The top reported proficiency rate is 34% in Science. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Marvin Primary School
Marvin Primary School serves students from kindergarten through fourth grade in Mulberry, a small town in Crawford County within the Fort Smith metropolitan area. The school is part of the Mulberry/Pleasant View Bi-County School District, and its building sits on North Main Street. This is a public primary school, not a charter or magnet.
The academic picture comes from Arkansas’s ATLAS assessments for the 2024-25 school year. In mathematics, third graders recorded a proficiency rate in the range of roughly thirty percent, while fourth graders fell to about twenty percent. In English language arts, third graders posted roughly a quarter proficient, and fourth graders reached a little under forty percent. Science results were similar, with both grades scoring in the mid-thirties. Taken together, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile among the five districts in Crawford County. Because Marvin Primary covers only early elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available in the records examined. A parent looking at these numbers may want to discuss with the school how it supports foundational reading and math skills, especially in the upper primary years.
The student body is small and predominantly white, with a modest share of students identifying as two or more races and a smaller Hispanic population. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals; the reported figure is notably high, reflecting the economic circumstances of many families in the area. Information on students with disabilities and English learners was not provided.
The town of Mulberry itself is a rural community historically tied to agriculture—livestock, chickens, hay, and soybeans—and it hosts the only edamame processing plant in the United States dedicated to locally grown product. The local economy also includes trucking, construction, education, and banking. Recent publicly reported developments include a water treatment plant expansion funded largely through grants, a travel center expected to bring jobs, and a new Dollar General Market along the Highway 64 corridor. The town’s population has grown modestly since the last census, and officials have positioned Mulberry as a potential distribution hub given its access to Interstate 40, a Union Pacific rail line, and the Arkansas River. Six city parks and the nearby Ozark National Forest offer outdoor recreation, and community life centers on events such as Mulberry Days at the fairgrounds.
No significant district-level changes or initiatives were found in publicly available sources for the Mulberry/Pleasant View Bi-County School District. The district brief turned up little of lasting impact to report, so nothing here suggests a major pivot in programming or leadership.
For a family considering Marvin Primary School, the key takeaway is that this is a small, rural primary school serving a community with considerable economic need. Academic performance on state tests is below the midpoint of its county peers, which is worth investigating further. The school does not extend beyond fourth grade, so students will move on to another building in the district for later grades. The town offers a quiet setting with some commercial growth and outdoor amenities, but the school’s academic results and the high rate of economic disadvantage are central facts to weigh. There is no data on staffing ratios, course access, or discipline, so those aspects remain unknown from the available information.
See more original research from School Decision →