Summary:
Zip code 72316 is home to a single high school, Blytheville High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 and is part of the Blytheville School District in Arkansas.
Blytheville High School faces significant academic challenges, consistently ranking in the bottom 6% of high schools in Arkansas over the last three years. The school reports that 100% of its 369 students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, indicating a student body with high economic need. Despite spending a notable $22,768 per student, academic proficiency rates are critically low. For the 2025-2026 school year, only 12.6% of students were proficient in English Language Arts, 14.8% in Reading, 9.3% in Algebra, and a staggering 1.2% in Geometry, all far below state averages. The graduation rate stands at 69.3%, significantly below the state average of 90.1%, with a dropout rate of 8.1%.
There is a small but positive trend: proficiency rates improved in every subject from the 2024-2025 to the 2025-2026 school year, with Biology seeing the largest jump from 10.4% to 18.5%. However, the school’s low student-teacher ratio of 10.6:1 and high per-pupil spending have not yet translated into strong academic outcomes, highlighting the deep impact of socioeconomic factors on student performance. For parents, this school presents a clear picture of a community grappling with poverty and its effects on education, though the recent uptick in test scores offers a glimmer of hope for future improvement.
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