The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in Math. The lowest is 15% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Kingston Elementary School
Kingston Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the Jasper School District of rural Madison County, Arkansas. The school is located in the small unincorporated community of Kingston, a quiet crossroads in the Kings River valley that today counts fewer than a hundred residents. Kingston was once a busier town with mills and a movie theater; now its town square holds a bank, post office, farm store, café, and library. Many travelers pass through on their way to the Buffalo River area. The school sits a short distance from the square, so school and civic life are integrated around that core rather than on a separated campus.
The student body is small and predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races and very small numbers from other racial or ethnic groups. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, indicating that a significant portion of families face economic challenges. The school covers kindergarten through sixth grade, and because it does not serve high school grades, there is no graduation rate to report.
State assessment results from the ATLAS test show a mixed picture. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above varied by grade. At third grade, the rate was low, but by fifth and sixth grade, the rate rose substantially. In English language arts, the pattern was more uneven. Third-grade results were low, fifth grade was moderate, and sixth grade showed no students reaching the proficient level. Science results followed a similar pattern, with a low rate in third grade and a moderate rate in fifth grade. Fourth-grade results for all subjects were suppressed, likely because too few students were tested to report a reliable figure. A parent may want to look into the sixth-grade English language arts result further with the school to understand the context behind it. Because no multi-year trend data was available, it is not possible to tell whether these results represent an established pattern or a single-year snapshot.
The school is part of the Jasper School District, which absorbed the former Kingston School District some years ago. No recent parent-relevant changes were found for the district. The community of Kingston sits at the intersection of two state highways, and its population has been declining. Some outside investment interest has appeared in the form of real estate purchases by the Runway Group, linked to the Walton family, but no major new housing or commercial development has been identified.
For a family considering Kingston Elementary, the core takeaway is that this is a very small rural school serving a community that has shrunk over time. The student body is economically diverse by income, though racially homogeneous. Academic performance in the latest testing year was inconsistent across subjects and grades, with some grades showing modest proficiency rates and others showing very low ones. The school does not offer any program data in the available information, so there is no picture of enrichment, special education, or English learner supports. Families who value a small, tight-knit rural setting may find this environment appealing, but those looking for strong or consistent state assessment outcomes or detailed program offerings will find limited evidence to go on.
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