Summary:
The three public schools in zip code 72638, serving the Green Forest School District in Arkansas, educate approximately 1,425 students from Pre-K through 12th grade in a community where over 79% of students face economic disadvantage, as indicated by Free/Reduced Lunch rates.
Green Forest Elementary School stands out as the district's academic bright spot, achieving a 53.2% proficiency rate in Mathematics—9.1 points above the state average—though its English Language Arts scores lag behind. In contrast, Green Forest High School faces the greatest challenges, with a graduation rate of just 75.8% (14.3 points below the state average) despite having the lowest student-teacher ratio (5.9) and highest per-student spending ($13,569) in the district. Green Forest Intermed School reveals a critical "6th grade wall," where ELA proficiency plummets from 40.9% in 5th grade to just 23.9% in 6th grade, signaling a difficult transition point for students.
Key takeaways include a "resource paradox" at the high school, where more funding and smaller classes do not translate to better outcomes, and a "leaky pipeline" in math, where elementary success (53.2% proficiency) fails to carry through to middle school (39.3%) or high school Algebra (28.7%). The entire district struggles systemically with English Language Arts, with all three schools scoring below the state average of 39.4%. Inconsistent performance at the high school—where 9th graders dramatically outperform 10th graders in subjects like Biology (80% vs. 21%)—suggests either cohort differences or instructional issues that warrant further investigation. These patterns highlight deep-rooted challenges that go beyond simple resource allocation.
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