Summary:
Zip code 72016, encompassing Bigelow, Arkansas, is home to a single high school, Bigelow High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 with a total enrollment of 317 students and is part of the highly-rated East End School District (ranked 39th out of 251 districts in the state).
Bigelow High School stands out for its rapid improvement in state ranking, climbing from the 59th percentile in 2023-2024 to the 72nd percentile in 2025-2026, and for its exceptional performance in Algebra, where 49% of all students were proficient in 2025-2026 compared to the state average of 36.9%. The school also boasts a very low student-teacher ratio of 7.4:1, which likely contributes to its low dropout rate of 0.9% and its ability to make significant academic gains, such as a dramatic 35.1 percentage point increase in Biology proficiency from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026. Despite a high free/reduced lunch rate of 67.19%, the school outperforms state averages in English Language Arts (46.1% vs. 39.4%), Reading (46.1% vs. 40.4%), and Mathematics (45.3% vs. 44.1%).
However, the school shows a clear area for improvement in Science, where only 39% of students were proficient in 2025-2026 (state: 44%), with 7th-grade Science being a particular weakness at 26.9% proficiency. Additionally, while strong in Algebra, the school struggles with Geometry, where only 21.1% of all students were proficient (state: 26.4%), and 10th-grade Geometry proficiency was just 8.6%. Overall, Bigelow High School offers a personalized learning environment with small class sizes and a track record of improvement, though parents should note the disparity between its math and science outcomes.
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