Summary
Prescott High School in Prescott, AR, is a small rural school serving 296 students in grades 9-12, where every student is eligible for free or reduced lunch, reflecting significant economic challenges in the community. Despite these hurdles, the school stands out for its exceptional graduation rate of 92.6% (2024-2025), which beats the state average of 90.1% and outperforms nearby schools like Blevins High School (81.2%) and Nevada High School (84.8%). This shows that Prescott is highly effective at keeping students on track to earn a diploma, even when test scores lag behind.
One of the school’s biggest assets is its extremely low student-teacher ratio of 6.2:1, which is much lower than the state average and nearby schools like Gurdon High School (9.7:1). This means students can get more individualized attention, which is a major plus for families. However, academic proficiency in core subjects remains a challenge. For example, only 8.4% of students are proficient in Geometry and 21.6% in Algebra, compared to state averages of 26.4% and 36.9%. On a positive note, Algebra scores have jumped from just 4.7% in 2023-2024 to 21.6% in 2025-2026, suggesting recent improvements in math instruction are working.
When compared to Gurdon High School, just 13.5 miles away, Prescott shows a clear gap in test scores—Gurdon outperforms in English, reading, math, and science. This difference may be linked to higher per-student spending ($16,666 vs. $13,545) and a lower poverty rate (76.59% free/reduced lunch vs. 100%). Still, Prescott’s dropout rate has improved dramatically, dropping from 3.5% in 2022-2023 to 1.3% in 2024-2025. For parents, Prescott High School offers a supportive environment that prioritizes graduation, with a low student-teacher ratio that can help students who need extra help, especially in math.
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