Summary:
The three public schools in zip code 72521, serving the Cave City, Arkansas area, are all part of the highly-rated Cave City School District, which ranks in the 90th percentile statewide and serves students from Pre-K through 12th grade.
The standout institution is Cave City High Career & Collegiate Preparatory School, which ranks an elite 6th out of 293 high schools in Arkansas (98th percentile) and has earned a 5-star rating for three consecutive years. Its exceptional performance is driven by a remarkably low student-teacher ratio of 5.8:1, the highest per-student spending in the district ($15,288), and proficiency rates that dramatically exceed state averages—62.8% in English Language Arts versus 39.4% statewide. In contrast, Cave City Elementary School ranks in the 59th percentile, while Cave City Middle School Career And Collegiate Preparatory performs solidly in the 82nd percentile. The middle school is particularly strong in math, with 54.7% proficiency compared to the high school's 49.5% in Algebra, suggesting a robust math foundation that shifts to more challenging subject-specific testing in high school.
The most compelling finding is the district's ability to achieve outstanding results despite serving a population where roughly 79% of students are economically disadvantaged. This "pipeline of success" shows a notable dip at the elementary level, where 4th-grade proficiency rates drop sharply across all subjects—a classic "4th grade slump" that the school should address. However, the high school's low dropout rate of just 0.2% and its elite state ranking demonstrate that the district's strategies, including intensive personalized attention and targeted resource allocation, are effectively overcoming socioeconomic barriers to deliver exceptional academic outcomes.
Thank you for your feedback!