Bale Elementary School, Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Bale Elementary School

Bale Elementary School, a public school within the Little Rock School District, serves kindergarten through fifth grade and is located in Little Rock, Arkansas's capital and largest city. With an enrollment in the mid-hundreds, the student body is predominantly Black, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. A very large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The school’s size is moderate for a K–5 building, and it operates as a neighborhood elementary in a city that functions as a state government, healthcare, and commercial hub.

Academically, state assessment results from the 2024–25 school year show that across grades three through five, proficiency rates in reading, math, and science are consistently low. In each grade and subject, the share of students reaching the proficient level is in the single digits or low teens. This performance positions Bale in the bottom quarter among elementary schools in Pulaski County when compared on a summary proficiency index. Because the school serves only elementary grades, a graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data are not applicable.

The school is part of the Little Rock School District, which serves the broader city. No recent district-level changes—such as boundary adjustments, bond referendums, or curriculum shifts—were reported in publicly available sources, so the district context appears stable at this time. Additional details about programs, staffing, discipline, or course access are not available in the data provided.

Little Rock itself offers a mixed urban-suburban environment. The city is home to major employers such as the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Dillard’s, and state government, and its downtown River Market district provides walkable cultural amenities. The Arkansas River Trail and Pinnacle Mountain State Park are nearby outdoor anchors. The city’s housing market, measured by typical home values in the area near Bale, is below both state and national benchmarks, and rental costs are relatively affordable compared to national levels. For a family considering Bale, the low proficiency rates across tested subjects are a clear area to investigate with the school and district to understand what academic supports are in place. The school’s role as a high-poverty elementary in a mid-sized urban district may inform a parent’s sense of the peer environment and the resources available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 30% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 33% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 30% · ▼ 22 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 28% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 33% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 29% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 28% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 32% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 510%

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

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 10 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.