The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in Math. The lowest is 39% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Pea Ridge Intermediate School
Pea Ridge Intermediate School serves only third and fourth graders, so the questions a parent would ask about high school outcomes do not apply here. There is no graduation rate, no college-going data, no AP or career pathway offerings. The school’s purpose is narrower: it is the building where Pea Ridge students spend the two years between primary and middle school.
The school sits inside a fast-growing town in Benton County, part of the booming Northwest Arkansas corridor. Pea Ridge has seen its population increase substantially over the last few decades, and the character of the place still reflects its Civil War history—every street is named after a participant in the Battle of Pea Ridge—but the economy and growth pressures come from the region’s major corporate employers in Bentonville and Springdale. Housing values in the area are high relative to the state median, though below the national figure, and rents have been stable. The Pea Ridge School District does not appear to have undertaken any major bond, curriculum, or facilities changes recently, based on publicly available information.
The student body at Pea Ridge Intermediate is mostly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and smaller numbers of other racial groups. Just over a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is typical for a school in this part of Arkansas. Enrollment is about what you would expect for a school covering two grade levels in a district that has been adding families.
On the state’s ATLAS assessments, the school’s proficiency rates show a pattern. In math, the fourth-grade cohort scored noticeably higher than the third-grade cohort. In English language arts, the fourth grade also outperformed the third grade by a wide margin. In science, the trend was similar, with fourth graders scoring higher. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school’s overall proficiency index placed it in the top quartile among schools within Benton County, meaning it outperformed a majority of its county peers.
A closer look at the third-grade ELA results shows a weaker spot. That cohort’s proficiency rate was substantially lower than the fourth grade’s, and the fourth-grade ELA results themselves were not especially high either. A parent moving a child into the district may want to ask the school how reading instruction is structured across these two grades and what support is in place for students who are below benchmark by the end of third grade.
The school does not report data on chronic absenteeism or on the share of students with disabilities or English learners, so it is not possible to assess how those groups are served. The district’s size and the school’s grade band may mean that specialized supports are concentrated at other buildings.
The setting is typical for a growing Ozarks suburb. Pea Ridge is auto-dependent, with a compact historic downtown surrounded by newer residential subdivisions. There is no significant public transit or walkable street life outside the core. The intermediate school’s campus is part of a district where children likely move through several buildings before reaching high school. For a family who values solid elementary academics in a community that is both growing and still small enough to have a historic downtown, Pea Ridge Intermediate is performing above the county midpoint on state tests, with fourth-grade results stronger than third-grade ones. The main question for a parent would be whether the dip in third-grade reading outcomes reflects a cohort effect or a structural gap, and what the school does about it.
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