Fordyce Elementary Schools

Fordyce Elementary Schools in Fordyce, AR, serves 338 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 6th grade and is part of the Fordyce School District, which ranks in the bottom 12% of Arkansas districts.

One of the most striking things about Fordyce Elementary is its spending: at $20,358 per student, it spends roughly 60% more than nearby schools like Hampton Elementary School ($13,030) and Rison Elementary School ($12,200). Despite this high investment, academic performance is generally below the state average, though there has been a slight upward trend over the last three years. A notable bright spot is 4th grade mathematics, where 51.3% of students are proficient—above the state average of 47% and significantly higher than Hampton (31.4%) and Bearden Elementary School (40%). However, in other areas like 6th grade English Language Arts, only 20% of students are proficient compared to the state average of 40.8%.

This spending-versus-performance gap raises important questions about how resources are used. For comparison, Rison Elementary achieves much higher results across all subjects while spending over $8,000 less per student, and Bearden Elementary—which has a similar poverty rate—outperforms Fordyce in both ELA and math. The school also shows a sharp drop in free/reduced lunch eligibility from 99% to 78% in one year, which may be a data anomaly. While Fordyce Elementary faces significant challenges, its recent slight improvement and strength in 4th grade math suggest that focused efforts could lead to better outcomes for all students.