The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 44% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Amanda Gist Elementary School
Amanda Gist Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade in the small Baxter County town of Cotter, Arkansas. It sits within the Cotter School District, and the student body is overwhelmingly white, with small enrollments of students who identify as Hispanic, Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, or two or more races. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price meals is high, which is a common pattern in this part of the state.
State testing data from the most recent school year is available, covering math, English language arts, and science for grades three through six. Results are mixed and vary noticeably by grade level. In third-grade math, just under half of students scored proficient or above, and in sixth-grade math the share was lower, at roughly two out of every five students. Fourth- and fifth-grade math came in higher, with about half of fourth-grade students and more than half of fifth-grade students reaching the proficient mark. In English language arts, third- and fourth-grade proficiency was around two out of five students, while fifth-grade rose to a bit more than half. Sixth-grade ELA results matched the lower third-grade rate. Science scores showed a wider spread: third grade was below half, fourth grade was above half, fifth grade reached a strong point with roughly two out of three students proficient, and sixth grade dropped to the lowest point of any tested area, with just over one in three students.
Compared to the other districts in Baxter County, this school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile. That context matters because the county is home to only a small number of districts, so the comparison set is narrow. Still, within that local group, the school performs at the higher end.
Cotter is a historic railroad town that has reinvented itself around trout fishing on the White River, drawing visitors from around the country. The town’s population has been stable for decades, with a modest decline in the most recent census. Housing values in the area are modest, especially relative to national benchmarks, and the mortgage rate environment is typical. The town’s economy is driven by tourism, guide services, and the railroad. Big Spring Park, with its walking trail and memorial, is a central civic space. The school itself appears to be within the town rather than on an isolated campus, though detailed location information was not available in the search results.
The district brief turned up no recent changes of lasting impact to report, so a parent moving to the area would likely find the district operating in a steady, stable mode.
For a family considering this school, the picture is one of a small-town elementary with a largely white, lower-income student population and academic performance that peaks in fifth grade and dips in sixth. The school sits in a community shaped by tourism and the outdoors, not rapid growth or new development, so the context is quiet and stable. The high free-and-reduced meal rate suggests a student body with significant economic need, which can affect classroom dynamics and the types of extra services a school provides. A parent may want to ask the school directly about support for students who are struggling in the early elementary years and about what the transition to middle school looks like after sixth grade, especially given the drop in performance seen in some subjects at that level.
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