Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School

Public, Magnet Grades 6-8
329th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 335 Arkansas Middle Schools
Better than 2% of Arkansas middle schools
Summary

Dunbar Magnet Middle School in Little Rock, AR, is a small school serving 315 students in grades 6 through 8, and it is part of the Little Rock School District.

Dunbar has faced significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 5% of all middle schools in Arkansas over the past decade. However, there is one notable bright spot: its Algebra I program. While overall math proficiency is low, 40% of 8th graders taking Algebra I are proficient, which is higher than both the district average (20.8%) and the state average (36.9%). This suggests that when students are placed in an advanced track, they can achieve at or above state averages. The school also has a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 9.7:1 and spends over $20,000 per student, which is significantly more than nearby high-performing charter schools like Estem Junior High Public Charter School ($12,641) and Lisa Academy West Middle School ($10,875).

Despite these resources, the school has not seen a return in overall test scores. A direct comparison with Mann Magnet Middle School, located just 1.4 miles away and serving a similar student population, shows that Mann outperforms Dunbar in every subject and grade level, while spending less per student. This indicates that the challenges at Dunbar are not insurmountable, but that current strategies are not effectively translating investment into academic gains. The school’s leadership has an opportunity to learn from its own successful Algebra program and from the example of Mann Magnet to improve outcomes for all students.

315
Students ?
9.7
Student/teacher ratio ?
$20,142
Per pupil spending ?
36.8%
Directly certified for free meals (2024-25) ?
All students receive free meals (Community Eligibility, 2024-25)
 1100 Wright Ave
       Little Rock, AR  72206

(501) 447-2600

District: Little Rock School District


Students who attend Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School usually attend:

High:    Central High School

Feeder schools for Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School:

Elementary:    Dr Martin Luther King Junior Leadership & Language Magnet Academy
Racial breakdown:

African American:
85.4%
Hispanic:
10.2%
White:
3.2%
more
 See top rated Arkansas middle schools

 Compare Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 7th percentile in 2016 → 2nd in 2026
Strengths
✓Small classes — about 10 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Arkansas average (13% vs 41% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (2nd percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 5 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school13%
District avg31%
Arkansas avg41%
329th of 335
Arkansas public middle schools ?
Bottom 2%▼ down 5 pts since 2016
From bottom 7% (2016) to bottom 2% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Arkansas Middle Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 5Middle Schools in the Little Rock School District
179th of 254Little Rock School District among Arkansas districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankArkansas percentileRating
20264.9329 of 3351.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20257.0313 of 3243.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20245.2327 of 3352.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20233.2326 of 3301.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20225.4306 of 3183.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20215.1314 of 3304.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20195.5304 of 3194.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20188.2296 of 3186.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201719.8268 of 31514.9%★☆☆☆☆
201613.5290 of 3127.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201526.6215 of 27521.8%★☆☆☆☆
201421.7242 of 28013.6%★☆☆☆☆
201318.8239 of 27814.0%★☆☆☆☆
201218.3234 of 26511.7%★☆☆☆☆
201125.7224 of 26415.2%★☆☆☆☆
201025.8213 of 25416.1%★☆☆☆☆
200926.7199 of 24017.1%★☆☆☆☆
200832.5184 of 22317.5%★☆☆☆☆
200734.3182 of 22519.1%★☆☆☆☆
200632.0159 of 20622.8%★☆☆☆☆
200541.4133 of 20836.1%★★☆☆☆
By subject vs Arkansas (2025-2026) ?
Algebra40%+3 vs state
Mathematics15%-29 vs state
Reading13%-27 vs state
Science12%-32 vs state
English Language Arts11%-29 vs state

★
No ratings yet
Be the first to rate Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School and help other families decide.
Rate Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School
Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.
Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.
Tap a star to rate
Reviews
No written reviews yet. If you know this school, be the first to share what stands out.



Schools Near Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School

Sort
Ranking:
Map legend
E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private






Frequently Asked Questions about Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School

Students who attend Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School usually go on to attend Central High School

Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School ranks in the bottom 1.8% of Arkansas middle schools.

Students at Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School are 85% African American, 10% Hispanic, 3% White.

In the 2024-25 school year, 315 students attended Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School.

Rate Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School!



Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for Dunbar Business Leadership Entrepreneurship Mag Middle School!


Latest Arkansas data All new data »
2025–26 ATLAS test scoresJul 13, 2026
2024–25 graduation ratesMar 5, 2026
2019–20 through 2023–24 school spending dataJan 6, 2026
2017–18 through 2024–25 dropout ratesJan 6, 2026


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

Diagnostics