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Central Elementary School

Q: Is Central Elementary School a good school?

Central Elementary School ranks 336 th of 495 Arkansas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Public Grades K-5

336^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 495 Arkansas Elementary Schools

Better than 32% of Arkansas elementary schools

Summary

Central Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Van Buren, Arkansas, serving 489 students in grades K-5. It is part of the Van Buren School District, which is ranked 102 out of 250 school districts in the state and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Arkansas elementary schools over the past 10 years, with its performance on standardized tests generally below the district and state averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts, Reading, Mathematics, and Science was significantly lower than the Van Buren School District and Arkansas state averages. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 72.32% to 74.64% over the past 3 years, which is significantly higher than the nearby Rena Elementary School (49.27%) and Parkview Elementary School (60.78%).

Despite the relatively low student-teacher ratio at Central Elementary School, ranging from 16.2 to 17.9 over the past 3 years, the school's academic performance remains below the district and state averages. The nearby Rena Elementary School and Parkview Elementary School consistently outperform Central Elementary School on standardized tests, suggesting that factors beyond just the student-teacher ratio may be influencing student outcomes at Central Elementary School. Addressing these challenges through targeted interventions and a comprehensive approach to school improvement could be crucial for enhancing the educational outcomes of the students at Central Elementary School.

466

Students ?

18.3

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,624

Per pupil spending ?

75.3%

Free/discounted lunch ?

913 N 24 St
Van Buren, AR 72956

(479) 474-7059

District: Van Buren School District

Students who attend Central Elementary School usually attend:

High:

Van Buren High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

63.5%

Hispanic:

15.9%

Two or more races:

14.6%

See top rated Arkansas elementary schools

Compare Central Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 35th percentile in 2015 → 32nd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Arkansas average (30% vs 36% meeting standards)

!Science scores 10 pts below the Arkansas average

!Near the bottom of Van Buren School District's ranking

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school30%

District avg38%

Arkansas avg36%

336^th of 495

Arkansas public elementary schools ?

Bottom 32%▼ down 2 pts since 2015

See the entire ranking list of Arkansas Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

5^th of 6Elementary Schools in the Van Buren School District

102^nd of 250Van Buren 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Arkansas percentile	Rating
2025	36.2	336 of 495	32.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	32.2	365 of 497	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.0	336 of 492	31.7%	★★☆☆☆
2022	45.4	295 of 487	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.0	323 of 496	34.9%	★★☆☆☆
2019	25.0	391 of 488	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	35.3	344 of 480	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	52.2	236 of 485	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2016	46.3	291 of 494	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2015	37.7	305 of 466	34.5%	★★☆☆☆
2014	28.9	388 of 471	17.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	51.2	281 of 476	41.0%	★★☆☆☆
2012	37.6	358 of 468	23.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	37.2	349 of 471	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	42.1	319 of 457	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2009	21.0	385 of 445	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	41.3	307 of 439	30.1%	★★☆☆☆
2007	50.8	253 of 440	42.5%	★★☆☆☆
2006	59.3	187 of 402	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2005	71.0	102 of 411	75.2%	★★★★☆

By subject vs Arkansas (2024-2025) ?

Mathematics37%~ state avg

Science28%-10 vs state

English Language Arts27%-8 vs state

Reading27%-9 vs state

★

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Schools Near Central Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ATLAS English Language Arts (2025)				ATLAS Reading (2025)				ATLAS Mathematics (2025)				ATLAS Science (2025)				Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ATLAS English Language Arts 3rd Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 4th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts 5th Grade	ATLAS English Language Arts All Grades	ATLAS Reading 3rd Grade	ATLAS Reading 4th Grade	ATLAS Reading 5th Grade	ATLAS Reading All Grades	ATLAS Mathematics 3rd Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 4th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics 5th Grade	ATLAS Mathematics All Grades	ATLAS Science 3rd Grade	ATLAS Science 4th Grade	ATLAS Science 5th Grade	ATLAS Science All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Central Elementary School	Public	K-5	913 N 24 St	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 474-7059	466	25	18.3	75.3%	296 (63.5%)	14 (3.0%)	74 (15.9%)	8 (1.7%)	6 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (14.6%)	36.2	336^th of 495 public elementary schools	32.1%		32.2	365^th of 497 public elementary schools	26.6%	29	24.6	22.1	33.3	26.9	20.3	23.2	36.0	26.7	36.2	36.2	38.7	37.1	20.2	30.4	32.0	27.7	$13,624	$3,016	$10,608
King Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	411 North 20th St	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 474-2661	437	28	15.3	86.3%	179 (41.0%)	13 (3.0%)	169 (38.7%)	5 (1.1%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	68 (15.6%)	19.1	415^th of 495 public elementary schools	16.2%		24.9	393^rd of 497 public elementary schools	20.9%	22	17.2	30.3	15.6	21.6	12.5	26.4	17.2	19.1	14.1	27.6	21.9	21.6	17.2	26.4	21.9	22.0	$11,760	$1,308	$10,452
Parkview Elementary School	Public	K-5	619 Parkview	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 474-8730	437	23	18.8	65.7%	280 (64.1%)	9 (2.1%)	76 (17.4%)	4 (0.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	64 (14.6%)	66	159^th of 495 public elementary schools	67.9%		68.9	146^th of 497 public elementary schools	70.6%	13	37.0	43.0	41.8	40.7	37.0	36.7	38.8	37.4	43.8	58.2	56.7	53.0	48.0	51.9	28.4	43.4	$9,710	$662	$9,047
Oliver Springs Elementary School	Public	K-5	505 Northridge Drive East	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 471-3120	441	24	18.1	53.7%	295 (66.9%)	4 (0.9%)	85 (19.3%)	3 (0.7%)	7 (1.6%)	1 (0.2%)	46 (10.4%)	69.5	146^th of 495 public elementary schools	70.5%		77.4	91^st of 497 public elementary schools	81.7%	55	35.6	48.5	43.2	42.4	35.6	41.1	40.9	39.3	50.6	57.4	47.7	51.6	43.8	45.6	45.4	45.0	$9,564	$917	$8,647
Rena Elementary School	Public	K-5	720 Rena Road	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 471-3190	414	21	19.3	54.8%	279 (67.4%)	6 (1.4%)	63 (15.2%)	7 (1.7%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (13.3%)	71.2	131^st of 495 public elementary schools	73.5%		62.5	187^th of 497 public elementary schools	62.4%	56	56.0	45.0	31.1	44.0	52.0	46.7	35.2	44.5	73.3	58.3	39.2	56.9	57.3	38.3	33.8	43.6	$9,607	$596	$9,011
Spradling Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4949 Spradling Ave	Fort Smith	72904	Sebastian County	Fort Smith School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 783-8048	307	17	18.3	94.5%	48 (15.6%)	31 (10.1%)	192 (62.5%)	13 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (7.5%)	26.1	383^rd of 495 public elementary schools	22.6%		30.7	373^rd of 497 public elementary schools	24.9%	10	24.5	34.0	12.5	23.2	26.6	36.0	19.6	27.1	22.4	24.0	25.0	23.9	24.4	30.0	19.6	24.6	$13,041	$1,606	$11,435
Harry C. Morrison Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	3415 Newlon Rd	Fort Smith	72904	Sebastian County	Fort Smith School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 782-7045	493	26	19.1	90.3%	81 (16.4%)	79 (16.0%)	278 (56.4%)	16 (3.2%)	8 (1.6%)	1 (0.2%)	30 (6.1%)	18.9	417^th of 495 public elementary schools	15.8%		15.1	444^th of 497 public elementary schools	10.7%	27	18.1	11.4	25.3	18.2	22.3	19.0	28.0	23.0	22.3	21.5	17.3	20.3	16.6	19.0	26.7	20.8	$11,686	$1,899	$9,787
James R. Tate Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	406 Catcher Road	Van Buren	72956	Crawford County	Van Buren School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 471-3130	459	25	18.3	76.3%	319 (69.5%)	7 (1.5%)	85 (18.5%)	4 (0.9%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (8.9%)	46.3	280^th of 495 public elementary schools	43.4%		36.8	336^th of 497 public elementary schools	32.4%	56	40.0	33.9	25.4	33.2	35.7	30.9	28.4	31.7	37.1	35.3	44.8	39.0	35.7	32.3	32.8	33.7	$10,791	$901	$9,890
Sutton Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	5001 Kelley Hwy	Fort Smith	72904	Sebastian County	Fort Smith School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 785-1778	411	27	15.0	91.5%	67 (16.3%)	40 (9.7%)	236 (57.4%)	28 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (9.7%)	17.6	428^th of 495 public elementary schools	13.5%		13.7	451^st of 497 public elementary schools	9.3%	23	25.7	21.4	18.7	22.1	24.2	24.6	20.3	23.1	17.1	21.3	17.0	18.4	22.9	14.8	10.2	16.3	$14,863	$2,223	$12,640
Sunnymede Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	4201 N O St	Fort Smith	72904	Sebastian County	Fort Smith School District	No	No	No	Yes	(479) 783-6327	510	27	18.7	91.4%	70 (13.7%)	35 (6.9%)	323 (63.3%)	21 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (11.8%)	25.3	388^th of 495 public elementary schools	21.6%		22	412^th of 497 public elementary schools	17.1%	24	24.4	26.2	21.0	23.7	25.7	29.7	19.8	25.0	35.2	17.9	22.1	24.6	31.1	22.6	21.0	24.5	$11,773	$1,780	$9,993

Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary School

How many students attend Central Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 466 students attended Central Elementary School.

Is Central Elementary School a good school?

Central Elementary School ranks 336^th of 495 Arkansas elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

What schools do graduates of Central Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Central Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Van Buren High School

What is the racial makeup of Central Elementary School?

Students at Central Elementary School are 64% White, 16% Hispanic, 15% Two or more races, 3% African American, 2% Asian, 1% American Indian.

What district is Central Elementary School in?

Van Buren School District

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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.