Summary:
Zip code 72417 in Brookland, Arkansas, is home to two middle-level schools serving grades 4 through 9 within the highly-rated Brookland School District, which holds a 5-star rating and ranks in the 90th percentile of Arkansas districts.
Brookland Middle School (grades 4-6, 755 students) is the standout performer, significantly exceeding both district and state averages in every core subject. Its mathematics proficiency rate of 65.3% outpaces the state average by over 21 percentage points, and the school showed consistent year-over-year improvement across all subjects. In contrast, Brookland Junior High School (grades 7-9, 701 students) presents a more mixed profile. While it generally performs at or above state averages, it often falls below the district average in core subjects like math (48.6% vs. the district's 61.3%). However, the junior high excels in advanced coursework, achieving an exceptional 81.6% proficiency rate in Biology, far exceeding the state average. The junior high also showed dramatic improvement, jumping from the 50th to the 71st percentile in state rankings year-over-year.
A key finding is a clear academic decline as students progress through the district, with the middle school outperforming the junior high in all core subjects. This is notable because the junior high has a lower student-teacher ratio (11:1 vs. 18.5:1) and slightly higher per-student spending, suggesting the middle school's instructional strategies are exceptionally effective. Both schools serve a predominantly middle-to-upper-middle-class demographic, with free/reduced lunch rates of 35.76% at the middle school and 27.82% at the junior high. The district's overall high performance is heavily driven by the strong results at Brookland Middle School, while Brookland Junior High School offers a strong advanced science track but needs additional support in standard math pathways.
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