The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in Science. The lowest is 29% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Bobby Barrett Elementary School
Bobby Barrett Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade in the Mount Ida School District, a single-building rural elementary in the Ouachita Mountain town that bills itself as the Quartz Crystal Capital of the World. The school is the only elementary in a district that covers the town and surrounding Montgomery County. The community is small, built around a courthouse square, with an economy that leans on ranching, poultry farming, timber, quartz crystal mining, and tourism tied to Lake Ouachita and the Ouachita National Forest. The town has seen little population growth in recent decades, and no major new housing developments were identified in available sources. For a family looking at this school, the setting is quiet and self-contained, with modest commercial services and outdoor recreation nearby.
The school’s enrollment is on the smaller side for a K-6 building, with slightly more than a handful of classrooms across the grade levels. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a marker of the community’s economic base. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with a very small Hispanic population and a small number of students identifying as two or more races; no other racial or ethnic groups were represented in the data. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about how those populations are served.
State test scores from the most recent school year show a mixed picture. In mathematics, proficiency varied considerably by grade. Fourth graders posted a level that could be described as moderate, while third, fifth, and sixth graders showed lower rates, with some grades well below that mark. In English language arts, results followed a similar pattern: fourth and sixth graders performed somewhat better than third and fifth graders, but overall rates were generally on the lower side. Science scores were the most uneven. Fourth graders turned in a noticeably higher result, with a majority of tested students meeting the proficiency bar, while third graders recorded a very low rate, and fifth and sixth graders landed in between. The variation from grade to grade and subject to subject may reflect the small class sizes, where a handful of students can shift a school’s average. A parent interested in academic support might want to talk with the school about how they address gaps in the early grades and whether they offer targeted help in math and reading.
Because Bobby Barrett is an elementary school, there are no graduation rates, advanced course offerings, or college-readiness metrics to consider. The school’s overall proficiency index, which averages performance across tested subjects and grades, placed above the midpoint relative to the two districts in Montgomery County. With only two districts in the county, that means the school’s composite performance sits nearer the top of that small cohort, though the range between them was not wide.
No recent district-level changes, strategic initiatives, or new programs were found in publicly available sources. The Mount Ida School District appears to have operated with no major parent-relevant shifts in recent years. For a family weighing this school, the main considerations are the small rural setting, the high proportion of students from low-income households, the variable academic results by grade and subject, and the limited local data on special populations. A direct visit and conversation with the principal would likely clarify how the school adapts instruction for its youngest students and where it sees room for growth.
See more original research from School Decision →