The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Math. The lowest is 25% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Fordyce Elementary Schools
Fordyce Elementary Schools is a public school serving preschool through sixth grade in the Fordyce School District, a single-district county in rural south-central Arkansas. The town of Fordyce is a small county seat with a population that has been shrinking for decades. What was once a timber boomtown, anchored by the Fordyce Lumber Company and later Georgia-Pacific, now has an economy based on that same wood-products plant and a residential services employer. Civic life centers on a historic downtown and courthouse square. Housing values are well below state and national medians, and the median household income is low; the town’s trajectory is one of sustained population decline with no major new development identified in available sources.
The school itself is the district’s sole elementary campus. Enrollment sits at a few hundred students, roughly balanced between Black and White children, with a very small share of Hispanic and multiracial students. An overwhelming majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. Special education and English learner counts were not reported in the data, so the extent of those support needs is unclear.
State assessment results from the 2024–25 school year show a pattern that warrants attention. Third-grade math had a strong showing, with a solid share of students meeting the proficiency standard. In English language arts and science, third and fourth graders also hit the mark at a moderate rate. But performance drops sharply in fifth grade across all three tested subjects, with only a small fraction of students scoring proficient or above in math and ELA, and a little more in science. Sixth grade shows some recovery in ELA and science, but math remains well below earlier grades. A parent considering this school should note that while early elementary instruction appears to be on relatively firm ground, the upper elementary years present a clear challenge. It would be reasonable to ask the school how they support students in grades five and six, and whether the drop reflects a shift in curriculum, test familiarity, or other factors.
Because the school only goes through sixth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. No information on discipline, attendance, chronic absenteeism, or staffing ratios was available in the data. The district itself has no recent major changes or referenda on the record, so the operational context appears stable.
For a family living in Fordyce or the surrounding area, this school is the only elementary option in the district. It serves a community that is economically stressed, and the student body reflects that reality. The early grades show some academic strength, but the later elementary grades lag, and a family would want to understand what interventions and enrichment are in place to address that slide. The town’s declining population and low-cost housing stock mean that the school is likely to see steady or falling enrollment in the years ahead, which can affect budgeting and program offerings. For a parent who values a small, familiar school in a quiet rural setting and is prepared to be proactive about academic support as children move into the upper grades, Fordyce Elementary Schools fits that description.
See more original research from School Decision →