Swifton Middle School

Swifton Middle School in Tuckerman, AR, serves 189 students in grades 5 through 7 and is part of the high-performing Jackson County School District, which ranks 13th out of 251 districts in Arkansas. The school stands out for its exceptional mathematics performance, with 67.7% of all students proficient in math—23.6 percentage points above the state average—and 5th graders achieving an impressive 85.5% proficiency rate. Despite 74% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, the school outperforms state averages in core subjects, ranking in the top 30% of schools, which points to effective teaching and strong leadership.

Swifton shows a dramatic performance drop between 5th and 6th grade, with 6th graders falling below state averages in English Language Arts (37.9% vs. state), Reading (36.2%), and Science (29.3%). This suggests a transition issue or curriculum change that the school should investigate. Compared to nearby Newport Junior High School (17.5 miles away), Swifton outperforms it in every subject by a wide margin—for example, 67.7% vs. 33.5% in math—despite having a much higher rate of economic disadvantage. Against Westside Middle School (18.4 miles away), Swifton leads in English Language Arts (50.3% vs. 42.7%) and math (67.7% vs. 53.1%), but Westside outperforms Swifton in science (53.8% vs. 43.9%), highlighting a clear area for growth.

The school has shown remarkable resilience, rebounding from a low 33rd percentile ranking in 2023-2024 to a 71st percentile (4-star) ranking in 2025-2026, indicating successful instructional changes. With a low student-teacher ratio of 11.2:1, Swifton offers a personalized learning environment. Its primary opportunities for improvement include addressing the 5th-to-6th-grade performance decline and strengthening its science curriculum to match its math and literacy strengths.