Mineral Springs Elementary School

Mineral Springs Elementary School is a small, rural school in Mineral Springs, AR, serving 204 students in grades K-6 as part of the Mineral Springs School District, which ranks near the bottom of the state.

This school stands out for its exceptionally high per-student spending of $18,953—82% more than the average of nearby schools like Ashdown Elementary School and Murfreesboro Elementary School—and a very low student-teacher ratio of 10:1, the lowest in the area. Despite these investments, overall academic performance has historically been in the bottom 20% of Arkansas elementary schools, though recent data shows a positive upward trend to the 20th percentile. A fascinating bright spot is math: while 3rd-grade math proficiency is low at 16.7%, it skyrockets to 64% by 6th grade, the highest in the comparison group and well above the state average. This "late bloomer" trend contrasts sharply with English Language Arts, where 6th-grade proficiency is only 28%, creating a large gap that suggests the school's math success is subject-specific.

For context, Nashville Primary School, just 6.58 miles away, serves a similarly high-poverty population but achieves top-tier results (56th percentile, 3 stars), including 55.5% math proficiency in 3rd grade versus Mineral Springs' 16.7%. This comparison shows that high economic need doesn't have to limit performance, and Mineral Springs could learn from Nashville's early-grade strategies. Overall, Mineral Springs Elementary shows promise with its math growth and recent improvements, but it needs to replicate that success across all subjects and early grades to sustain its upward trajectory.