Summary:
The two public schools in zip code 72853 (Ola, AR) serve 707 students across grades K-12, all within the Two Rivers School District, a district ranked in the 19th percentile statewide where 100% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Two Rivers Elementary School is the standout for improvement, climbing from the 16th to the 24th percentile in state rankings over three years. Its strongest subject is 4th Grade Science, where 48.7% of students are proficient—4.3 points above the state average. However, overall proficiency remains below state benchmarks in ELA (28.4%), Math (29.7%), and Science (37.8%). In contrast, Two Rivers High School shows volatile performance, ranking in the 35th percentile after a sharp drop to the 22nd percentile in 2023-2024. The high school struggles most in 8th Grade Math, where only 11.1% of students are proficient versus the state average of 36.2%.
A key paradox is spending: the elementary school spends $17,633 per student—$4,086 more than the high school—yet posts lower overall scores. The high school benefits from a much lower student-teacher ratio of 7.9:1 (versus 12.4:1 at the elementary school) and maintains a low dropout rate of 0.9%, though its graduation rate of 88.5% trails the state average. The elementary school’s upward trend and isolated science success suggest targeted improvements, while the high school’s 8th-grade math "cliff" indicates a critical transition point needing support. Both schools face the challenge of serving a high-poverty community, but the district’s low dropout rate and improving elementary ranking show efforts to provide stability.
Thank you for your feedback!