The top reported proficiency rate is 64% in Math. The lowest is 58% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Ardis Ann Middle School
Ardis Ann Middle School serves fifth and sixth graders in the Bentonville School District, a large and fast-growing district in Northwest Arkansas. The school sits on the western edge of Bentonville, a city that has transformed from a small county seat into a bustling hub anchored by Walmart’s corporate headquarters and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Bentonville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the country, and the school’s enrollment reflects that growth, drawing from residential neighborhoods and new developments that continue to spread outward from downtown.
The student body is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic presence and smaller shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Roughly a sixth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that is modest compared to many Arkansas schools, though a parent may want to ask about the economic diversity within the school’s attendance zone as the district as a whole encompasses a mix of incomes. The school is large for a fifth-through-sixth-grade campus, with student populations in each grade that are close to evenly split.
On the Arkansas ATLAS state assessments, Ardis Ann’s students post strong results. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above is well into the majority in both fifth and sixth grade. English language arts proficiency is solidly above the midpoint as well, with sixth graders performing a bit stronger than fifth graders. Science results mirror those in math, with a clear majority of students meeting the proficiency bar at both grade levels. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s overall proficiency index places it in the top quarter among elementary and middle school campuses when compared with all districts in Benton County. That is a strong showing, and it positions Ardis Ann as one of the higher-performing middle-level schools in the region.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The data did not include discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access information. A parent interested in those dimensions of school climate would want to follow up directly with the school or district.
Housing in the zip code that serves the school is expensive relative to state and national benchmarks. Home values are well above the Arkansas median and also climb above the national median, and the year-over-year increase in values is outpacing both the state and the country. Rents are similarly elevated. This price context fits a city where corporate employment in retail headquarters, logistics, and professional services drives demand, and the broader Northwest Arkansas metro area continues to attract in-migration. For a family moving into the area, the cost of housing is a primary consideration, and the affordability gap between owning and renting is narrower here than in many parts of the country, though monthly costs are still substantial.
Bentonville’s civic and cultural life is dense for a city of its size. The historic downtown square, Crystal Bridges, the Momentary contemporary art space, the Scott Family Amazeum, and a connected trail system give the community a set of amenities that families with children can draw on year-round. The growth that brings those amenities also strains infrastructure, and the district has been in a cycle of building new schools and renovating existing ones to keep pace. Ardis Ann Middle School sits within that district, and its academic performance suggests that the district’s investment in curriculum and instruction is showing results at the middle level. For a family looking at Northwest Arkansas, Ardis Ann represents a high-performing option for the transition years between elementary and high school, set in a city that continues to add cultural and economic momentum.
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