Summary:
Zip code 71665, serving the Rison, Arkansas area, is home to four schools—two elementary and two high schools—spanning Pre-K through 12th grade across the Cleveland County School District and the Woodlawn School District, with a total enrollment of 1,291 students.
The standout school in this area is Woodlawn Elementary School, which achieves the highest proficiency rates in the zip code for English Language Arts (50.2%), Math (63.6%), and Science (56.6%)—all well above state averages—despite having the lowest spending per student ($10,293). In contrast, Rison High School shows a dramatic decline, dropping from the 83rd to the 43rd percentile in state ranking over two years, though it still posts strong Math (51.7%) and Science (58.0%) scores. Meanwhile, Woodlawn High School consistently struggles, ranking in the bottom quarter of the state with low ELA (29.1%) and Science (28.8%) proficiency, yet it maintains a high graduation rate (94.0%) and a very low dropout rate (0.3%). Rison Elementary School performs near state averages across subjects, with a 59th percentile ranking.
Key takeaways include that spending does not correlate with performance—Woodlawn Elementary excels with the least funding, while Rison High School spends the most ($13,448) but is declining. Student-teacher ratios also show no clear link to outcomes, as Rison High School’s low ratio (9.4:1) hasn’t prevented its drop. Socioeconomic factors vary, with Rison Elementary having the highest free/reduced lunch rate (74.47%) yet performing adequately, while Woodlawn High School has the lowest rate (52.11%) but the worst academics. This suggests that teaching quality and school culture, not just funding or demographics, drive success in this zip code.
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