Summary:
In zip code 72823 (Atkins, Arkansas), there is one middle school, Atkins Middle School, serving grades 5 through 8 with 264 students in the Atkins School District, a high-poverty area where 69% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Atkins Middle School shows a clear academic split: it excels in mathematics and science but struggles in English and reading. In the 2025-2026 school year, overall math proficiency (48.3%) and science proficiency (45.4%) both exceeded state averages, while English Language Arts (34.1%) and reading (35.7%) lagged significantly behind. The school’s standout performance is in 8th-grade math, where 64.3% of students were proficient—28 points above the state average. However, 5th and 6th-grade math proficiency (37.3% and 37.5%) fell well below state averages, suggesting the school effectively accelerates advanced students but struggles with grade-level instruction for younger learners. In 2024-2025, 100% of students taking the Algebra ATLAS exam were proficient, far exceeding district and state averages.
The school’s state ranking has dropped sharply, from the 79th percentile (4 stars) in 2024-2025 to the 51st percentile (3 stars) in 2025-2026, despite stable test scores—indicating other schools improved faster. With a student-teacher ratio of 10:1 and spending of $14,976 per student, the school operates in a high-need, high-resource environment. While its math and science achievements are commendable given the poverty level, persistent underperformance in literacy suggests financial resources may not be fully translating into reading gains, a common challenge for high-poverty schools.
Thank you for your feedback!