Summary:
In zip code 72335, there is one high school, Forrest City High School, serving grades 9 through 12 in Forrest City, Arkansas, as part of the Forrest City School District.
Forrest City High School serves 563 students and faces significant challenges, with 100% of its students eligible for free or reduced lunch. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 13% of Arkansas high schools, earning a 1-star rating in recent years. Academic proficiency rates are well below state averages across all core subjects, with the most dramatic gaps in math: only 6.5% of students are proficient in Algebra (compared to 36.9% statewide) and 7.2% in Geometry (versus 26.4% statewide). The graduation rate is 80.5%, nearly 10 percentage points below the state average of 90.1%, and the dropout rate is 3.7%.
Despite these low outcomes, the school has a very low student-teacher ratio of 6.9:1 and spends $14,732 per student, suggesting resources are not the primary issue. A notable bright spot is 9th-grade Biology, where 68.2% of students scored proficient, much closer to the state average of 72.2%. However, this success is not replicated in other subjects or grades, as 10th-grade Geometry proficiency is just 1%. Math scores have also declined year-over-year, with Algebra dropping from 14.9% to 6.5% proficiency. This data points to deep-seated socioeconomic challenges and systemic issues in math instruction that parents should consider when evaluating the school.
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