The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in Math. The lowest is 32% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Greene Cty Tech Middle School
Greene County Tech Middle School serves sixth and seventh graders in Paragould, Arkansas, as part of the Greene County Tech School District. Paragould is the county seat of Greene County, a working-class city with a mix of manufacturing, healthcare, and retail trade as its largest industries. The city has seen steady growth, with new housing developments expanding particularly in the western and southern areas, and it sits within the broader Jonesboro-Paragould Combined Statistical Area. The school itself is located west of downtown, along a major highway corridor. The district operates its own set of campuses, separate from the city’s other public school district, and a search for recent district-level changes or strategic priorities found little publicly reported, so none are described here.
The school’s enrollment is substantial for a middle school serving just two grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest share of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds, including Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, and multiracial students, as well as a very small number of American Indian or Alaska Native students. About half of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a figure that provides a general sense of the economic profile of the families the school serves. Data on the share of students with disabilities or those who are English learners was not available, so a parent who wants that information should ask the school directly.
State testing results are reported for the sixth and seventh grades. In mathematics, a substantial share of sixth graders scored at the proficient level or above; the share was smaller for seventh graders. In English language arts, the share of students reaching that bar was lower for both grades, and the difference between the two grade levels was notable, with sixth graders outpacing seventh graders. Science results followed a similar pattern, with a larger share of sixth graders meeting the proficiency standard compared to seventh graders. No testing data was reported for eighth grade, which likely reflects that those students are not housed at this school or that the numbers were too small to report publicly. When compared with the other districts in Greene County, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades sits above the midpoint of the group.
For a middle school, the academic picture is mixed. The school demonstrates a clear area of relative strength in sixth-grade math, where a majority of students were proficient. The seventh-grade numbers in both math and English language arts are weaker, and a parent may want to ask the school how it supports students who are not yet meeting state standards, particularly as they move through the middle grades. The school has no high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report, and no data on chronic absenteeism or course access was available.
Housing in the Paragould area is more affordable than the national median, with home values and rents that are notably lower than the U.S. average. The typical home price in the area sits well below the national figure, and the estimated monthly mortgage payment is modest relative to what many households pay. Rents are also below the national norm. For a family considering a move, the housing market here offers relatively easy entry compared to pricier parts of the country. The local unemployment rate is close to the national rate, and real median household income is somewhat below the national figure, consistent with the area’s manufacturing and service-based economy.
Paragould has a traditional downtown anchored by the county courthouse and public library, but the school campuses, including this one, are spread across the city in a low-density, automobile-oriented pattern. Civic life in the city centers on downtown, while daily school life for a Greene County Tech family means driving to a campus on the western edge of town. The school is part of a district that covers the eastern portion of the city, and its location on a major highway makes it accessible from a wide area.
For a parent, this school offers a middle school setting in a growing, affordable community. The proficiency numbers suggest that students enter sixth grade with a range of academic readiness, and the school’s strongest results come in early middle school math. The drop-off in seventh-grade English language arts is a point worth exploring with the school’s leadership. The absence of data on special education and English learner populations means a family with a child who has an IEP or is learning English should call the school directly to understand what supports are in place. The district itself appears stable, with no major publicly reported changes or controversies that would give a family pause.
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