The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in Science. The lowest is 48% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Harrison Middle School
Harrison Middle School serves students in fifth through eighth grade in the Harrison School District, located in Boone County in the Arkansas Ozarks. It is the only middle school in the district, drawing from a town that serves as a regional hub for the area. The school sits on Goblin Drive, a street name that appears alongside local landmarks such as North Arkansas College, a community college campus that provides dual‑enrollment opportunities for district high school students.
On state assessments, Harrison Middle School’s proficiency results vary by subject. In mathematics, performance across grades five through eight clusters around the halfway mark, with slightly more than half of students scoring proficient or above. English language arts results are a bit lower, with just under half of students meeting that bar in each grade. Science stands out as the strongest area: in several grades, roughly six in ten students reached proficiency. When all tested subjects and grades are combined into a single index, the school lands in the top quarter among districts in Boone County. A parent considering this school will see a solid middle ground: not the top performer in the county, but one that is comfortably above the middle of the pack. The modest gap between math and ELA suggests room for growth in literacy instruction, a point a family may wish to explore further with the school.
The student body numbers in the high hundreds. The grade‑level groups are fairly evenly sized, which tends to mean stable class sections from year to year. Racially, the school is overwhelmingly white, with a small Hispanic population and very small numbers of Black, Asian, and American Indian students. Slightly more than half of students qualify for free or reduced‑price lunch, indicating that a notable share of families face economic pressures. State data on students with individualized education programs and English learners were not available for this school, so the level of special education and language support services is not captured here. Similarly, discipline statistics and chronic absenteeism rates were missing from the data, so a full picture of school climate and attendance patterns cannot be drawn from this report.
The community around Harrison Middle School reflects a modest, affordable housing market. Home values in the area are close to the state average and well below the national figure. The 30‑year mortgage rate and unemployment rate at the time of this profile were in line with national trends. For a family moving to the area, the housing stock is relatively inexpensive, and the cost of living is below the national median.
At the district level, a few recent developments stand out. The district’s financial profile shows significant reliance on local property taxes, with a substantial capital outlay that included construction spending in the most recent reported year. For middle school families, this may signal ongoing investment in facilities. On the academic side, the district offers accelerated pathways for high school students, including dual enrollment and career‑ready programs. Those options are not directly available to middle schoolers, but they create a clear progression for students moving from Harrison Middle into the high school. No major curriculum overhaul, referendum, or tax‑rate change was identified in available sources for the immediate past period.
Overall, Harrison Middle School presents a conventional middle‑grades experience in a community that balances an affordable housing market with a moderate level of economic need among students. The academic picture is mixed: science is a relative strength, while math and English language arts sit near the middle of the county range. Families will want to look into special education services and the school’s approach to literacy, given the data gaps and the ELA proficiency pattern. The school’s position within a district that actively pursues dual‑enrollment and career pathways offers a built‑in advantage for students who move through to high school ready to take advantage of those opportunities.
See more original research from School Decision →