The top reported proficiency rate is 30% in Science. The lowest is 27% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Goza Middle School
Goza Middle School is the public middle school for the Arkadelphia School District, serving students in sixth through eighth grade. It sits in Arkadelphia, a small college town in southwest Arkansas that is home to Ouachita Baptist University and Henderson State University, whose adjacent campuses and longstanding football rivalry define much of the town’s character. The city functions as the Clark County seat and a regional center for education, manufacturing, and outdoor recreation, with a historic downtown commercial district and an Amtrak station on the Texas Eagle line. The population has declined modestly over recent years, and the housing stock is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks.
Academically, Goza Middle School’s state assessment results from the 2024-25 school year on the Arkansas ATLAS test show that proficiency rates across tested subjects and grade levels are below statewide averages. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above ranged from roughly a quarter to about a third depending on the grade, with seventh grade posting the highest rate and fifth grade the lowest. In English language arts, proficiency rates were also clustered around a quarter of students, with some variation by grade but no grade reaching a third. In science, the pattern was similar, with fifth grade showing a slightly higher rate than the other grades. The proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quartile relative to the two other middle schools in Clark County for which data is available. A parent may want to discuss these results with the school to understand the instructional approach and any support programs in place.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for a middle school, with roughly comparable numbers of students in sixth and seventh grades and a somewhat smaller eighth grade. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the community. The student body is predominantly white, with a sizeable Black or African American population, and smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and Asian students. No data on special education enrollment or English learner status was available in the profile for this school year, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about services for students with disabilities and multilingual learners.
Because Goza Middle School serves only grades six through eight, there is no high school graduation rate or college-going data to report. No information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, staffing ratios, or course access appeared in the available records. The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact for the district overall. The absence of these data points means that some important dimensions of school life, such as student engagement, teacher experience, and program breadth, are not covered here and would require a direct conversation with the school.
For a family considering the Arkadelphia area, Goza Middle School sits within a district that serves the city and likely the surrounding county area. The town’s economy is anchored by the two universities, healthcare, retail, and some manufacturing, and the presence of a major interstate and Amtrak service provides regional connectivity. The low state test results are a clear area of concern that warrants inquiry, but the school’s size and the town’s compact geography may offer a familiar, community-oriented environment. A parent focused on academic benchmarks would want to investigate what interventions and enrichment opportunities the school offers, while a parent who values a small-town setting and access to university resources may find the overall context appealing despite the test scores. The lack of broader performance and climate data makes it especially important to visit and speak with staff and current families.
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