The top reported proficiency rate is 18% in Math. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock
Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock is a single-district public charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade, with a small student body that is predominantly Hispanic and has a significant Black student population as well. The district is located in Pulaski County, in the southwestern part of the Little Rock metro area. Because this is a district with only one school, the district profile is essentially the school profile.
The governing structure is that of a district, but the school operates as a public charter, meaning it is publicly funded but operates with some autonomy from the local school district. State testing data from the most recent year shows that proficiency rates in both math and English language arts are low across every tested grade. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged roughly from one in ten to just over one in four, depending on the grade. In English language arts, the comparable range was roughly from one in ten to about one in five. Science proficiency rates were similarly low in most grades, though there was an outlier in the eighth grade, where about one in three students scored proficient or above. A parent should examine these figures closely and consider how the school’s academic program aligns with their child’s needs.
When placed among the districts in Pulaski County, Exalt Academy’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the group. Its chronic absenteeism rate is also below the county midpoint, meaning it has a somewhat higher absenteeism problem than many of its peers. Per-pupil spending is in the upper half of the county’s middle range, which suggests the school is not underresourced financially.
The school's stated identity and some publicly reported recognition add nuance. The school was publicly named by the University of Arkansas’s Office for Education Policy as having the highest academic growth in Pulaski County and scoring in the top portion statewide on the most recent academic growth metric. This is a frequently used measure of improvement over time, and it indicates that while absolute proficiency is low, students may be making faster gains than is typical. This is a relevant factor for parents weighing whether the school is helping students catch up.
The district brief also indicates a recent high school expansion that is not yet reflected in the available data. The NCES data lists grades K-8, but the school’s own website describes itself as a K-12 public charter school with a separate high school campus, suggesting that families in Southwest Little Rock now have a continuous K-12 charter option. Because this district does not serve high school grades in the available records, there is no graduation rate to report.
The school is a single campus for K-8, and the student body, while not large, is concentrated in two racial and ethnic groups. A substantial majority of students are Hispanic, and a smaller but notable share are Black. This composition is a plain characteristic of the school's peer environment. Data on students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, students with disabilities, and English learners were not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the level of support services for these populations.
Because the school is a charter, it is a school of choice. Families who live within or outside the traditional boundaries of the district must apply and be admitted through a lottery if oversubscribed. The lack of an assigned attendance zone means that the housing market and home values in the immediate area are less directly connected to enrollment than they are for a traditional school district. The locale brief was not provided, so there are no details on the immediate neighborhood, housing stock, or surrounding amenities.
In summary, Exalt Academy offers a small, majority-Hispanic K-8 charter environment with low absolute test scores but a publicly noted pattern of high academic growth. Its recent expansion into high school provides a pathway for families who want to keep their child in one charter system through graduation. The chronic absenteeism rate is a softer spot worth exploring with the school. A parent considering this school would want to look into its academic supports, particularly for students who are well below grade level at entry, and how the growth recognition translates into classroom experience. The available data leaves several gaps, including discipline rates, course offerings, and staffing ratios, that a parent would need to fill through a school visit or direct inquiry.
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