Best Middle Schools in Arkansas

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Find the best Arkansas middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Arkansas test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

Alert! We are expecting the release of this year's test scores by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education any day now! We will update our rankings as soon as they are released!

Alert! New test scores and rankings are expected from the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education any day now!

School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 324)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
281	Pocahontas Junior High School	Public	7-9	2405 North Park Street	Pocahontas	72455	Randolph County	Pocahontas School District	No	No	No	Yes	(870) 892-4573	456	36	12.5	66.7%	324 (71.1%)	7 (1.5%)	20 (4.4%)	4 (0.9%)	13 (2.9%)	69 (15.1%)	19 (4.2%)	$9,480			$1,399			$8,081	17.5	30.3	250	31		051161001438
282	Shirley High School	Public	7-12	201 Blue Devil Drive	Shirley	72153	Van Buren County	Shirley School District	No	No	No	Yes	(501) 518-2223	110	14	7.5	74.5%	103 (93.6%)	2 (1.8%)	2 (1.8%)	2 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	$17,009			$2,743			$14,266	17.3	36.8	223	59		051242001001
283	Decatur Middle School	Public	5-8	1498 Stadium Ave.	Decatur	72722	Benton County	Decatur School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 321-5780	162	14	11.6	100.0%	68 (42.0%)	3 (1.9%)	70 (43.2%)	5 (3.1%)	7 (4.3%)	8 (4.9%)	1 (0.6%)	$12,388			$910			$11,478	17.1	22.2	280	3		050498001602
284	Piggott High School	Public	7-12	533 East Main	Piggott	72454	Clay County	Piggott School District	No	No	No	No	(870) 598-3815	330	50	6.5	63.3%	309 (93.6%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.7%)	$14,166			$882			$13,284	17.1	27.3	270	14		051137000852
285	Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2410 S Battery St	Little Rock	72215	Pulaski County	Scholarmade Achievement Place Of Arkansas	Yes	No	No	Yes	(501) 404-0012	306	22	14	100.0%	0 (0.0%)	302 (98.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)								16.6	8	320	35		050042101656
286	Fordyce High School	Public	7-12	Three Redbug Bus Loop	Fordyce	71742	Dallas County	Fordyce School District	No	No	No	No	(870) 352-2126	321	34	9.4	73.8%	110 (34.3%)	192 (59.8%)	14 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	$13,434			$1,423			$12,011	16.1	12.4	308	22		050621000335
287	Maumelle Middle School	Public	6-8	1000 Carnahan Drive	Maumelle	72113	Pulaski County	Pulaski County Special School District	No	No	No	No	(501) 851-8990	498	44	11.3	58.8%	139 (27.9%)	294 (59.0%)	29 (5.8%)	8 (1.6%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	25 (5.0%)	$15,706			$564			$15,142	15.8	21.4	285	2		051185001106
288	Forrest City Junior High School	Public	7-8	1133 North Division St	Forrest City	72335	St. Francis County	Forrest City School District	No	No	No	Yes	(870) 633-3230	270	17	15.6	100.0%	8 (3.0%)	244 (90.4%)	11 (4.1%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.9%)	$16,207			$3,116			$13,091	15.3	29.7	252	36		050627000345
289	Mann Magnet Middle School	Public, Magnet	6-8	1000 E. Roosevelt	Little Rock	72206	Pulaski County	Little Rock School District	No	Yes	No	Yes	(501) 447-3100	557	41	13.7	99.5%	29 (5.2%)	413 (74.1%)	97 (17.4%)	4 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.2%)	$16,625			$1,860			$14,765	15.1	13	307	18		050900000621
290	Dermott High School	Public	7-12	525 East Speedway Street	Dermott	71638	Chicot County	Dermott School District	No	No	No	Yes	(870) 538-1030	139	29	4.8	100.0%	3 (2.2%)	130 (93.5%)	5 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	$19,548			$2,729			$16,819	15	16.2	299	9		050517000239

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About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on ATLAS English Language Arts, ATLAS Reading, ATLAS Mathematics, ATLAS Science, ATLAS Algebra, ATLAS Geometry, ATLAS Biology test scores released by the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
These rankings were last updated on July 10, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of Education