Taylor Elementary School, Taylor AR

Original Research by School Decision on Taylor Elementary School

Taylor Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the small, rural community of Taylor, Arkansas, and is part of the Emerson-Taylor-Bradley School District. The town sits in southwestern Columbia County, close to the Louisiana border, and was established around the railroad and timber industry. Its population has been slowly declining, and the local economy now includes some recreational activity connected to nearby Lake Erling, along with a few small businesses and a healthcare center. The district was formed through consolidation, and the school building is integrated into the town rather than set on a separate campus.

The student body is overwhelmingly white, with very small shares of Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students. A modest share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that is moderate relative to many Arkansas public schools. Enrollment is small, with roughly the same number of students in each grade from kindergarten through sixth grade. State testing data for the 2024-25 school year on the Arkansas ATLAS assessment shows a mixed academic picture. In math, the school performs at a level that is above the midpoint among the districts in Columbia County, and when compared against other schools across the state, a majority of students in grades three through six met the proficiency standard. The fourth-grade cohort posted the strongest math results, while the third-grade group was the weakest, though a majority still scored proficient.

English language arts proficiency rates are more uneven. Fourth and fifth graders cleared the majority threshold, but third graders posted a very low proficiency rate, and sixth graders were also below that line. A parent may want to ask the school about early literacy instruction and support for readers, particularly how the school identifies and helps students in the primary grades. In science, results vary by grade. Fifth graders performed strongly, with a large majority scoring proficient. Fourth graders were above the midpoint, while third and sixth graders landed meaningfully lower. Across subjects, the school profile improves in the upper elementary grades relative to grade three, suggesting that students who remain in the building for several years tend to gain ground, but the early literacy soft spot is worth attention.

No civil rights, discipline, attendance, or staffing data was available for this report. Because the school serves only elementary grades, it does not have a graduation rate or secondary-level program offerings such as Advanced Placement or career-technical pathways. The school is not a charter school, and its Title I status was not reported. The housing market in the Taylor area is well below the state and national benchmarks, with home values that reflect the rural and slower-growing nature of the community. The district brief turned up no major recent changes, consolidations, or policy shifts that would affect a parent’s decision.

For a family, this is a small, rural elementary school with a predominantly white student body and a moderate share of economic need. Math results are a consistent strength across grades. Literacy is a more variable area, with a notable gap at third grade that a parent may want to explore directly. The community offers limited commercial activity and slow population decline, but the school building itself appears to be a stable, integrated part of town life.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 52% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median

Grade 466%

School 66% · District 64% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 47% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 29 pts above state median

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 56% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 40% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 54% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 48% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 43% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Science

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 53% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 56%

▲ 19 pts above state median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 53% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 43% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 14 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-income18%Higher-income54%36 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income45%Higher-income65%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income67%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income43%Higher-income54%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income36%Higher-income85%48 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income80%Higher-income73%7 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income64%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income50%Higher-income62%12 pp gap