Summary:
In zip code 72355, there is one high school, Barton High School, which serves grades 7 through 12 in the Barton School District in Lexa, Arkansas, a rural area where 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Barton High School has a total enrollment of 322 students and a favorable student-teacher ratio of 11.6:1, with spending per student at $13,969. The school's most notable strength is its graduation rate of 94.8%, which is nearly 5 percentage points higher than the state average of 90.1%, and a very low dropout rate of 0.9%. However, the school consistently ranks in the bottom quartile of Arkansas high schools, with its most recent state ranking at 236th out of 293 (19th percentile) for the 2025-2026 school year. Academic proficiency rates are significantly below state averages in all core subjects, with the most critical weakness in Geometry, where only 4.7% of students are proficient compared to the state average of 26.4%.
The key takeaway for parents is that Barton High School excels at keeping students on track to graduate, despite facing significant academic challenges tied to high poverty. The school's low student-teacher ratio and high per-student spending suggest resources are available for individualized attention, but test scores in English Language Arts (22% vs. 39.4% state), Mathematics (18.5% vs. 44.1% state), and Science (26.7% vs. 44% state) indicate a need for targeted academic intervention, particularly in Geometry. While the school provides a supportive environment that leads to strong graduation outcomes, parents should be aware that students may need additional academic support to meet state proficiency standards.
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