Summary:
The North Little Rock School District in Arkansas serves two high schools—North Little Rock High School and North Little Rock Center Of Excellence—for grades 9 through 12, and the district ranks in the 20th percentile statewide with a 1-star rating.
The standout school is the North Little Rock Center Of Excellence, which dramatically outperforms its larger counterpart across nearly every academic measure. Despite having a 100% free/reduced lunch rate and lower per-student spending ($10,273 vs. $16,410), the Center of Excellence achieves a 92.2% graduation rate—well above the state average of 90.1%—compared to just 83.5% at North Little Rock High School. Its dropout rate is only 1.2%, versus 5.7% at the main high school. In English Language Arts proficiency, the Center of Excellence (46.8%) nearly doubles North Little Rock High School (24.1%), and similar gaps exist in Reading, Biology, and Algebra. The Center of Excellence ranks 132nd out of 293 high schools (55th percentile, 3 stars), while North Little Rock High School ranks 247th (16th percentile, 1 star).
Both schools share the same address, creating a unique dynamic where two very different student bodies are educated on the same campus. North Little Rock High School faces significant challenges, with critically low proficiency rates in Algebra (11.1%) and Geometry (10%), and a declining state ranking. However, both schools showed year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, suggesting instructional efforts are gaining traction. A curious pattern emerges in test scores: 9th-grade proficiency rates are much higher than 10th-grade rates in several subjects, which may reflect different course rigor or student cohorts. For parents, the Center of Excellence clearly offers stronger academic outcomes and higher graduation rates, while the main high school is working to address substantial performance gaps.
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