Summary:
In zip code 72944, there is one elementary school, Mansfield Elementary School, serving grades Kindergarten through 4th grade in Mansfield, Arkansas, with an enrollment of 278 students.
Mansfield Elementary School is part of the Mansfield School District, which is ranked 179th out of 251 districts in Arkansas (29th percentile) and holds a 1-star rating. The school has experienced a significant decline in its state ranking over the past three years, dropping from the 36th percentile (2 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 14th percentile (1 star) in 2025-2026. A high percentage of students (71.58%) are eligible for free or reduced lunch, indicating a high-poverty school. The student-teacher ratio is a favorable 13:1, and per-student spending is $14,004, yet academic performance lags behind state averages across all subjects. For the 2025-2026 school year, proficiency rates were 22.1% in English Language Arts (state: 39.4%), 21.7% in Reading (state: 40.4%), 30.7% in Mathematics (state: 44.1%), and 28.9% in Science (state: 44.0%).
Despite the overall challenges, there is a notable bright spot: 6th-grade students in the district achieved a 47.4% proficiency rate in Mathematics, above the state average of 45.1%. However, this data point is an anomaly since the school only serves grades K-4, suggesting it reflects performance from a different school within the district. Year-over-year comparisons show a decline in proficiency from 2024-2025 to 2025-2026 in most subjects, with the only improvement occurring in Mathematics (27.3% to 30.7%). The school's performance is nearly identical to the district's scores, indicating it is the primary driver of the district's low ranking. The high per-pupil spending not translating into strong outcomes may be due to the significant resources required to address the challenges associated with a high-poverty student population.
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