The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in Math. The lowest is 19% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Crossett Elementary School
Crossett Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade and is part of the Crossett School District in the small manufacturing town of Crossett, Arkansas. The town, originally a company town built around the forest products industry, has been experiencing a prolonged population decline, and its economic base has contracted with successive closures and layoffs at Georgia-Pacific, the dominant local employer. That context matters because the school sits in a community facing headwinds, and the school's own data should be read in that light.
The school is a single campus for the district's youngest students, enrolling roughly seven hundred children. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is majority white, with a significant Black minority and small representations of Hispanic, multiracial, and other groups. Data on special education and English learner enrollment was not available, so a parent who needs to understand those supports would want to ask the school directly.
State testing results are available for third and fourth grade in math, English language arts, and science, and they paint a clear picture. In every tested grade and subject, the share of students scoring proficient or above was well below typical state expectations. Third-grade math stood at roughly a quarter of students proficient, and fourth-grade math was a bit above that. English language arts results were lower: about a sixth of third graders and a quarter of fourth graders met the bar. Science scores fell between the two, with about a fifth in third grade and more than a quarter in fourth. Across all tested areas, the school's combined proficiency index sits above the midpoint among the two districts in Ashley County, but that comparison set is very small, and the absolute levels are low enough that a parent should look into what academic supports and interventions the school provides.
The school has no graduation rate because it does not serve high school grades. The same is true for any measure tied to secondary outcomes. Chronic absenteeism data was also absent from the reporting, so that is another area a parent would want to investigate directly.
The school environment section offers little detail. Discipline data, course access, staffing ratios, and attendance figures were all missing. This makes it hard to gauge day-to-day conditions. A parent may want to request a school tour or ask the principal about class sizes, teacher turnover, and how the school handles student behavior and safety. The district itself had no parent-relevant changes or initiatives publicly reported, so the broader policy picture is quiet.
Housing in the area is notably affordable. Typical home values are well below both the state and national benchmarks, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment on a median-priced home is modest. For a family, this means that the cost of entry to the community is low. Rents, as measured by the consumer price index, have been rising over the past year, consistent with national trends. The town's population decline and economic contraction may mean that some housing stock is older or in need of work, but the data does not speak to that directly. A parent relocating for a job or seeking a lower-cost base of operations should factor in the school's academic performance alongside the housing affordability.
Civic life in Crossett centers on Main Street, with city offices, parks, and a handful of National Register-listed properties. The town is low-density and built around a company-town grid, not a walkable downtown. Parks and a rodeo are local draws, and the Crossett Experimental Forest, a U.S. Forest Service research site, is nearby. But the primary economic story in recent years has been job loss, and that shapes the community's resources and tax base.
For a parent considering Crossett Elementary, the core takeaway is that this is a school where state test results are low and where many of the metrics that middle-class families often use to evaluate a school, such as strong proficiency rates, are not present. The school may still serve its students well in ways the data does not capture: early literacy interventions, effective teachers, a supportive environment. But the available evidence points to a setting where academic performance is a significant challenge. A parent with high academic expectations or a child who needs strong curricular enrichment may want to explore the school's programs in person. A family for whom affordability and community ties are the top priorities and who is prepared to be an active partner in their child's learning may find the school a workable fit.
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