Best Public Schools in Zip Code 72404

Zip code 72404 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, is home to six schools serving elementary through high school grades, split between two starkly different districts: the high-performing Valley View School District and the struggling Nettleton School District.

The standout school for academic excellence is Valley View Intermediate School, which boasts the highest test scores in the zip code, with 63% proficiency in math—well above the state average of 44.1%. Valley View High School is a standout for improvement, jumping from the 73rd percentile in 2023-2024 to the 92nd percentile in 2025-2026, now earning a 5-star rating. However, it has a notable weakness: only 13.3% of students are proficient in Geometry, a sharp drop from its strong performance in other subjects like Biology (58%). Valley View Junior High School excels in advanced math, with 67.2% of 8th graders proficient in Algebra. In contrast, Fox Meadow School Of Creative Media is the lowest-performing school, ranking in the 10th percentile statewide with only 20.7% ELA and 25.9% math proficiency, and it faces significant socioeconomic challenges with an 86.59% free/reduced lunch rate. Interestingly, Fox Meadow Elementary shows a curious spike in 4th-grade math scores (44.2% proficiency), suggesting a potential bright spot or effective teacher in that grade.

The most profound finding is the extreme educational inequality within this single zip code. The Valley View district ranks 11th in the state, while Nettleton ranks 228th—a gap of 217 places. The average free/reduced lunch rate for Valley View schools is 29.7%, compared to 84.3% for Fox Meadow schools, highlighting a clear socioeconomic divide. Spending does not correlate with success: the highest-performing school, Valley View Intermediate, has the lowest per-student spending ($9,885), while the lower-performing Fox Meadow schools spend an average of $12,255 per student. This data shows that for parents in 72404, the choice of school district can mean the difference between a top-5% education and a bottom-10% one, with opportunities varying dramatically just blocks apart.