Summary:
ZIP code 42503 has three high schools in Pulaski County: Southwestern High School and Pulaski County High School, serving grades 9–12, and Eagle Academy, serving grades 6–12. The two larger schools enroll about 1,100–1,200 students each, while Eagle has 38. In the six reported 2025–26 subjects, both larger schools average above the state, but Pulaski County High leads Southwestern in every subject.
Pulaski County High is the academic standout: its scores range from 34% in Science to 63% in Writing, and it is 8–16 percentage points above the state in all six subjects. Southwestern ranks second in every subject, with scores from 26% in Science to 54% in Reading; it is above the state in Mathematics, Reading, and Science, matches it in Social Studies, and falls below it in Writing and Editing and Mechanics. The largest gap between the two schools is 19 points in Writing. Eagle has the lowest available SchoolDigger ranking, and its only reported school proficiency result is 17% in grade 10 Reading in 2024–25, compared with 47% statewide and 57% districtwide. Eagle’s 2025–26 proficiency scores are not reported.
Across the six subjects, the two larger schools’ average fell from 47% in 2024–25 to 46% in 2025–26, while their average advantage over the state narrowed from 8 to 7 percentage points. SchoolDigger rankings moved in opposite directions: Pulaski County High improved from 44th to 27th between 2023–24 and 2025–26, while Southwestern moved from 63rd to 108th. School size and other context also differ: in 2024–25, student-teacher ratios were 15.2 at Pulaski County High, 16.6 at Southwestern, and 38 at Eagle; free/reduced lunch eligible rates that year were 54%, 61%, and 79%, respectively. These figures describe different school contexts, not why outcomes differ. Attendance is another point of contrast: 2025–26 chronic absenteeism was 31% at Pulaski County High and 34% at Southwestern, versus 24% statewide, while Eagle’s rate was 17%.
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