Dover Middle School, Dover AR - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Dover Middle School

Dover Middle School serves grades five through eight in the Dover School District, a small rural district in Pope County, Arkansas. The town of Dover sits in the Arkansas River Valley at the foothills of the Ozarks, part of the Russellville Micropolitan Statistical Area. Agriculture, poultry farming, ranching, and logging define the surrounding economy. The town’s population is growing slowly, and the district has not seen any major parent-relevant changes such as a bond referendum or curriculum overhaul in recent years, according to publicly available information.

The school’s enrollment is modest for a middle school, and the student body is predominantly white, with small shares of Hispanic students and students of two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the area’s economic profile. A parent considering this school should be aware that the community is close-knit and rural, with a traditional Main Street and an annual festival called Ozark Memories Day.

On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year under Arkansas’s ATLAS system, Dover Middle School’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Pope County. That is a meaningful point of reference: the school performs better than several of its county neighbors, though not at the top. The pattern across individual subjects and grade levels is mixed. In mathematics, proficiency rates are lower than in English language arts and science. Fifth-grade and eighth-grade math show especially soft results, with fewer than two out of five students scoring proficient. Sixth-grade and seventh-grade math are stronger, but still below half of students reaching the proficient level. In English language arts, the picture is similarly uneven: sixth grade posts the highest rate, while seventh grade is the weakest. Science is the strongest subject overall, with sixth-grade and eighth-grade science both showing a majority of students scoring proficient. Fifth-grade science is close behind, while seventh-grade science is the only science grade where less than half of students meet the bar.

Taken together, these results suggest that Dover Middle School has areas of real academic strength, particularly in science, but also clear soft spots in math and reading that vary by grade. A parent may want to ask the school how it supports students in the lower-performing grades and subjects, and whether it provides targeted interventions for math and reading. The absence of disaggregated data for students with disabilities and English learners means it is not possible to assess how those groups are performing specifically; that is a gap a family might want to explore directly with the school.

No information was available on discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or course access. Because this is a middle school, there is no graduation rate to report, and the state testing data covers only the grades it serves. The school’s website and district communications may provide additional details on extracurricular offerings, advanced coursework at the middle school level, and any partnership with the high school for early high school credit.

For a family exploring this school, the takeaway is a middle school that serves a small, rural community with above-county-average overall proficiency, a strong science program, and some inconsistency in math and English. The high poverty rate suggests that the school likely receives significant Title I resources, though Title I status was not confirmed in the data. The absence of recent district changes means the school’s programming and staffing are likely stable. Families accustomed to larger, more diverse, or more affluent settings may find a different peer environment here, while those rooted in rural Arkansas or looking for a tight-knit school community may find it a natural fit.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 47%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 5 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 6 pts above state median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 34%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 11 pts above state median

Science

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 658%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 22 pts above state median

This schoolDOVER SCHOOL DISTRICT, 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-income37%Higher-income70%33 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income64%34 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income45%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income20%Higher-income58%38 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income25%Higher-income63%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income55%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income52%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income44%12 pp gap