The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in Math. The lowest is 51% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Butterfield Elementary School
Butterfield Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in the Fayetteville School District, located in the northern part of the city near the Old Missouri Road corridor. It is a traditional public elementary school and not a charter school. The school sits within a rapidly growing part of Northwest Arkansas, a region that has seen substantial population increases, and Fayetteville itself has grown quickly in recent years. The area around the school is a mixture of residential neighborhoods and the broader Fayetteville environment, which is shaped by the presence of the University of Arkansas just to the south.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a sizable share of students who identify as Hispanic, and smaller representations of Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. Just under half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a common indicator of household income levels. Data on students with Individualized Education Programs and English learners was not available in the profile, so a family wanting to understand those dimensions of student support would need to ask the school directly.
Academically, Butterfield Elementary produces results that place it comfortably above the midpoint among the districts in Washington County. The school's overall proficiency rate across tested subjects and grades lands in the top quartile relative to other districts in the county. That is a clear strength. In the most recent state testing cycle, third graders showed that about half were proficient in math and in English language arts, and a similar share was proficient in science. Fourth graders performed a bit higher in math, with a solid majority demonstrating proficiency, and they also showed stronger results in English language arts, where more than half were proficient. Science results for fourth graders similarly showed just over half proficient. These patterns suggest a school where a majority of students are meeting state benchmarks in the upper elementary grades, with fourth grade results a touch stronger than third grade across subjects.
Because Butterfield serves only kindergarten through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. That is a function of the grade configuration, not an indicator of school quality. The school's test results are drawn from Arkansas's ATLAS assessment, which sets proficiency at Levels 3 and 4. There is no multi-year trend data available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent an improvement or a decline from prior years.
Families considering this school should be aware of a broader district context that may affect finances and priorities. In May 2024, Fayetteville voters narrowly rejected a property tax increase that would have generated additional revenue for teacher salaries, technology, and facility upgrades. The district's millage rate is among the lowest in Northwest Arkansas, meaning it operates with less local revenue per student than many neighboring districts. That constraint is a publicly reported fact about the district's funding environment, and it is something a parent may want to discuss with the school or district office to understand how it affects classroom resources and staff retention.
The housing market in this area carries a home value that is well above the statewide average, reflecting the desirability of Fayetteville as a place to live. Rents are also above the state norm. For a family moving to the area, the cost of housing is a meaningful consideration, especially given the district's relatively constrained local revenue base.
The school offers no listed specialized programs in the available data, so what a family will find here is a standard elementary curriculum delivered in a traditional setting. The school appears to be a solid, academically above-average option within a larger district that is financially cautious by local standards, in a fast-growing university town where housing is not cheap. A parent who values strong elementary test performance and wants a neighborhood school in a growth corridor of Fayetteville will find that Butterfield fits that description. A parent who wants a school with deep program offerings or specialized tracks may want to explore whether those exist by contacting the school directly, as the data does not describe them.
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