Mann Magnet Middle School, Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Mann Magnet Middle School

Mann Magnet Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Little Rock School District, located in the capital city of Arkansas. Little Rock is the state’s largest city and its seat of government, with an economy that draws on healthcare, banking, transportation, and retail. Major employers include the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Dillard’s, and state government. The city has a downtown River Market district with walkable street life, and the Arkansas River Trail provides a long recreational corridor. Outside the downtown core, the city is largely car-dependent. The school sits on East Roosevelt Road, in the southern part of the city.

Mann Magnet Middle School enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and a small share of white students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high level of economic need. The school serves grades six through eight and is part of the Little Rock School District. The district brief turned up no recent parent-relevant changes such as bond elections, boundary shifts, or curriculum adoptions, so the district context appears stable on those fronts.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas’s ATLAS assessment, show that proficiency rates in math, English language arts, and science are low across all three grade levels. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was in the mid-teens in each grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with rates in the mid-to-high teens. Science results were also in the mid-teens for sixth and eighth graders, while seventh graders posted a slightly higher rate, though still well below a majority. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Pulaski County. A parent considering Mann Magnet will want to look into what academic supports and interventions the school offers, and how the school is working to raise these numbers.

The school is a magnet school within the Little Rock School District, though the data does not specify a particular magnet theme or program focus. No information was available on course access, staffing ratios, or discipline rates, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the range of electives, advanced coursework, and student support services available. The district brief turned up no recent changes such as boundary adjustments, bond measures, or curriculum shifts, so the district context appears to be in a period without major publicized transitions.

Housing in the area around the school is more affordable than the state and national benchmarks. Home values and rents are below the Arkansas median, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment is lower than the typical rent, which may make homeownership more accessible here than in many parts of the country. The national unemployment rate was moderate at the time of this data, and real median household income nationally has been relatively stable in recent years.

For a family considering Mann Magnet, the central question is academic support. The school’s test results are low across all three subjects and grades, and the overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quarter of Pulaski County districts. A parent will want to understand what interventions, tutoring, and instructional strategies the school uses, and how the magnet designation shapes the curriculum and student experience. The school serves a high-need population, and the district appears to be in a period without major publicized changes. The surrounding housing market is relatively affordable, which may be a factor for families looking to live near the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 23% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 716%

School 16% · District 22% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 12% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 25% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 718%

School 18% · District 22% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 816%

School 16% · District 26% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 27% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 25% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

This schoolLITTLE ROCK 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-income11%Higher-income15%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income23%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income21%Higher-income26%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income14%3 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income6%Higher-income19%13 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income8%Higher-income9%1 pp gap