Summary:
In zip code 72331, there is a single elementary school, Earle Elementary School, serving grades PK through 6 in the town of Earle, Arkansas, which is part of the Earle School District.
Earle Elementary School serves 195 students and faces significant challenges, with 99.49% of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch, indicating an extremely high level of economic need. The school spends $14,604 per student and maintains a low student-teacher ratio of 13.2:1, both of which are favorable compared to national averages. Despite these investments, academic performance is persistently low, with the school ranking in the bottom 5% of Arkansas elementary schools and receiving a 0-star rating for three consecutive years. Test scores from the 2025-2026 school year show proficiency rates well below state averages: 18.6% in English Language Arts (vs. 39.4% statewide), 13.7% in Mathematics (vs. 44.1%), and 13.6% in Science (vs. 44.0%).
An interesting finding is a dramatic drop in performance between 3rd and 4th grade, with 4th grade proficiency rates falling to just 3.4% in ELA and Math, and 0% in Science. However, there is a glimmer of hope: 3rd graders scored 26.1% proficient in ELA and 26% in Math, the highest rates for any grade. Additionally, year-over-year data shows improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with all-grades ELA proficiency rising from 10.4% to 18.6% and Math from 9.4% to 13.7%. This upward trend, while from a very low base, suggests recent interventions may be starting to have an effect, though the profound impact of concentrated poverty remains the dominant factor in understanding the school's performance.
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