Summary:
The 72205 zip code in Little Rock, Arkansas, contains ten schools serving elementary through high school grades, managed by the Little Rock School District, the Lisa Academy charter network, and two specialized state-run institutions, creating a diverse educational landscape with stark performance contrasts.
The standout school in the area is Forest Heights Stem Academy, a K-8 school that consistently ranks in the top 20-25% of Arkansas elementary schools and achieves exceptional test scores, including 89.6% proficiency in Algebra compared to the state average of 36.9%. This performance is notable given that 55% of its students come from low-income households. In contrast, Brady Elementary School ranks in the bottom 3% of all Arkansas elementary schools with critically low proficiency rates (6.2% in Math, 11.7% in English) and a 99% free/reduced lunch rate. Pulaski Heights Elementary School offers a middle ground, consistently outperforming district and state averages with a 48% free/reduced lunch rate. The Lisa Academy schools show mixed results: Lisa Academy West Middle School excels in advanced subjects like Biology (93.3% proficiency) but struggles in standard Math (27% proficiency), while Lisa Academy West High School has seen a sharp decline in state ranking and Algebra scores.
A key takeaway is the inverse relationship between spending and performance: Brady Elementary has the highest per-student spending ($17,641) but the lowest test scores, while Forest Heights Stem Academy spends less ($14,743) and achieves top results. The specialized schools—School For The Deaf and Arkansas School For The Blind High School—serve unique populations with very low student-teacher ratios (2.7 and 3.4) and are not directly comparable to general schools, though the Blind High School has shown remarkable improvement, jumping from the 0th to the 88th percentile in recent years. The Lisa Academy Arkansas Hybrid School offers a cost-effective option with lower spending ($9,209) but a graduation rate (76%) well below the state average (90.1%).
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