Summary
Cutter-Morning Star High School is a public high school located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, serving grades 7-12 with a total enrollment of 316 students. The school is part of the Cutter-Morning Star School District, which is ranked 172 out of 250 districts in Arkansas and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Cutter-Morning Star High School consistently underperforms compared to the state average and nearby schools in academic assessments. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (25%), Reading (28.4%), and Mathematics (16.8%) were significantly lower than the state averages (34.7%, 35.3%, and 38.7%, respectively). The school's ACT performance is also below state averages, with only 10.2% of 11th-grade students scoring proficient or better in Science and 20.4% in Reading in 2021-2022. Additionally, the school does not provide graduation rate data, which is a concerning gap in the information available. Cutter-Morning Star High School has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 66.16% to 71.56% over the past three school years, suggesting a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.
When compared to nearby schools, Cutter-Morning Star High School consistently underperforms. For example, Lakeside High School, located just 2.12 miles away, has significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts (48.7%), Reading (46.7%), and Mathematics (19.4%) in 2024-2025. The school's spending per student of $9,365 in 2018-2019 is lower than the state average, which may contribute to the academic challenges. However, nearby schools like Malvern High School ($12,553) and Mountain Pine High School ($12,298) have higher per-student spending, yet still struggle academically, suggesting that the challenges faced by Cutter-Morning Star High School are not unique to the school, but rather reflect broader systemic issues within the region's education system.
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