Original Research by School Decision on Pea Ridge High School
Pea Ridge High School serves grades 10 through 12 in the Pea Ridge School District, a rapidly growing small city in Benton County, Arkansas. The school is the sole comprehensive high school for the district, drawing from a community that has seen explosive population growth in recent years, nearly doubling over a span of a few decades. The city itself blends a historic downtown core, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, with new residential subdivisions, and its streets are named after participants of the Civil War battle fought there. The school sits within a district that has not publicly reported any recent major changes such as bond elections or curriculum shifts, so a parent looking for the district's strategic direction may want to check directly with the administration.
Pea Ridge High School serves grades 10 through 12 and enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a modest share of Hispanic students and small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is lower than many districts in the region and suggests a relatively lower level of economic need among the student population. The school is not a charter school, and its Title I status was not reported.
State testing data for the 2023-24 school year is not available for this school. Arkansas transitioned to a new assessment, the ATLAS and Dynamic Learning Maps, and the state flagged a change in both the assessment name and the cut scores for math and English language arts. Because the school serves only grades 10 through 12, and state testing in Arkansas covers grades 3 through 8 and high school end-of-course exams, the missing data may reflect that the tested grade levels do not align with the school's grade span. A parent looking for academic performance benchmarks will need to consult the school or district directly for any available end-of-course exam results or other measures of student learning.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a high school serving three grades. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a small Hispanic population and very small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is below the national average and suggests a relatively lower level of economic need compared to many schools. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported.
The community context is one of rapid growth. Pea Ridge is a small city in Benton County that has seen its population increase substantially in recent years, part of the broader expansion of the Northwest Arkansas economy anchored by major employers like Walmart and Tyson Foods. The city's historic downtown commercial district is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Pea Ridge National Military Park is a prominent civic anchor. Housing values in the area are above the state average and close to the national average, with rents that are moderate relative to incomes. The area is auto-dependent, with Arkansas Highway 94 connecting the city to Rogers and the Missouri border.
The district itself did not have any publicly reported recent changes such as bond elections, curriculum shifts, or construction projects in the available data. A parent looking for information on upcoming district initiatives or facility plans may need to reach out to the district office directly.
State testing data for Pea Ridge High School is not available for the 2023-24 school year. Arkansas transitioned to a new assessment system, the ATLAS and Dynamic Learning Maps, and the state flagged changes in both the assessment name and the cut scores for math and English language arts. Because the school serves only grades 10 through 12, and state testing in Arkansas covers grades 3 through 8 and high school end-of-course exams, the missing data may reflect that the tested grade levels do not align with the school's grade span. A parent looking for academic performance benchmarks will need to seek out end-of-course exam results or other measures directly from the school or district.
The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic population and very small numbers of students from other racial backgrounds. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a rate that is below the national average and suggests a relatively lower level of economic need. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not reported.
The school's enrollment is moderate for a high school serving three grades. The community context is one of rapid growth, with Pea Ridge's population increasing substantially in recent years as part of the broader expansion of the Northwest Arkansas economy. Housing values in the area are above the state average and close to the national average, with rents that are moderate relative to incomes. The area is auto-dependent, with Arkansas Highway 94 connecting the city to Rogers and the Missouri border.
The district did not have any publicly reported recent changes such as bond elections, curriculum shifts, or construction projects in the available data. A parent looking for information on upcoming district initiatives or facility plans may need to contact the district office directly.
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