Southside Middle School

Southside Middle School in Southside, AR, serves 450 students in grades 4 through 6 and is part of the Southside School District (Independence), a district that ranks in the 78th percentile statewide with a 4-star rating.

This school’s standout strength is its exceptional mathematics program, which consistently outperforms both the state and nearby schools. For the 2025-2026 school year, 55.3% of students were proficient in math, compared to the state average of 44.1%—an 11.2 percentage point advantage. This trend holds across all grades, with 6th graders achieving a remarkable 58.8% proficiency rate. In fact, Southside Middle School even edges out the higher-ranked Cave City Middle School Career And Collegiate Preparatory in math (55.3% vs. 54.7%), despite serving a community with a moderate level of economic need (55.56% free/reduced lunch rate). Science is another consistent strength, with 52.3% proficiency versus the state’s 44.0%. English Language Arts is also on an upward trajectory, moving from below the state average to above it (42.5% vs. 39.4% in 2025-2026).

What makes these results even more impressive is the school’s high student-to-teacher ratio of 20.1:1, which is nearly double that of its district counterpart, Southside Junior High School (11.6:1). Despite larger class sizes and lower per-student spending ($9,775 vs. $10,806 at the junior high), Southside Middle School achieves superior academic outcomes. This suggests a highly effective teaching staff and leadership that maximize resources. While Batesville Junior High School Charter and Cave City Middle School have slight edges in literacy, Southside Middle School is a direct competitor in STEM subjects, making it a model of academic efficiency and strength in math and science.