Scranton School District

The Scranton School District in Arkansas is a small, rural district serving 449 students across two schools: Scranton Elementary School (grades K-6) and Scranton High School (grades 7-12).

Scranton Elementary School is the district's standout performer, showing a strong upward trend in its state ranking from the 48th percentile to the 80th percentile over three years. It consistently exceeds state averages in all core subjects, with 62.9% of students proficient in math compared to the state's 44.1%, and 52.7% proficient in English Language Arts versus the state's 39.4%. In contrast, Scranton High School faces significant challenges, particularly a critical math crisis where only 23.6% of students are proficient, far below the state average of 44.1%. This is despite the high school receiving 23% more funding per student ($13,156 vs. $10,671) and having a much lower student-teacher ratio (7.4:1 vs. 14:1) than the elementary school.

The most interesting finding is the "elementary feeder paradox": the elementary school produces students well above state averages, but this success does not carry over to the high school, suggesting a systemic issue in secondary instruction. A bright spot is the high school's Biology program, where 55.1% of students are proficient, outperforming the state average of 42.7%. The high school's ranking has been highly volatile, swinging from 4 stars to 1 star and back to 3 stars, indicating inconsistent performance. Overall, the district ranks 82nd out of 251 in Arkansas, earning a 3-star rating, with the elementary school driving most of its academic strength.