Summary:
Zip code 71740, encompassing the town of Emerson, Arkansas, is home to a single high school, Emerson High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 within the Emerson Taylor Bradley School District.
Emerson High School is a small, high-performing institution with only 136 students and an exceptionally low student-teacher ratio of 5.8:1, allowing for personalized instruction. The school has shown a dramatic upward trajectory, leaping from a state rank of 58th in 2024-2025 to an impressive 12th out of 293 schools in 2025-2026, earning a 5-star rating. Academically, it significantly outperforms state averages in nearly every subject, with standout results in Biology (68.2% proficient vs. 42.7% state) and 8th Grade Mathematics (72.7% proficient vs. 36.2% state). However, there is a notable paradox: despite these strong test scores, the school's graduation rate of 85.7% falls below the state average of 90.1%, and its dropout rate is 3.6%.
While the school excels overall, year-over-year improvement is not uniform across all grades and subjects. For instance, 10th Grade Reading proficiency jumped from 39% to 56.5%, while 9th Grade English Language Arts remained flat. This suggests that the school's rapid rise is driven by specific areas of strength rather than a uniform lift. With a moderate level of economic disadvantage (49.26% free/reduced lunch) and a per-student spending of $12,953, Emerson High School presents a compelling picture of a small school leveraging its resources to achieve exceptional academic results, while facing the challenge of translating that success into a higher graduation rate.
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