The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 42% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Dequeen Elementary School
DeQueen Elementary School serves third through fifth graders in the DeQueen School District, located in the small railroad-founded city that is the county seat of Sevier County. The school is part of a district where publicly reported recent changes were minimal, suggesting a stable administrative environment. Because it is an elementary school, there is no graduation rate to consider, and the academic focus is on building foundational skills before students move to middle school.
On the state’s ATLAS assessments, DeQueen Elementary posted results that varied by subject. In mathematics, a majority of students in each grade scored at the proficient level or above. Science results followed a similar pattern, with the strongest performance in the upper grade. English language arts proved more challenging: proficiency rates were lower, with roughly two in five to just under half of students meeting the bar depending on grade. That gap between math and reading is something a parent may want to explore further with the school, especially for students who need additional literacy support. When compared against the handful of other districts in Sevier County that report elementary data, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it near the top of that group, a notable strength relative to its local peers.
The student body of about five hundred children is diverse. Hispanic students make up the largest share, followed by white students, with smaller groups of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, two or more races, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and Asian students. More than three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high concentration of economic need. The school does not report data on the share of students with disabilities or those classified as English learners, so those dimensions of the peer environment are not available here; a parent may wish to ask the school directly about support services for those populations.
DeQueen itself is a community shaped by its history as a railroad town and the presence of poultry processing as a major county employer. The population is majority Hispanic, and a substantial portion of households speak a language other than English at home. The town has a commercial historic district and a campus of Cossatot Community College, which offers adult education courses. The housing market is relatively affordable compared to state and national benchmarks, reflecting the slow population decline the city has experienced in recent years. Home values and rents are modest, and the area has seen little new housing development. Despite the slight population shrinkage, the share of households with children suggests continued demand for school services.
The school itself is not a charter or magnet, and its Title I status was not reported. Information on staffing, class sizes, discipline, and chronic absenteeism was also absent from the data, so those are gaps a parent would need to fill through school visits or direct inquiry. No program offerings were listed either, leaving questions about enrichment, music, art, or extracurricular activities unanswered.
In sum, DeQueen Elementary shows a clear academic relative strength in math and science compared to its county peers, with lower ELA outcomes that merit attention. It serves a high-poverty, predominantly Hispanic student body in a small, affordable, and slowly shrinking city. The lack of data on special populations, staffing, and programs means that families considering the school should seek out those details directly to get a complete picture.
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