Best Public Schools in Zip Code 72029

The two public schools in zip code 72029, Clarendon Elementary School (grades PK-6) and Clarendon High School (grades 7-12), serve the Clarendon, Arkansas area as part of the Clarendon School District, which is ranked in the bottom 5% of the state. A defining characteristic of this district is that 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating significant economic challenges. Despite spending well above the state average per student (over $17,000) and maintaining very low student-teacher ratios (11:1 at the elementary and 9.6:1 at the high school), academic proficiency in core subjects is roughly half the state average or worse.

Comparing the two schools, Clarendon Elementary School shows a notable bright spot: its 6th-grade science proficiency rate of 42.3% nearly matches the state average of 42.5%, making it the only instance where a school's score meets the state benchmark. The elementary school also demonstrated clear year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with English proficiency rising from 9.9% to 16.4% and science from 17.3% to 24.6%. In contrast, Clarendon High School faces a severe crisis in gateway subjects, with only 3.4% of students proficient in Algebra and 4.3% in Biology—scores roughly 10 times lower than the state average. The high school's graduation rate of 80.9% is below the state average of 90.1%, though its dropout rate of 0.5% is a positive sign that students remain enrolled.

The most striking finding is the disconnect between high resource allocation and low academic outcomes, suggesting that challenges are deeply tied to socioeconomic factors rather than funding or class size. The elementary school's upward trend in English, reading, and science offers a glimmer of hope that recent efforts may be gaining traction. However, the high school's near-total lack of proficiency in math and science indicates a systemic issue that begins early and compounds over time, with students graduating without mastering core material. Understanding why 6th-grade science succeeded could provide a blueprint for improvement across the district.