Lisa Academy West Middle School, Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Lisa Academy West Middle School

Lisa Academy West Middle School is a public charter school in Little Rock serving grades six through eight. It is part of the LISA Academy network, a set of tuition-free, STEM-C focused charter schools that has grown substantially in recent years, expanding from the Little Rock area into Northwest Arkansas with new campuses in Fayetteville, Rogers-Bentonville, and Springdale. The district as a whole has broadened its footprint and launched an Arkansas Hybrid School blending online and in-person instruction from the Little Rock campus.

The school sits in a mid-sized Southern capital city with a diversified economy anchored by state government, healthcare, banking, and transportation. UAMS is a major employer, along with corporations headquartered in the city such as Dillard’s and Windstream. Downtown Little Rock’s River Market district offers restaurants and cultural venues, while the Arkansas River Trail provides a long recreational corridor. The wider city is largely car-dependent outside the downtown core. Housing values near the school are around the national typical level, and rents are slightly below the national typical level.

The school’s student body is diverse. Black students and Hispanic students each make up roughly a third of enrollment, while Asian students and white students each account for about a sixth of the population. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is of a typical size for a middle school, with a somewhat even spread across the three grades.

On Arkansas’s state assessments, administered through the ATLAS system, proficiency rates vary by subject and grade. In English language arts, the share of students scoring proficient or above rises with each grade, reaching roughly two in five by eighth grade. In math, proficiency rates decline across the grades, with the eighth-grade rate notably lower than the sixth-grade rate. Science proficiency is mixed, with the highest rate in seventh grade and a lower rate in eighth grade. When compared across districts in Pulaski County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile, meaning it performs above the midpoint of the county’s districts.

The school’s academic record shows a clear pattern: stronger performance in English language arts than in math, with math proficiency dropping significantly by eighth grade. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand how math support is structured, especially for students transitioning into upper middle school. The school’s charter status means it operates independently from the traditional district structure, with its own enrollment process and educational focus. Families considering this school should confirm enrollment procedures and any application requirements that may apply to charter schools in Arkansas.

LISA Academy as a district has been actively growing, adding new campuses and expanding its program offerings. For a family weighing this middle school, the broader district’s expansion signals organizational capacity and demand, though it also means the network is absorbing a rapidly growing student population. The school’s location in Little Rock places it within reach of the city’s cultural and civic amenities, and the housing market near the school is broadly in line with national norms.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 43% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 728%

School 28% · District 31% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 27% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 41% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 40% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 47% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Science

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 42% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 739%

School 39% · District 44% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 38% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

This schoolLISA ACADEMY, 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 6Lower-income17%Higher-income53%36 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income20%Higher-income59%39 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income32%Higher-income73%41 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income67%52 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income13%Higher-income48%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income30%Higher-income57%27 pp gap