Best Elementary Schools in Zip Code 38603

Ashland Elementary School is the only elementary school in zip code 38603, serving grades K-6 with 262 students in the Benton County School District, a high-poverty area where nearly 94 percent of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. This means the school functions as the neighborhood school for all families in the area, and it is best understood by comparing its performance to district and state benchmarks rather than to peer schools within the zip code.

Ashland Elementary has shown steady improvement over the past three years, rising from the 22nd percentile statewide in 2023-2024 to the 32nd percentile in 2025-2026, and improving its rating from 1 to 2 stars. Overall proficiency remains below district and state averages, but the school made meaningful gains from roughly 32 percent proficient in 2024-2025 to about 38 percent in 2025-2026, compared with roughly 46 percent for the district and 51 percent for the state. The standout bright spot is 4th grade mathematics, where 69.2 percent of students were proficient in 2025-2026, far exceeding the district at 57.7 percent and the state at 51.5 percent. Science performance is also respectable, with 5th grade science holding steady around 64-65 percent proficiency in both years, close to or above the district average.

Despite the high poverty level, chronic absenteeism at Ashland Elementary is notably low at 17.7 percent, well below the district rate of 22.3 percent and the state rate of 23.9 percent. However, performance varies widely across grades and subjects. While 4th grade math and ELA improved dramatically year over year, 5th grade math remains a persistent concern at just 13.5 percent proficiency in 2025-2026, a gap of more than 36 points behind the state average. Third grade ELA and math also fell significantly from the prior year, suggesting that cohort sizes at this small school can create large swings in results. Families should view the school as one making real progress, with clear strengths in 4th grade math and science, but with uneven performance across grade levels that warrants attention, especially in 5th grade math and early elementary literacy.