Summary:
In zip code 72823, there is one elementary school, Atkins Elementary School, serving grades PK through 4 in the town of Atkins, Arkansas, with a total enrollment of 370 students.
Atkins Elementary School is part of the Atkins School District, which holds a 2-star rating and ranks 148th out of 251 districts in the state. The school has shown a notable recovery in its state ranking, climbing from the 21st percentile in 2024-2025 back to the 33rd percentile in 2025-2026. A key strength is 3rd grade science, where 49.2% of students were proficient in 2025-2026, outperforming the state average of 45.4%. However, a significant concern is the sharp drop in 4th grade performance, where proficiency rates fell well below state averages across all subjects, including a 19.9-point gap in mathematics (27.1% vs. 47.0% statewide). Overall, the school's all-grade proficiency rates in 2025-2026 were below state averages in English Language Arts (31.2% vs. 39.4%), Reading (33.6% vs. 40.4%), and Mathematics (35.3% vs. 44.1%), but slightly above in Science (43.4% vs. 44.0%).
The school serves a high-poverty population, with 74.59% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch, and spends $15,759 per student, which is above the national average. The student-teacher ratio is 13:1. The most striking finding is the "4th grade cliff," where students who performed competitively in 3rd grade fall significantly behind in 4th grade, suggesting a need for targeted support during this transition. While the school has shown year-over-year improvement from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026, it still lags behind the district average in math and science, indicating that other schools in the district may be performing better.
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