Westside Middle School, Jonesboro AR

Original Research by School Decision on Westside Middle School

Westside Middle School sits within the Westside Consolidated School District, one of six public school districts that operate within the sprawling city limits of Jonesboro. Jonesboro is the economic and cultural center of northeast Arkansas, anchored by Arkansas State University, two hospital systems, and a concentration of food-processing plants. The city spans roughly eighty square miles and is predominantly car-dependent, with residential neighborhoods, retail corridors, and industrial zones spread across a wide area. The presence of half a dozen districts within one city limits means that where a family lives determines which schools their children attend, and the districts vary meaningfully in size and character.

Westside Middle School serves grades five through seven. The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of Black and Hispanic students. A substantial share of the student population qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which is a common measure of economic need in public schools.

The school’s academic performance, based on the most recent state assessments administered through Arkansas’s ATLAS system, shows a mixed picture. In math, proficiency hovered around the range that placed the school slightly above the midpoint among districts in Craighead County. Scores in English language arts were more uneven. Fifth and seventh graders posted results that fell within a similar range to the math scores, but sixth-grade reading proficiency was markedly lower, a notable drop that a parent may want to ask the school about. Science results followed a similar pattern, with fifth graders performing strongest, sixth graders weakest, and seventh graders somewhere in between.

Because the school serves only through seventh grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is a function of the grade band, not a reflection on the school. Similarly, no data on chronic absenteeism or discipline was available in the records reviewed. Information on programs such as gifted offerings, music, arts, or career exploration was also absent, so this narrative cannot speak to what extracurricular or enrichment opportunities exist.

The Westside Consolidated School District appears to be a stable system; a search for recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary adjustments, program launches, or leadership turnover turned up little of lasting impact to report. The housing context for the area around the school is in line with a growing midsized city. Home values and rents have seen modest increases, and the broader Jonesboro metropolitan area continues to add population, with the city earning recognition for planning and infrastructure work.

For a family considering this school, the central trade-off is clear. Westside Middle School serves a predominantly white student body in a district that sits within a larger, economically diverse city. The academic numbers are in the middle of the pack relative to other Craighead County districts, with some grade-level variation especially in sixth-grade reading that warrants a closer look. The school appears to be a straightforward neighborhood middle school serving its community without dramatic strengths or weaknesses standing out in the available data. A parent would want to visit, ask about the sixth-grade reading results, and find out what programs and supports the school offers beyond what test scores show.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 637%

School 37% · District 37%

even with state median · even with county median

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 36%

even with state median

English language arts

Grade 540%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 25%

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 4 pts above state median

This schoolWESTSIDE CONS. SCH DIST(CRAIGH, 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 5Lower-income24%Higher-income42%19 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income30%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income56%29 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income62%29 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income41%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income36%Higher-income55%19 pp gap