The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Forrest City Jr. High
Forrest City Jr. High serves only seventh and eighth graders, and it sits in a community that has been losing population for years. The school is part of the Forrest City School District, which operates in a small Delta county seat with a predominantly Black population and a median household income well below the national median. Housing in the area is quite inexpensive, and values have been falling, which tells you something about the economic trajectory here. The school pulls all of its students from a town that is auto-oriented and low-density, with a downtown centered on the county courthouse and a handful of historic sites. Major local employers include a federal correctional complex and the school district itself.
The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a very small share of white students and even smaller numbers from other racial groups. Every enrolled student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, which places the school in a high-poverty category. The school is small, with roughly equal numbers of seventh and eighth graders.
On state testing, the numbers are low across the board. In seventh-grade math, about one in seven students scored proficient or above. In eighth-grade math, the figure was roughly one in thirteen. English language arts was somewhat stronger, with about one in six seventh graders and nearly one in four eighth graders reaching proficiency. Science results were also low: roughly one in nine seventh graders and fewer than one in six eighth graders were proficient. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, placed it in the bottom quartile when compared with other districts in St. Francis County. Because this is a junior high that does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available in the sources we had.
There is no information on discipline, staffing ratios, course access, or special education and English learner populations. Those are meaningful gaps. A parent would want to ask the school directly about class sizes, what supports are in place for students who are behind grade level, and whether there are any advanced or enrichment offerings for students who are ready for more. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as boundary shifts, school closures, or program launches. That does not mean nothing is happening, only that it was not found in the material we reviewed.
For a family considering this school, the academic picture is straightforward: most students are not yet at grade level in math, reading, or science, and the school is positioned well below its county peers. The community context is one of economic strain and population decline, which shapes the resources a school can draw on. This is not a school with a wide array of program offerings or a history of strong test results. It is a school where a parent will want to have a direct conversation with the principal about what the school is doing to move those proficiency numbers, what tutoring or intervention programs exist, and how the school engages with families. The data alone does not tell you whether the school is improving or stagnating, because only one year of test results is available. That is another question worth raising with the school.
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