The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 19% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Carnall Elementary School
Carnall Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in the Fort Smith School District. It is a neighborhood school situated in the southern part of the city. The student body is diverse, with families from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds. The largest group identifies as white, followed by students who identify as Hispanic, as two or more races, and as Black. The school has a high share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding community.
The school’s academic results on Arkansas’s state assessment, the ATLAS, show that across tested grades and subjects, the proficiency rate is in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts in Sebastian County. In third-grade math and reading, roughly one in six students scored at the proficient or advanced level. Fourth-grade reading was the strongest performing area, with a higher share of students meeting the bar, about two out of five. Fifth-grade science showed the lowest results, with a small fraction of students reaching proficiency. A parent may want to inquire with the school about what academic supports are in place and how the school approaches improvement, as these numbers point to an area of focus.
Fort Smith is a mid-sized, car-dependent city that serves as a regional hub for western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma. It has a strong industrial base with major manufacturing, logistics, and food processing employers. The Fort Smith School District is itself one of the largest employers in the city. The school sits in a residential area south of the downtown core, in a part of the city that is largely auto-oriented.
The district has made two notable financial moves in recent years. Voters approved a property tax increase in 2021 to fund teacher salaries, technology, and facilities, which was then partially rolled back by the school board in 2023, reducing the millage rate. That sequence means local taxes have shifted but remain a topic of active public discussion. The district also opened the Peak Innovation Center in 2022, a career and technical education facility that is available to all district students at no cost. For Carnall’s elementary-age students, this is not a current program, but it signals a long-term district investment in career pathways that families will encounter at the secondary level.
What is not available in this data is information on discipline, staffing ratios, class sizes, chronic absenteeism, or student attendance. The school also does not have reported data on the share of students receiving special education services or English learner supports, so a parent with a child who may need those services should contact the school directly to understand what is offered. Carnall does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. The state testing data comes from one year and reflects a single snapshot in time; the data does not indicate how the school has performed in prior years, so there is no way to assess whether the results represent a trend or a single-year situation.
Overall, Carnall Elementary is a school with a high-poverty student body and academic results that are below the county median. It sits in a stable, manufacturing-based regional city and operates within a district that has made recent investments in facilities and career programs. For a family choosing this school, the key considerations are the current academic performance, the types of student support the school provides, and a direct conversation with the school about how it serves its students day to day. A parent who values a school with a strong track record of high proficiency may find the available data gives them reason to explore further. A family already connected to this neighborhood, or one that values the district’s broader investments in career pathways at the secondary level, may find it a suitable fit with the right expectations.
See more original research from School Decision →