Gentry Middle School, Gentry AR - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Gentry Middle School

Gentry Middle School serves a community shaped by growth. The town of Gentry sits in the Ozark Mountains of western Benton County, an area that began as an orchard community and later shifted to a poultry and manufacturing economy anchored by major employers such as McKee Foods and Tufco Flooring. The city has seen steady population growth, a trend that extends into the school district; the Gentry School District has experienced significant enrollment increases over the past several years, with one of the highest percentage growth rates in the state. For a middle school, this means a student body that is likely growing alongside the broader Northwest Arkansas metropolitan expansion.

The student body at Gentry Middle School is diverse in its composition. The largest share of students are white, followed by smaller but present populations of Hispanic, two-or-more-races, and Asian students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which is an indicator of the economic context families bring with them. Information on the share of students who receive special education services or are classified as English learners was not available in the data reviewed.

On the state assessment administered in the 2024-25 school year, Gentry Middle School’s results show a pattern that parents will want to examine closely. In math, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above fell roughly in the range of just over a quarter to just under a third, depending on the grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with one grade level dipping to around a fifth proficient and another rising to just over a third. Science results were somewhat stronger, particularly for eighth graders, where nearly half of students met the proficiency benchmark. Compared to other schools across Benton County, Gentry Middle School’s overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quarter of the cohort.

Because Gentry Middle School serves only grades six through eight, there is no graduation rate to report. The school does not offer high school programs, so metrics like AP or dual-credit course access are not applicable here. The available data did not include information on chronic absenteeism, discipline, or staffing ratios.

A parent considering this school should know that the academic attainment numbers are a soft spot. The school’s results are lower than the median among Benton County districts. There is no single cause apparent from the data. A parent may want to investigate what academic interventions, supports, or initiatives the school uses, and how the district’s rapid enrollment growth affects class sizes and resource allocation at the middle level.

The housing context in the area shows home values that are above the national median, though the data on the specific zip code tied to the school suggests a market that is expensive relative to the state as a whole. A typical household’s estimated rent-to-income ratio suggests renting is a significant expense.

For a family moving to Gentry, the middle school sits within a small town where civic life centers on a traditional Main Street. The school building is part of the community fabric, not isolated on a distant campus. The town offers a library, a city hall, and recreational spots like SWEPCO Lake and the Wild Wilderness Drive-Through Safari. The area is auto-dependent outside the downtown core. Growth is a real and ongoing factor; the district has seen a sharp enrollment increase in recent years, and that trajectory carries implications for the school’s capacity and the experience of students in the coming years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 28%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

even with state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 731%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolGENTRY 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 6Lower-income16%Higher-income32%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income21%Higher-income38%17 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income39%Higher-income37%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income20%Higher-income26%7 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income31%12 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income37%Higher-income32%5 pp gap