Lonoke Middle School, Lonoke AR - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lonoke Middle School

Lonoke Middle School serves grades six through eight in the Lonoke School District, a rural district in central Arkansas. The town of Lonoke itself is rooted in agriculture and aquaculture, with rice, soybeans, and fish farming as economic mainstays, and also functions as a bedroom community for Little Rock, located a drive west on Interstate 40. The population has held roughly steady in recent decades, with slow growth, and the character remains that of a small rural town. A new middle school and gymnasium were built here not long ago, a sign of investment in school facilities that remain within the town center rather than on a remote campus.

The student body at Lonoke Middle School is predominantly white, with a substantial Black student population and a smaller Hispanic cohort. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic context of the community. The school’s grade span means it does not produce a graduation rate; that measure applies to the district’s high school.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas’s ATLAS assessment, show that in math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below half in every grade. Sixth grade and eighth grade both landed below a third, while seventh grade was somewhat higher but still under two-fifths. In English language arts, seventh graders performed notably stronger, with proficiency above two-fifths, while sixth and eighth graders each fell below that mark, with eighth graders scoring the weakest of the three grades in that subject. Science results were a relative bright spot; eighth graders posted the highest proficiency rate of any tested group in any subject, at roughly two-fifths, and seventh graders were not far behind. Sixth graders in science were at a third. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school’s overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint when compared with other districts in Lonoke County, though the range among the county’s four districts is not wide. The data does not include participation rates, so it is not possible to assess how complete the testing was.

The district brief turned up little in the way of publicly reported recent changes, so there is no major strategic or facility shift to note beyond the already-mentioned new middle school building. That project, funded by a bond issue, means the school occupies a relatively new physical plant, which may matter to families weighing the condition of facilities.

For a family considering this school, the picture is mixed but carries a clear pattern. The school operates in a stable, small-town setting where the middle school is a central part of the community. The student body is economically diverse, with a majority qualifying for meal assistance. Academically, the school lands roughly in the middle of the county pack, with a few pockets of stronger performance in science and seventh-grade reading, and softer results in middle-grade math and eighth-grade reading. A parent looking closely at the school may want to ask the school directly about what supports are in place for students who are not yet at the proficient level, particularly in math, and about how the school addresses the dip seen in eighth-grade reading scores. The new facility is a tangible asset, and the school’s integration into the town’s daily life means students are not isolated from the community.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

even with state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 5 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 34%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 2 pts below state median

Science

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 33%

even with state median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

▲ 6 pts above state median

This schoolLONOKE 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-income25%Higher-income50%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income19%Higher-income40%21 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income46%20 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income25%Higher-income42%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income28%Higher-income51%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income33%Higher-income54%21 pp gap