Dumas High School

Dumas High School is a public high school in Dumas, Arkansas, serving 305 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Dumas School District, which is ranked 238 out of 250 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Dumas High School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Arkansas high schools over the past decade, with a current statewide ranking of 264 out of 291 high schools and a 0-star rating.

Dumas High School significantly underperforms the state averages across various standardized tests, including ATLAS and ACT Aspire. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 14% of Dumas High School students were proficient or better in ATLAS/English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 34.7%. Similarly, in the 2022-2023 school year, only 7.5% of 10th-grade students at Dumas High School were proficient or better in ACT Aspire/Math, compared to the state average of 20.4%. The school also has an extremely high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, exceeding 100% in recent years, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage among the student population.

Interestingly, the nearby McGehee High School, which is part of the McGehee School District, also performs poorly compared to the state averages, but generally outperforms Dumas High School in academic metrics. This suggests that the challenges faced by Dumas High School may be specific to the Dumas School District and not just a regional issue. Despite the relatively high spending per student at Dumas High School, the academic performance remains significantly below the state averages, raising questions about the effective allocation and utilization of resources within the school and district.