The top reported proficiency rate is 43% in Math. The lowest is 37% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mammoth Spring Elem. School
Mammoth Spring Elementary School serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade in the small Arkansas border town of the same name. The town is built around one of the largest natural springs in the world, a state park that anchors local life with its lake, walking trail, and historic train depot museum. Fishing, canoeing, and tourism drive much of the economy, and the population is growing slowly. The school sits within this tight-knit community, where civic life and the schools appear woven into the same small-town fabric.
The student body is small and overwhelmingly white, with only a trace of racial diversity. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, signaling that many families face economic strain. The school does not operate as a charter or magnet, and there is no public data on special education or English learner populations. Because it only covers elementary grades, there is no graduation rate or college readiness data to consider; students move on to upper grades elsewhere in the Mammoth Spring School District.
Academically, the school’s performance on the Arkansas ATLAS assessment shows a mixed picture that varies noticeably by grade and subject. In mathematics, proficiency rates are modest in the lower tested grades and then rise sharply in sixth grade, where a clear majority of students met the state’s proficiency bar. That sixth-grade result stands out as a relative strength. English language arts proficiency is more uneven, with fourth grade showing the strongest results and third grade the weakest. Science scores cluster in a mid-range across grades three through six, with no grade breaking above half of students reaching proficiency. When compared with the other districts in Fulton County, the school’s overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint of the three districts. This single year of data comes from a relatively new assessment, so it is not possible to see a trend. A parent may want to ask the school how performance has changed over time and what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting the bar.
The housing market in the area is relatively affordable. Home values in the Mammoth Spring ZIP code are well below both the Arkansas and national medians. The town’s economy is modest, anchored by the state park, a national fish hatchery, and tourism-related businesses. There is no sign of major new housing development; growth appears gradual and tied to natural amenity migration rather than industrial expansion. The district itself has no recent parent-relevant changes reported.
For a family considering this school, the environment is that of a small, rural elementary school where class sizes are likely small and the community is close. The economic context means many students may benefit from additional support at home or after school. The academic results suggest that while some grade levels and subjects are stronger than others, the school is not an outlier for its county. A parent who values a school deeply embedded in a distinct natural setting and a stable, slow-growing town may find Mammoth Spring Elementary a good match. Those seeking broader academic programming or more demographic diversity would need to look farther afield.
See more original research from School Decision →