The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Vera Kilpatrick Elem. School
Vera Kilpatrick Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Texarkana School District, the Arkansas side of the twin-city metro area that straddles the state line with Texas. This is a school where the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch at a rate that covers the entire enrollment, a fact that places the school in a context of concentrated economic need and shapes the resources and expectations families should understand when considering it.
The school’s state assessment results from the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas’s ATLAS test, show proficiency levels that are low across the board, with variation by grade and subject. In math, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above sits at a modest level in third grade, rises somewhat in fourth grade, and then drops markedly in fifth grade, where only a very small fraction of students meet that bar. In English language arts, the pattern is similar: fourth grade posts the highest proficiency rate among the grades tested, while third and fifth grades fall noticeably below that. Science results are more consistent across grades, with roughly one-quarter of students reaching proficiency in each tested grade. When placed against other districts in Miller County, the school’s overall proficiency index lands in the bottom quartile. This is a straightforward read: academic attainment at Vera Kilpatrick is weak relative to county peers, and the fifth-grade math figure in particular is a soft spot a parent would want to discuss with the school to understand what interventions or supports are in place.
The school serves a student population that is predominantly Black, with a much smaller share of white students and small numbers of students identifying as two or more races, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Asian. The enrollment is evenly distributed across the elementary grades, with class sizes that are typical for a school of this size. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available, so it is not possible to assess how those populations are served or how they factor into the school’s overall profile. No information on discipline rates, staffing ratios, or chronic absenteeism was provided, leaving gaps in the picture of daily school environment.
The housing market in the Texarkana zip code area that includes the school shows home values that are below the Arkansas state average and well below the national median. Rents are modest relative to incomes, and the local affordability picture reflects a market that is accessible for families on a typical budget. The city itself is a mid-sized border community with a historic downtown, a mix of manufacturing, agriculture, and government employment, and a population that has seen a slight decline in recent years. The University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana has expanded its presence in the city, but the elementary school sits within a district that did not have any recent, publicly reported major changes or strategic initiatives flagged in the available information.
For a family evaluating Vera Kilpatrick, the central takeaway is that this is a high-poverty elementary school with academic performance that lags behind other schools in Miller County. The school has the basic structure of a conventional neighborhood elementary program serving kindergarten through fifth grade, and it does not offer magnet or charter options that would alter that profile. A parent considering this school would want to inquire directly about class size, the specific academic supports provided for struggling readers and math students, the availability of enrichment programs, and how the school engages families given the high level of economic need. The gaps in the publicly available data on special education, English learner services, and discipline mean that those conversations with the school are necessary to get a full picture.
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