The top reported proficiency rate is 33% in Science. The lowest is 26% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Malvern Elementary School
Malvern Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade and is the sole elementary campus in the Malvern School District. The school sits in a small industrial city that is the county seat of Hot Spring County. Malvern has a manufacturing base anchored by several Acme Brick plants, along with Weyerhaeuser, Borden Chemical, and Pactiv, and the downtown area has an art deco courthouse, a handful of historic listings, and a whitewater park on the Ouachita River used for training kayakers. The city has seen modest population growth in recent decades.
The student body at Malvern Elementary is majority white, with a substantial share of Black students and a smaller but present share of students who are Hispanic or identify as two or more races. A large majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a high-poverty context. The elementary serves about 130 to 150 children per grade across kindergarten through fourth grade, making it a mid-sized elementary for that grade band.
State testing data from the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas's ATLAS assessment, shows proficiency rates that fall into the bottom quarter when compared across districts in Hot Spring County. In math, roughly one in five third graders scored at the proficient level, rising to about three in ten fourth graders. In English language arts, about a quarter of third graders and a little over a quarter of fourth graders met the bar. Science proficiency was slightly higher, with roughly a third of both third and fourth graders reaching proficiency. A parent looking at these numbers will want to ask the school about its approach to early literacy and math intervention, given that the majority of students are not yet meeting the state's proficiency standard. The school has no reported test results for the 2022-23 year, so a multi-year trend is not available in this data.
The district undertook a bond-funded facility improvement program approved by voters in 2021, which included work at this elementary campus. The bond did not raise the millage rate. Separately, the district has expanded its career and technical education pathways at the high school level, adding programs in accounting, audio/video technology, and auto body repair, though these do not directly affect an elementary school.
Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course access was not available. English learner and special education counts were also missing from the enrollment data. A parent looking at the school's academic profile may want to follow up on those student support figures directly with the school or district.
Housing in Malvern's zip code is priced well below the national median, with home values having declined year over year. Rents are a modest share of income, and purchasing a home is considerably more affordable than the national benchmark. The unemployment rate nationally sits at a moderate level.
Malvern Elementary is a school in a district that has recently invested in its physical plant, serving a community with a strong manufacturing base and a traditional downtown. The academic results suggest many students are still in the early stages of building grade-level skills. This is a place where a family would likely want to understand what reading and math supports are in place for children who need them, and what the school's plan is for moving more students into the proficient range. The elementary does not serve grades that would have a graduation rate, so that metric does not apply here. The absence of some student-support data means a parent will have to get those details from the school rather than from published figures.
See more original research from School Decision →