation rate of 82.0%, which is 8.1 points below the state average, despite a low dropout rate of 1.6%. This discrepancy may indicate students are leaving through other pathways. The school's state ranking has been inconsistent, fluctuating from 139th (3 stars) in 2022-2023 to 187th (2 stars) in 2023-2024, and currently sits at 163rd (2 stars) for 2025-2026. This volatility is likely due to small class sizes, where the performance of a single cohort can heavily influence overall results. Overall, Mountainburg High School offers strong science instruction and individualized attention, but faces clear challenges in math achievement and student completion rates.
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