Emerson Elementary School, Emerson AR

Original Research by School Decision on Emerson Elementary School

Emerson Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the small, rural town of Emerson, Arkansas. It is part of the Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District and operates as a traditional public school. The enrollment is relatively small, and a substantial share of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Black and Hispanic presence.

The school’s academic performance, measured by the Arkansas ATLAS assessments, shows a pattern of solid proficiency in the early grades with some softening by sixth grade. State testing data is available for grades three through six, and across all tested subjects and grades the school’s overall proficiency rate places it in the top quartile relative to districts in Columbia County. This is a clear strength. In math, proficiency is strong in third, fourth, and sixth grade, with fifth grade somewhat lower. In English language arts, third, fourth, and fifth graders score at levels that are broadly solid, but sixth grade ELA proficiency is lower. Science results are high in third grade but decline markedly in fifth and sixth grade, with sixth grade science falling below the midpoint. A parent moving into the upper elementary grades may want to ask the school directly about how it supports students in reading and science as they approach middle school.

The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, discipline incidents, and course access is not available in the materials provided, which may reflect the school’s small size and the limited public reporting common for elementary schools. Special populations counts for students with disabilities and English learners are also missing from the record; a parent with specific needs in those areas should follow up with the school.

Emerson itself is a very small town in southern Columbia County, with a population that has declined modestly in recent years, per publicly reported estimates. The town transitioned from a timber base to agriculture, oil, and the bromine industry, and the school district is a significant local employer. The built environment is rural and highway-oriented along U.S. Route 79, so walkability is limited to the immediate town area. Civic life centers on Emerson High School grounds, which host an annual community festival. The district brief showed no major recent changes in programming or policy that were publicly reported.

For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small rural elementary with above-average academic performance for its county, set in a quiet town with little new housing growth. The early grades are a particular strength, while the upper grades show variability that warrants direct inquiry. The school’s size and setting mean it is likely a place where families know each other and the school serves as a community anchor.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 52% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 64% · ▲ 18 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 47% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 56% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 368%

School 68% · District 40% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 54% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 48% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 43% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Science

Grade 383%

School 83% · District 53% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 56% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 53% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 43% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

This schoolEMERSON-TAYLOR-BRADLEY SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income82%Higher-income61%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income84%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income46%Higher-income80%34 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income73%Higher-income72%0 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income84%43 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income15%Higher-income70%55 pp gap