Indian Hills Elementary School, North Little Rock AR

Original Research by School Decision on Indian Hills Elementary School

Indian Hills Elementary serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade in North Little Rock, Arkansas, as part of the North Little Rock School District. The school draws from a neighborhood where every student qualifies for free or reduced-price meals, a marker of concentrated poverty. The student body is roughly split between Black and White students, with smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students.

On the 2024-25 state assessments, Indian Hills showed a mixed academic profile. In math, across grades three, four, and five, the share of students scoring proficient or above sat in the upper third to upper half range, with a modest upward trend by grade. English language arts proficiency was lower, landing close to the one-quarter to one-third mark across grades. Science results followed a similar pattern, with grade four a bit higher than grades three and five. When compared to other elementary schools across Pulaski County, Indian Hills landed in the top quarter on a combined proficiency measure. Still, in absolute terms, a majority of students in most tested subjects and grades did not reach the proficient threshold. A parent may want to discuss with the school how it supports students who are below that bar, especially in reading, where the numbers are softest. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not possible to say whether these results represent improvement or decline.

The school enrollment is moderate in size for an elementary building. No data on students with disabilities or English learners was reported here, so families with children who have an Individualized Education Program or are learning English should ask the school directly about available services. The same gap applies to discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, and staffing ratios; none of that information was provided in the available records, and a parent may wish to request those details from the school or district office.

Indian Hills is part of the North Little Rock School District, which has seen several recent changes that affect the broader experience of families. In 2021 voters approved a millage increase to fund a new high school, which opened in 2023. The district also adopted a new K-5 English language arts curriculum aligned with the Science of Reading for the 2024-25 school year, a shift that directly touches Indian Hills. For older students, the district launched new career and technical education pathways in healthcare, welding, and information technology at the high school, with industry certifications available. These investments suggest the district is putting resources toward both academic foundations and postsecondary readiness.

North Little Rock itself is a mid-sized city across the Arkansas River from Little Rock, with distinct neighborhoods such as Indian Hills, Park Hill, and Lakewood. The Argenta Historic District downtown offers walkable entertainment and dining, and a streetcar connects to Little Rock’s River Market. Burns Park is one of the largest city-owned parks in the country. Housing in the area around Indian Hills is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks, and the city has seen steady but modest growth. The commute to downtown Little Rock is short.

For a family weighing Indian Hills, the key tensions are these: the school performs relatively well among its county peers, yet a full picture of student support and non-academic climate is incomplete from the data here. The high poverty concentration means wraparound services and community partnerships may play an outsized role in student success. The district’s recent curriculum overhaul and new high school facility indicate a system that is investing in change, and families may want to see how those changes affect early-grade reading outcomes in the coming years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 29% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 28% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 30% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 25% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 27% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 33% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Science

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 21% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 30% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolNORTH LITTLE ROCK 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.