The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Science. The lowest is 31% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Danville Upper Middle School
Danville Upper Middle School serves seventh and eighth graders in the Danville School District, a single small-town district in Yell County, Arkansas. The school sits in Danville, a community where the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains meet along the Petit Jean River. Danville’s character is shaped by its role as a county seat and by the poultry processing industry, which has drawn a substantial Latino population; publicly reported sources describe the town as a mix of residential neighborhoods, agricultural land, and industrial facilities. The town’s population has been declining, and housing values in the area are well below the national benchmark, reflecting the rural economy.
The school’s enrollment is modest for its two-grade span. The student body is roughly split between white students and Hispanic or Latino students, with a very small number of Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, and multiracial students represented. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the community’s economic profile. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the data provided, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about special education services and language support.
State testing results are available from the 2024-25 school year under Arkansas’s ATLAS assessment. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above was in the low thirty percent range for seventh grade and near thirty percent for eighth grade. In English language arts, about one-third of seventh graders and slightly more than one-third of eighth graders met the proficient threshold. Science results were higher: just under half of seventh graders and a little over forty percent of eighth graders scored proficient or above. These rates place the school in the top quartile among the four school districts in Yell County on an overall proficiency index, meaning that relative to its immediate county neighbors, Danville Upper Middle School’s combined performance across subjects and grades is comparatively strong.
No graduation rate is reported because the school does not serve high school grades. Similarly, chronic absenteeism data was not available for this school. The data also did not include course access information, discipline rates, or staffing ratios, so a parent looking into those dimensions would need to follow up with the school or district.
The district brief found no major parent-relevant changes—such as boundary adjustments, program launches, or leadership turnover—in recent publicly reported sources. That leaves the school’s stable two-year middle school structure as its defining operational feature.
For families weighing this school, a few things stand out. The school is small, with classes that are likely similarly sized. The community is economically stressed, and the student population is nearly half Hispanic, which may matter to families seeking a diverse peer environment. The proficiency numbers show that science is a relative bright spot, while math and English language arts proficiency rates sit in the low to mid thirty percent range. Compared to other districts in Yell County, the school holds a strong position, but those districts are few and the overall countywide proficiency numbers are modest. A parent would want to understand how the school supports students who are not yet at grade level and what academic acceleration options exist for those who are. Without program offerings data or staffing details, those questions are best directed to the school’s administration.
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