Summary:
In zip code 72734, there is one high school, Gentry High School, serving grades 9 through 12 in the Gentry School District, a rural area in Arkansas with a moderate level of economic diversity.
Gentry High School has 565 students and a very low student-teacher ratio of 7:1, which often allows for more individualized attention. The school has a strong graduation rate of 92.4% and a low dropout rate of 1.4%. However, its state ranking has been volatile, dropping from a 4-star rating (79th percentile) in 2024-2025 to a 3-star rating (63rd percentile) in 2025-2026. The school shows a notable strength in Biology, with 47.1% of all students proficient compared to the state average of 42.7%, and an extraordinary 91% proficiency rate among 9th graders. In contrast, math performance is a significant weakness, with only 24.1% of students proficient in Algebra and 21.8% in Geometry, both below state averages.
The most concerning finding is a dramatic decline in Algebra proficiency, which dropped from 38.8% (above the state average) in 2024-2025 to 24.1% (below the state average) in 2025-2026. This "Algebra anomaly" suggests possible changes in curriculum, teaching staff, or student cohort that need investigation. Additionally, the stark contrast between 9th-grade Biology excellence and 10th-grade Biology performance (37.1% proficient) indicates uneven academic outcomes across grade levels. While the school benefits from small class sizes and a high graduation rate, the mixed academic results and declining state ranking suggest that Gentry High School is in a period of transition, with clear strengths in science but urgent needs for improvement in mathematics.
Thank you for your feedback!