Cabe Elementary

Cabe Elementary in Gurdon, AR, is a small, rural PK-6 school serving 365 students within the Gurdon School District, where nearly 79% of students face economic challenges. While the school has shown some recent improvement, its academic performance has historically lagged behind state averages, though there are notable bright spots and interesting comparisons to nearby schools.

When compared to its neighbors, Cabe Elementary sits in the middle academically. Peake Elementary School in the Arkadelphia School District is the clear regional leader, outperforming Cabe by roughly 12-13 percentage points in English Language Arts and Math. In contrast, Prescott Elementary School in the Prescott School District is a much closer match, with nearly identical proficiency rates—for example, Cabe’s ELA proficiency (29.7%) is almost the same as Prescott’s (28.7%). This suggests both schools serve demographically similar student populations and face comparable academic challenges.

One of the most striking findings is that Cabe spends significantly more per student ($13,626) than Peake ($10,525) or Prescott ($12,726), yet this investment hasn’t yet translated into a clear academic advantage. However, there is a promising exception: in 6th-grade Reading, Cabe’s proficiency (42.5%) actually exceeded the state average (41.7%), pointing to a potential model for improvement. Meanwhile, 5th grade consistently shows the lowest proficiency rates across subjects, suggesting a transition-year challenge. The school’s recent upward trend in state rankings, though volatile, offers hope that effective strategies are being implemented, even if they need to be sustained more consistently.