Summary:
Zip code 72076 in Jacksonville, Arkansas, is home to two high schools serving grades 9-12: Jacksonville High School, a large traditional public school with 1,208 students, and Jacksonville Lighthouse High School, a much smaller public charter school with just 60 students.
The most notable finding is the stark contrast in academic performance between the two schools. Jacksonville Lighthouse High School has shown a remarkable turnaround, jumping from the 7th percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 61st percentile in 2025-2026, earning a 3-star rating. In key subjects like Geometry, it achieved a 52.6% proficiency rate—double the state average of 26.4%—and in Biology, it scored 44.5%, slightly above the state average. In contrast, Jacksonville High School has declined to the 9th percentile with a 0-star rating, with only 4.4% of students proficient in Geometry and 21.8% in Biology. Both schools struggle with Algebra, with Jacksonville High School at just 4.6% proficiency compared to the state average of 36.9%. The charter school's success is supported by significantly higher spending of $39,734 per student, nearly 2.8 times the $14,161 spent at Jacksonville High School, which is part of the Jacksonville North Pulaski School District (bottom 8th percentile statewide).
Despite these academic differences, both schools face similar challenges in student retention. Jacksonville Lighthouse High School has a graduation rate of 84.6% and a dropout rate of 6.6%, while Jacksonville High School has an 81.0% graduation rate and a 6.0% dropout rate—both below the state average of 90.1%. The charter school, part of the Arkansas Lighthouse Charter Schools district (22nd percentile), serves a population where 75% of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch, yet it outperforms its larger counterpart in nearly every academic metric, highlighting the potential impact of a small, focused learning environment and targeted resource allocation.
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