The top reported proficiency rate is 12% in Science. The lowest is 4% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Lafayette County Elementary
Lafayette County Elementary serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade in Lewisville, a rural county seat in southwestern Arkansas. The school is part of the Lafayette County School District, which was formed through a consolidation of the former Lewisville and Stamps school districts, and covers a wide geographic area across the county. The building sits at 208 West 7th Street, in a small town with a population, based on the most recent census, that has been shrinking for some time. The town is organized around the Lafayette County Courthouse and a handful of small manufacturers that produce wooden chairs, animal feed, and lumber products. There is no evidence of new housing or commercial growth on the horizon.
The student body draws from a population that is predominantly Black, with a substantial share of white students and smaller representations of Hispanic and multiracial students. Nearly every student in the school qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a common marker in high-poverty rural settings. The school is not a charter, and no information was available about Title I status or magnet programming.
Test scores from the most recent administration of Arkansas's state assessment, the ATLAS, show that the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was very low across every grade and subject tested. In third-grade math, fourth-grade math, and sixth-grade math, proficiency rates were in the single digits. The highest proficiency rate in math was in fifth grade, but even there the rate was well below typical state averages. In English language arts, the pattern was similar. Third and fourth graders posted very low rates, while the fifth-grade rate rose somewhat, and the sixth-grade rate was slightly higher, though still well below the state proficient mark. Science results again showed single-digit proficiency in third grade, modest improvement in fourth and fifth grades, and the highest mark in sixth grade. Across all tested subjects and grades, a consistent picture emerges: the school is serving a student population that, by this measure, faces substantial academic challenges. State testing data was available for all tested grades, and no other standardized academic metrics, such as a nationally normed index, were provided.
No information was available on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing levels, or course access. Because the school only serves through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report.
The housing market in the zip code that serves the school has an estimated home value that is well below the national median and below the state median. Monthly housing costs, whether renting or buying, would account for a relatively modest share of a typical household income, consistent with the area's low cost of living. The local unemployment rate, at the time of the data, was near the national level.
For a parent or resident, the primary question is fit. This is a small, rural elementary school in a contracting community, serving a student body that is almost entirely low-income and where state test results indicate a high share of students are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks in reading, math, and science. The school is the only elementary option in its district, which means families living in the attendance zone will attend here by default. A parent looking at this school may want to ask what academic supports, such as tutoring, intervention programs, or after-school help, are in place for students who are below grade level. They may also want to understand how the district, which covers multiple small towns, coordinates services across its schools. The district brief found no record of recent curriculum changes or facility referendums, so the program of study appears stable. For families weighing housing choices, the area offers low home prices and low monthly costs, but the declining population and limited local economy mean this is not a region of growth or new investment. The peer environment is one of shared economic disadvantage, and the academic pathway for most students at this school, based on the available data, is one where significant ground needs to be made up before students reach middle school and high school in the same district.
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