Summary:
In zip code 71860, there is one high school, Lafayette County High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 in the rural community of Stamps, Arkansas, as part of the Lafayette County School District.
Lafayette County High School is a small school with 228 students and a very low student-to-teacher ratio of 6.1 to 1, which typically allows for more individual attention. However, the school faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 3% of all Arkansas high schools. On the 2025-2026 ATLAS exams, proficiency rates were drastically below state averages: only 8% of students were proficient in English Language Arts (state: 39.4%), 11.5% in Reading (state: 40.4%), and 9.5% in Mathematics (state: 44.1%). Performance in key subjects like Algebra (0% proficient) and Biology (3% proficient) is particularly concerning. Despite these low scores, the school's graduation rate of 89.7% is close to the state average of 90.1%, and there is a slight upward trend in test scores from the previous year, suggesting some recent improvements.
A key factor is the high poverty rate, with 85.53% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, which often correlates with additional learning barriers. The school spends $15,978 per student, above the state average, yet the academic results highlight a disconnect between resources and outcomes. For parents, this school offers a close-knit environment with small class sizes, but the academic performance is a major concern, particularly in math and science. The near-average graduation rate may not fully reflect the level of academic preparedness, as proficiency in core subjects remains very low.
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