Summary:
This analysis examines eight elementary schools in the 71603 zip code, serving grades PK-5 in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas area, and includes schools from the Friendship Aspire Academies Arkansas, Watson Chapel School District, and Pine Bluff School District.
The standout performer is Friendship Aspire Academy Downtown Pine Bluff, ranked 82nd in the state (83rd percentile) with a 4-star rating, significantly exceeding state averages in Math (79% proficient vs. 44.1%) and English Language Arts (57.9% vs. 39.4%). In stark contrast, Thirty-Fourth Street Elementary School faces the greatest challenges, ranking 472nd (4th percentile) with a 0-star rating and critically low scores, such as only 1.7% of 5th graders proficient in Math and Science. Other schools show mixed results: Friendship Academy Little Rock Elementary and Friendship Aspire Academy Hazel St Pine Bluff perform below state averages, while Friendship Aspire Academy North Little Rock Elementary showed a dramatic turnaround, jumping from the 7th to the 50th percentile. The average free/reduced lunch rate across schools is 84.9%, with Thirty-Fourth Street and Southwood Elementary School at 100%.
Key takeaways include that high spending does not guarantee performance—Friendship Aspire Academy Hazel St Pine Bluff spends $17,582 per student but ranks in the bottom third, while the top-performing Downtown campus lacks spending data. There is a systemic "5th grade slump" in the Pine Bluff School District, with catastrophic drops in proficiency at Thirty-Fourth Street and Southwood. Additionally, data integrity is a concern, as schools physically located in Little Rock and North Little Rock are listed under this Pine Bluff zip code, suggesting the data may be grouped by a regional cooperative rather than a precise geographic boundary.
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