Bradley High School

Bradley High School is a small, rural school in Bradley, AR, serving 147 students in grades 7-12 within the Emerson Taylor Bradley School District. With a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 6.7:1, the school offers a highly personalized learning environment, but its academic performance has been notably volatile, swinging from a 5-star state ranking two years ago to a 3-star ranking today.

Bradley High School shows a clear split in academic strengths. Mathematics is a standout, with 51.2% of all students proficient—well above the state average of 44.1%. This is driven by exceptional 8th-grade math scores, where 70% of students are proficient, far exceeding the district average of 52.3% and the 34.1% at nearby Taylor High School. However, English Language Arts and Reading lag behind state averages, and 7th graders face a particular "slump," performing significantly worse than their peers in other grades. The school also spends more per student ($13,948) than Taylor High School ($10,484), yet its overall academic returns are lower, likely due to the higher costs of serving a smaller, more economically disadvantaged population—69.4% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, more than double Taylor's rate of 32.6%.

While the graduation rate of 84.2% is below the state average of 88.9%, the dropout rate is very low at 0.6%, suggesting most students who stay persist to graduation. Performance in advanced subjects like Biology and Geometry can swing dramatically from year to year, a pattern common in small schools where a few students' scores can shift percentages significantly. For parents, Bradley offers a tight-knit community with strong math instruction, but they should be aware of the challenges in English and the need for support during the 7th-grade transition.