The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Sylvan Hills Junior High School
Sylvan Hills Junior High School serves eighth and ninth graders in Sherwood, a primarily residential suburb of Little Rock-North Little Rock. The school is part of the Pulaski County Special School District, a system that in 2021 was declared unitary by a federal court, ending decades of desegregation oversight and giving the district independent control over school assignments and equity programs. Sherwood itself has grown steadily through annexation and suburban development, with a mix of residential neighborhoods, commercial corridors, and medical facilities like CHI St Vincent’s North Hospital. The city’s public schools are distributed across town rather than concentrated in a single downtown, and Sylvan Hills Junior High sits among them.
The school serves just two grade levels, eighth and ninth, with an enrollment that is substantial for that narrow band. The student body is diverse. A little over half of students are Black, roughly a third are white, and smaller shares are Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, or American Indian. Nearly half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a share that signals a significant low-income population.
State testing results from the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas’s ATLAS assessment, show that proficiency rates across math, English language arts, and science were below the midpoint among districts in Pulaski County. In eighth-grade math, about one in seven students scored at the proficient or above level. In eighth-grade English language arts, roughly one in five students met that bar. In eighth-grade science, about one in five students did as well. These are the only tested grades and subjects the school reports, and the rates are low. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports are in place and how the school is working to raise achievement.
The school does not serve grades that produce a graduation rate, so that metric is not applicable here. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing ratios, and course access were not available in the source material, so a full picture of the school environment and student support systems is incomplete.
Housing in the area around the school is moderately priced relative to national benchmarks. Home values in the zip code are roughly in line with the state average and below the national median. Rents have been rising at a pace similar to home values. The typical monthly mortgage payment and rent are close to each other, which is unusual and suggests that buying and renting are comparably expensive in this market.
The school’s enrollment is split almost evenly between eighth and ninth graders, with slightly more ninth graders. The student body is majority Black, with a substantial white minority and smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations. About half of students come from low-income households, as measured by free or reduced-price lunch eligibility.
On the 2024-25 state assessments, the school’s proficiency rates were low across all three tested subjects. In eighth-grade math, the share of students meeting the proficient threshold was about one in seven. In English language arts, roughly one in five eighth graders reached that level. In science, the rate was similar, about one in five. These results place the school’s overall proficiency index below the midpoint among districts in Pulaski County. A parent considering this school will want to ask about the specific academic interventions and instructional strategies the school uses to address these outcomes.
The school does not serve grades that produce a graduation rate, so that measure is not applicable. Data on chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, and course access were not available in the source material, so a parent may want to request that information directly from the school to get a fuller sense of daily conditions and student support.
The district itself, Pulaski County Special School District, emerged from federal desegregation oversight in 2021 when a court declared it unitary. That change gives the district more autonomy over school assignments and equity programming, and it may affect how Sylvan Hills Junior High operates in terms of student transfers and resource allocation going forward.
Sherwood, where the school is located, is a suburban city that has grown substantially over the decades through annexation, including the addition of the Gravel Ridge area. The city’s housing stock is primarily single-family homes, and the area is car-dependent, with development organized around major highways rather than a walkable downtown. Families considering the school should be aware that the community is built around suburban commuting patterns and that civic and school facilities are spread across multiple sites rather than clustered in one center.
See more original research from School Decision →