Summary:
Zip code 72626, serving the Cotter, Arkansas area, is home to two public schools—Amanda Gist Elementary School (serving Pre-K through 6th grade) and Cotter High School (serving 7th through 12th grade)—both part of the highly-rated Cotter School District, which ranks in the top 8% of districts in Arkansas.
Both schools achieve impressive academic results despite serving a student population where 100% of students are eligible for free or reduced lunch, indicating high economic need. Cotter High School stands out for its exceptional mathematics performance, with 65.8% of all students proficient in math—21.7 percentage points above the state average—and its 8th-grade class is a powerhouse, posting proficiency rates of 73.1% in math, 56.9% in reading, and 65.9% in science, all dramatically higher than state averages. The high school also boasts a remarkably low student-teacher ratio of 5.6:1, a solid 90.5% graduation rate, and a very low dropout rate of 0.9%. In contrast, Amanda Gist Elementary School excels in broad-based consistency, outperforming the state average in every single subject and grade level, with science as a particular strength (59.1% proficiency, 15.1 points above the state). The elementary school has a student-teacher ratio of 13.2:1 and higher per-student spending ($13,641) than the high school ($11,992).
A key takeaway is that the district effectively fills the "middle school gap" by having the high school serve grades 7-12, with 7th and 8th-grade scores among the highest in the district. However, a fascinating dichotomy exists at the high school: while foundational math instruction is elite, performance in advanced courses like Algebra and Geometry drops to near or below state averages, suggesting a need for stronger support in higher-level math. Both schools showed positive year-over-year growth from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, with Cotter High School's science proficiency jumping from 46.1% to 63.4%, indicating a dynamic and improving educational environment that overcomes socioeconomic challenges.
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