Hill Farm Elementary School, Bryant AR

Original Research by School Decision on Hill Farm Elementary School

Hill Farm Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Bryant School District, a fast-growing suburban system southwest of Little Rock. The school sits in a city that has transformed from a small railroad town into a major bedroom community, with sustained population growth over recent decades and new commercial development concentrated along the Interstate 30 corridor. The city’s old center remains largely unchanged, giving Bryant a split character: a quiet older core and a bustling highway commercial strip. A substantial share of households have children, reinforcing the family-residential identity. The district itself is in the middle of a major capital project: voters approved a property tax increase to fund a new high school, expected to open in the near future, which speaks to the growth pressures the system is managing.

Hill Farm Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is not a charter or magnet school. The student body is diverse, with a mix of white, Hispanic, and Black students, and a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a marker of economic need. The school is part of the Bryant School District, which serves the city of Bryant and surrounding areas.

On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, Hill Farm’s results show a pattern that parents will want to examine closely. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below half in each tested grade, with the fifth-grade result lower than the third- and fourth-grade results. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with the share of students meeting the proficiency bar declining from third to fifth grade. Science results followed the same trajectory, with the highest proficiency in third grade and a notable drop by fifth grade. When compared with other elementary schools in Saline County, Hill Farm’s overall proficiency index placed in the bottom quartile. This is a soft spot in the school’s academic profile, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what supports are in place.

The school serves a student body that is economically diverse, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The racial and ethnic composition is mixed, with no single group forming an overwhelming majority. The school is not a charter or magnet school, and no information was available on whether it receives Title I funding. Data on special education and English learner populations was not reported, so a parent with a child in those categories would want to ask the school directly about available services.

Hill Farm is part of the Bryant School District, which is in the middle of a significant facilities expansion. The district is building a new high school to address capacity, a sign of the growth pressures the community is under. Bryant itself has seen sustained population growth over recent decades, transforming from a small railroad town into a major Little Rock suburb. The city is car-dependent, with most new commercial development along the interstate corridor, while the old center remains largely unchanged. Housing values in the area are above the state median, and rents are moderate relative to incomes.

The school’s overall proficiency index, when compared with other elementary schools in Saline County, placed in the bottom quartile. This is the central fact a parent considering Hill Farm will want to weigh. The school serves a high-need population in a growing district that is investing heavily in new facilities, but the academic results on state assessments are below those of many peers in the county. A parent may want to ask the school about specific interventions, curriculum supports, and how the school is working to raise achievement across all grade levels.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 348%

School 48% · District 54% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 60% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 50% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 46% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 50% · ▼ 14 pts below district

even with state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 44% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 47% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 42% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 36% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

This schoolBRYANT SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income48%21 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income31%Higher-income72%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income42%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income71%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income74%36 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income77%33 pp gap