Summary:
In zip code 72364, there is one high school, Marion High School, serving grades 10 through 12 in Marion, Arkansas, a community where nearly 79% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Marion High School presents a mixed picture for parents. On the positive side, the school boasts a strong graduation rate of 92.8%, which is above both the district and state averages, and a low student-teacher ratio of 10.2:1, suggesting smaller class sizes. The school has also shown consistent improvement in its state ranking over the last three years, moving from the 18th percentile to the 32nd percentile and earning a 2-star rating. However, academic proficiency on state tests remains a significant concern. In the most recent testing year, only 33.5% of students were proficient in English Language Arts and 35% in Reading, both below the state averages. The most alarming figure is a 0% proficiency rate in Geometry, a critical subject where the state average is 26.4%. This indicates that while the school is effective at keeping students on track to graduate, a large majority are not mastering core academic subjects at a proficient level.
Despite spending $13,363 per student and having favorable resource indicators, the academic outcomes do not yet reflect that investment. The school is part of the Marion School District, which is ranked 220th out of 251 districts in Arkansas. There is a glimmer of hope, as test scores have improved year-over-year in English, Reading, and Biology. For parents, the key takeaway is that Marion High School excels at graduating students but faces serious challenges in ensuring they are academically proficient, particularly in math, which demands immediate attention and targeted support.
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