Summary
Newport Elementary School in Newport, AR, serves 691 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 5th grade and is the largest elementary school in the area, though it has faced academic challenges over the past decade. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom third of Arkansas elementary schools, with its state ranking percentile hovering between the 20th and 29th percentile in recent years, a decline from its 2-star rating in the 2015-2019 era. However, there is a glimmer of hope: the most recent three years show a slow but steady improvement in rank, from the 20th to the 27th percentile, suggesting that recent interventions may be starting to have a positive effect.
One of the most striking findings is the "science gap" at Newport Elementary. In the 2025-2026 school year, only 26.7% of students were proficient in science, a staggering 17.3 percentage points below the state average of 44%. This gap is far larger than the gaps in English Language Arts (5.6 points below) and Math (6.3 points below), making science a critical area for improvement. Additionally, the school spends $14,731 per student, which is the lowest among nearby schools that reported data. For comparison, Weiner Elementary spends $18,465 per student and achieves much higher test scores, while Sulphur Rock Magnet Elementary School spends $17,408 and also outperforms Newport. This suggests that Newport's spending efficiency may not be translating into strong academic results.
A direct comparison with Tuckerman Elementary School, just 8 miles away, highlights the potential for improvement. Tuckerman serves a similar demographic but is a top-performing school (88th percentile, 4 stars), with proficiency rates in Math (63.5%), Science (63.5%), and ELA (56.2%) far exceeding Newport's rates of 37.8%, 26.7%, and 33.8%, respectively. This stark contrast shows that high poverty does not have to dictate low performance, and it raises the question of what Tuckerman is doing differently that Newport could learn from. The Newport School District is ranked in the bottom 20% of Arkansas districts, but with focused efforts on science instruction and learning from nearby high-performing schools, there is potential for Newport Elementary to continue its recent upward trend.
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