The top reported proficiency rate is 21% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Dermott High School
Dermott High School serves students in seventh through twelfth grade in the small Delta town of Dermott, Arkansas. The school is part of the Dermott School District, the local public system for the community. The town itself is compact, with wide, tree-lined streets that date to the 1890s, and its economy was historically built on agriculture and timber. Like many Delta communities, Dermott has seen population shifts over the decades. The district operates as a central institution in a town where public schools and civic life are closely connected.
The student body is overwhelmingly Black, reflecting the demographics of the surrounding community. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty context. That economic reality shapes the resources and challenges the school works with. The enrollment is small for a secondary school serving six grade levels, with a student count that makes for potentially close relationships between students and staff. A parent considering this school should weigh the implications of a small, tightly knit setting where individual attention may be more available than in larger schools, but where the economic circumstances of the community mean the school is asked to provide a wide range of support.
State testing results from the most recent year show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science are low. In seventh-grade math, about one in five students scored at the proficient level or above. In eighth-grade math, that figure is much lower. In English language arts, roughly one in six seventh graders and one in four eighth graders met the proficiency benchmark. Science results follow a similar pattern, with a small share of students in both grades reaching proficiency. These numbers place the school below the midpoint among districts in Chicot County on an overall proficiency index, falling in the bottom quartile of that comparison set. The comparison set is small, with only two districts in the county, but the pattern is consistent across the tested grades and subjects. A parent should look into what academic interventions, tutoring, or instructional supports the school provides to address these results, as the current performance on state assessments is an area of clear concern.
The school serves grades seven through twelve, but data on the four-year graduation rate was not available in the source material. Similarly, information on chronic absenteeism, discipline rates, and course access such as Advanced Placement or dual credit offerings was missing. These are meaningful gaps for a family trying to understand the full picture of what the school offers. For a high school that includes the upper grades, knowing what pathways exist for college and career preparation is important. Without that information, a parent may want to ask the school directly about its curriculum, what advanced coursework is available, and how the school supports students in transitioning from middle to high school and then to graduation.
No recent district-level changes such as curriculum overhauls, referendum results, or property tax shifts were identified in available sources. The district appears to have been operating in a relatively steady state, at least in terms of publicly reported developments. The town's housing market reflects the area's economic conditions, with home values well below state and national benchmarks. For a family moving into the area, this means relatively affordable housing, but it also signals a limited local tax base, which can constrain school funding beyond state and federal allocations.
Dermott High School is a small, rural secondary school serving a high-poverty community with a student body that is almost entirely Black. State test results are low across subjects and grade levels, and the school ranks at the bottom of a small county comparison set. Key information about graduation rates, course offerings, and student supports is not available in the data provided, so a family would need to pursue those details directly. The school sits in a town with notable civic anchors such as a public library branch, a municipal airport, and a community festival, and the district operates as a core local institution. For a parent, the academic performance data is a serious consideration, and the missing information on high school outcomes and programs is a gap that would need to be filled through direct inquiry.
See more original research from School Decision →