Pulaski Heights Middle School, Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Pulaski Heights Middle School

Pulaski Heights Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Little Rock School District. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and its student body is diverse. A majority of students identify as Black, more than a third as white, and smaller shares as Hispanic or Asian, with no other racial group reaching a noticeable presence. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which often signals that a school community draws from a range of income levels, but here it is a high enough share to note it as a characteristic a family may want to consider when thinking about the peer environment and what resources the school can draw on. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent who needs information on those programs should ask the school directly.

The school sits in the Pulaski Heights neighborhood of Little Rock, a city that blends capital-government employment, healthcare anchored by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and corporate headquarters such as Dillard's and Windstream. Housing values in the area sit close to the state benchmark, and rents have been rising at a modest pace. The immediate neighborhood is a mix of older homes and mid-century single-family housing, with a short drive into the downtown River Market district. Families considering this area will find a city with a downtown core and walkable pockets, but the city overall leans car-dependent outside the center. The district is the Little Rock School District, and a search for recent referendums, bond elections, curriculum changes, or school closures turned up no reported changes that would reshape what a parent can expect in the near term. That may mean stability, or it may mean a parent should call the district office for the latest plans.

On the 2024-25 state assessments, the Arkansas ATLAS, Pulaski Heights Middle School’s proficiency rates are uneven across subjects and grades, and overall they land below what many families would hope to see. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above is modest in sixth grade, then falls in eighth grade, with the highest share in seventh grade still below a third of students. In English language arts, the pattern climbs across the three grades, with eighth grade reaching a point that is higher than the school’s math outcomes but still below the majority mark. Science results are the strongest subject, with seventh grade showing the best performance of any tested group at the school. The comparison among schools in Pulaski County places the school’s overall proficiency index above the midpoint of the 15 districts that had testing data. That county-wide comparison gives a broadly peer-benchmarked read: the school is not among the top performing schools in the county, but it is not at the bottom either, sitting in the middle range. A parent looking at these scores should weigh that the school has a fair number of students scoring below proficiency, especially in math, and should ask what academic support programs exist for students who need to catch up.

Because this is a middle school that ends at grade eight, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not available in the source data. On programs, the payload did not include any specifics about elective offerings, arts, or extracurricular activities, so this is a gap a parent would want to fill by visiting the school’s website or speaking with staff.

Pulaski Heights Middle School offers a diverse student body in a stable neighborhood of a midsized capital city. The testing picture shows a school with room for growth, particularly in math, and science and eighth-grade English are relative bright spots. The countywide comparison suggests it keeps pace with other districts in the area but does not lead them. For a family that prioritizes diversity and a central Little Rock location and is prepared to be involved in monitoring academic progress, this school could be a reasonable fit. The missing information on special populations, discipline, attendance, and programs means that a thorough inquiry with the school is essential before forming a full judgment.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 23% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 22% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 11 pts above 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 626%

School 26% · District 25% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 22% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 26% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Science

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 24% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 27% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 25% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above 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-income19%Higher-income59%40 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income60%44 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income15%Higher-income58%44 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income6%Higher-income59%52 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income56%45 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income14%Higher-income36%22 pp gap