Summary:
Zip code 71973 is home to a single school, Cossatot River Elementary School, which serves grades 3 through 6 and has an enrollment of 200 students. The school is part of the Cossatot River School District, which is ranked 176th out of 251 districts in Arkansas. The area has a very high rate of economic disadvantage, with 98.5% of students receiving free or reduced lunch, yet the school demonstrates notable academic strengths.
Cossatot River Elementary School stands out for its exceptional performance in Science, where 56.4% of students are proficient—12.4 percentage points above the state average. The school also outperforms the state in English Language Arts (47.2% vs. 39.4%) and Reading (48.7% vs. 40.4%). However, Mathematics is a relative weakness, with 42.0% proficiency falling below the state average of 44.1%. The school's state ranking has declined from the 85th percentile (4 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 65th percentile (3 stars) in 2025-2026, a significant 20-percentile-point drop. The student-to-teacher ratio is 14.6:1, and per-student spending is $12,026.
A critical finding is a "5th Grade Slump," where 5th graders' proficiency drops dramatically across all subjects, especially in Mathematics (28.6% vs. 51.8% for 3rd graders). In contrast, 3rd graders excel, with 70.3% proficiency in Science. The school's ability to outperform the state in three of four core subjects despite high poverty rates is remarkable, highlighting effective strategies in most areas. The persistent math weakness in upper grades suggests a need for targeted intervention, while the strong Science performance could serve as a model for improvement.
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