Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy, Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy

Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy is a K-8 charter school in Little Rock, Arkansas, operating under the ScholarMade Achievement Place of Arkansas charter district. The school serves a student body that is almost entirely Black, and every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is located on Battery Street in Little Rock, a city that blends state government, healthcare, and corporate headquarters with industrial activity at the Port of Little Rock. The housing market in the zip code area shows values and rents below both state and national benchmarks, placing this neighborhood in a more affordable segment of the Little Rock metro.

The academic picture from state testing shows consistent softness across subjects and grade levels. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above hovers in the mid-teens to mid-twenties across grades three through eight, with a low point in sixth grade and a slight uptick in fifth grade. English language arts results follow a similar pattern, with proficiency rates mostly in the range of one in five students or lower, and an especially low result in eighth grade. Science scores are mixed, landing close to three in ten students proficient in third and seventh grades but falling to roughly one in ten in eighth grade. When compared to other school districts in Pulaski County, Ivy Hill Preparatory Academy’s overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint of the comparison group. The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report.

Among the strengths visible in the data, the school offers a consistent K-8 pathway in a single building, which can appeal to families who want elementary and middle school continuity. The charter structure itself is a matter of family preference rather than a verdict on quality. The school serves a student population that is uniformly low-income, which is a characteristic that may align with a family’s priorities for peer environment or signal a need for additional academic supports. The district brief turned up no parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, tax referendums, or major curriculum overhauls in the recent period, so the school’s operations appear stable on that front.

The overall picture is of a small charter school in a lower-cost part of Little Rock, serving a population with high economic need. The academic results are lower than many of its county peers across all tested subjects, and a parent considering this school would want to look into what academic interventions and supports the school offers, as well as what the next step is after eighth grade, since the school does not include high school. The city of Little Rock provides a wide array of civic and cultural resources, from the River Market district to the Arkansas River Trail and the Clinton Presidential Center, but the school’s immediate neighborhood is a separate context from downtown. Families who value a charter setting with a K-8 span and a high-need student body may find this school a fit, while those prioritizing higher comparative test outcomes would want to explore other options in the county.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 20%

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

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 419%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 732%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

This schoolSCHOLARMADE ACHIEVEMENT PLACE OF ARKANSAS, 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.