Beard Elementary School, Fort Smith AR

Original Research by School Decision on Beard Elementary School

Beard Elementary is a public school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, serving pre-kindergarten through fifth grade. The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side for a primary school of this grade span. The student body is diverse: white students make up the largest group, followed by a substantial share of students who identify as multiracial, and smaller but notable populations of Hispanic, Black, Asian, and American Indian students. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting a community with considerable economic need.

On the state’s ATLAS assessments, proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science across grades three through five were below half in every tested subject. In math, roughly three in ten students at each grade level met the proficient threshold. In English language arts, performance was lower: about a quarter of third and fourth graders and roughly three in ten fifth graders reached proficiency. Science results fell in a similar range, with about a quarter of third and fourth graders and about a third of fifth graders scoring proficient. Compared with other schools across Sebastian County, Beard’s overall proficiency index placed in the bottom quartile relative to districts in the county. A parent looking for more context on academic supports may want to discuss specific intervention programs with the school.

Because Beard serves only elementary grades, there is no high school graduation rate to report. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, and staffing were not available, so a clear picture of the school environment on those fronts is missing.

Beard is part of the Fort Smith School District. Voters in the district approved a property tax increase in 2021 that directed new funding toward teacher salaries, technology, and facility upgrades; the millage rate was later reduced in 2023. The district also opened the Peak Innovation Center in 2022, a career and technical education facility serving secondary students, though that is not directly relevant to an elementary student’s daily experience.

Fort Smith is a regional hub for western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, with a large manufacturing sector, major healthcare and education employers, and an auto-oriented built environment. Homes in the area are priced at a level below the national median, making the local housing market relatively affordable. The city’s population has seen modest growth in recent years, and the surrounding metro area draws on a mix of industrial and service-sector jobs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 33% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 436%

School 36% · District 38% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 34% · ▼ 1 pts below district

even with state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 37% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Science

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 33% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 30% · ▲ 3 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolFORT SMITH 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 3Lower-income38%Higher-income70%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income55%28 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income41%Higher-income70%30 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income55%31 pp gap