Summary:
In zip code 72365, there is one high school, Marked Tree High School, serving grades 7 through 12 with 228 students in the Marked Tree, Arkansas area.
Marked Tree High School is a school on the rise, showing a clear upward trend in its state ranking over the past three years. It improved from a 1-star rating (223rd out of 305) in 2023-2024 to a 2-star rating (156th out of 293) in 2025-2026, jumping from the 27th to the 47th percentile. This is a significant achievement, especially considering that over 72% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high level of economic disadvantage. The school also boasts a favorable student-teacher ratio of 10.3:1 and spends a substantial $16,500 per student. However, despite this investment, academic proficiency in most core subjects remains below state averages. For example, in the 2025-2026 school year, only 17.3% of students were proficient in Mathematics compared to the state average of 44.1%, and Geometry proficiency was just 10% versus 26.4% statewide. The graduation rate of 89.4% is slightly below the state average of 90.1%, while the dropout rate is very low at 0.8%.
A standout bright spot is the 9th-grade cohort, which significantly outperformed the state in English Language Arts (52.8% vs. 38%) and Reading (58.3% vs. 40.6%) in 2025-2026. This suggests a potential strength in early high school literacy instruction. In contrast, the school's performance in Mathematics and Science is a critical area for improvement. The school is part of the Marked Tree School District, which is ranked 210th out of 251 districts in Arkansas. The school's improving ranking, despite significant economic challenges, points to effective efforts by the staff and administration, though the high spending relative to academic outcomes raises questions about resource allocation.
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