The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cedar Ridge Elementary School
Cedar Ridge Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Newark, a small, rural town in Independence County, Arkansas. It is one of the campuses of the Cedar Ridge School District, which was formed when the Newark and Cord-Charlotte districts consolidated. The town’s history as a railroad and agricultural hub has faded; a highway bypass completed years ago directed through-traffic away, and the local business community has shrunk. The area’s largest employer is a coal-fired power plant, and the economy remains tied to farming — rice, grains, cattle, and poultry. The school itself was built using tax revenue from that plant, creating a campus that, as publicly reported, now faces the challenge of maintaining a large facility with less tax income.
The student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the community’s economic profile. Housing values in the area are below state and national averages, and median household income, while rising over the past decade, remains modest by national standards. The town’s population has been essentially flat to slightly declining since its peak decades ago.
On the most recent state assessments — Arkansas’s ATLAS tests — academic performance is mixed across subjects and grades. In math, proficiency rates fall roughly between a third and two-fifths of students tested, depending on the grade level. In English language arts, results are similar, with the fourth and fifth grades showing a somewhat higher share of students meeting proficiency than third grade. In science, there is a wider spread: third and fourth grade proficiency is around a third, while fifth graders reach about half proficient.
Compared to other districts in Independence County, Cedar Ridge Elementary’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint. That means the school performs in the middle range among its county peers — not the top, but not at the bottom. For a family considering this school, the academic picture is one of modest results that vary by grade and subject, which a parent may want to explore further with the school to understand specific instructional approaches or areas of focus.
No data is available on the share of students receiving special education services or those classified as English learners. Chronic absenteeism and discipline statistics are also absent from the available information. Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. These gaps are common for a K-5 school, but a family might ask the district directly about how the school supports students with different learning needs.
For a parent or resident, Cedar Ridge Elementary is a school in a small, economically modest rural community where nearly all enrolled students come from low-income households. It provides a standard elementary program within a district that covers a wide geographic area. The school building is a consolidated campus built with a notable local investment, but the town’s population and economic base have not grown. The school’s academic performance is in line with the middle of the county, with some grades and subjects showing stronger results than others. A family looking here would be choosing a small-town setting with a high-poverty student population and a school that, while not a standout in test scores, is performing comparably to its immediate neighbors.
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