Summary:
Zip code 72401 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is home to two high schools—The Academies At Jonesboro High School and Nettleton High School—serving grades 7-12 and 9-12 respectively, with a combined enrollment of 2,559 students in a community facing significant economic challenges.
Both schools rank in the bottom 20% of Arkansas high schools, but they show different strengths. The Academies At Jonesboro High School stands out for achieving a 94.2% graduation rate—higher than both Nettleton High School (91.0%) and the state average (90.1%)—despite serving a student population where 100% qualify for free/reduced lunch. This suggests its support systems are effective at keeping students on track. However, it spends $14,411 per student, over $2,300 more than Nettleton, yet posts lower test scores in most subjects. Nettleton High School offers a lower student-to-teacher ratio (11.8:1 vs. 14.7:1) and a slightly lower dropout rate (1.2% vs. 1.4%), but its state ranking has consistently been in the 12th-17th percentile, below Jonesboro’s 18th-22nd percentile range.
A critical concern for both schools is severe underperformance in STEM subjects. In the 2025-2026 school year, only 2.9% of Jonesboro students and 5.0% of Nettleton students were proficient in Geometry, compared to 26.4% statewide; Biology proficiency was similarly low at 14.3% and 19.8% respectively. Additionally, Nettleton shows a puzzling grade-level anomaly where 9th graders scored far higher in Geometry (28.2%) and Biology (35.3%) than 10th graders (1.7% and 9.1%), which may indicate curriculum changes or data issues. Overall, families in this area should weigh Jonesboro’s stronger graduation outcomes against Nettleton’s smaller class sizes, while recognizing that both schools face systemic challenges in math and science achievement.
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