Hermitage High School

Hermitage High School is a small, rural school in Hermitage, Arkansas, serving 208 students in grades 7 through 12 within the Hermitage School District. The school serves a community with significant economic challenges, as evidenced by a 100% free/reduced lunch rate for the last three years, yet it demonstrates a remarkable ability to keep students on track to graduation.

What truly sets Hermitage High apart is its exceptional student retention. The school boasts a graduation rate of 94.2% and an incredibly low dropout rate of just 0.4% for the 2024-2025 school year. This is dramatically better than nearby Warren High School, which had a dropout rate of 3.7% in the same period. Academically, the school shows a unique strength in Mathematics, with 41.9% of students proficient—nearly matching the state average of 44.1% and far exceeding Hampton High School's 28.4% proficiency. This math strength is especially notable in 8th grade, where 50% of students are proficient compared to the state average of 36.2%. However, Science and Biology proficiency lag significantly behind state averages, pointing to a specific area for improvement.

The school's high per-student spending of $15,257 and a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 8.4:1 suggest a well-resourced environment that can provide individualized attention. This investment likely contributes to the school's ability to support students through to graduation. While Hermitage has historically ranked in the bottom third of Arkansas high schools, its most recent ranking (33rd percentile) is its highest in five years, indicating a positive trajectory. Compared to Hampton High, which has a lower rate of economic disadvantage, Hermitage outperforms it in nearly every academic metric, suggesting the school is effectively overcoming its challenges to deliver results.