Huntsville Middle School

Huntsville Middle School in Huntsville, AR, serves 470 students in grades 6 through 8 and is part of the Huntsville School District, which has a 2-star rating and ranks 171st out of 251 districts in Arkansas.

One standout feature of Huntsville Middle School is its exceptional performance in Algebra, with an 88.9% proficiency rate for 8th graders—far above the state average of 73.9% and significantly higher than nearby Sonora Middle School. This suggests a strong advanced math program. However, in core subjects like English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, and Science, the school consistently scores a few points below the state average. For example, only 35.8% of students are proficient in Math compared to the state's 44.1%. This places Huntsville in a middle ground between the high-performing Elkins Middle School (a 5-star school with 71.4% Math proficiency) and the lower-performing Sonora Middle School (a 1-star school). The school has a favorable student-to-teacher ratio of 11.5:1, which is lower than both Elkins (15.6:1) and Sonora (14.5:1), suggesting potential for more individualized attention.

Huntsville Middle School serves a community with moderate economic need, as 68.3% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. Its spending per student ($10,196) is similar to Elkins but much lower than Sonora ($14,804). Despite this, Huntsville achieves better results than Sonora, indicating efficient use of resources. The school's ranking has declined over the years, from a peak of 73rd percentile in 2015-2016 to its current 35th percentile (2-star rating). This suggests systemic challenges that have not been fully addressed. For parents, the key takeaway is that Huntsville offers a strong Algebra program and smaller class sizes, but overall academic performance lags behind the state average and the nearby Elkins school.