The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in Math. The lowest is 30% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Westside Elementary School
Westside Elementary School serves the small rural community of Hartman, Arkansas, and its surrounding area in Johnson County. The school is part of the Westside School District in Johnson County, which formed after the consolidation of the former Hartman school district. Hartman itself is a very small town that has seen little growth for decades. Historically a farming and coal-mining center settled by German immigrants, the town was bypassed by the interstate and has long since diminished to a quiet residential cluster with a post office, a city hall, and a few churches. Housing values in the area sit well below national medians, making it one of the more affordable places in the country to own a home.
The school enrolls students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic minority and a handful of Asian students. The share of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch is very high, indicating that the community it serves faces substantial economic challenges.
On the Arkansas ATLAS assessments,Westside Elementary's results show a mixed picture that varies notably by grade level. In mathematics, third-grade performance was low, while in fourth grade roughly two out of five students scored at the proficient level or above. Fifth-grade math results were similar to fourth-grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar. Third-grade reading was a weak spot. Fourth-grade reading showed a stronger result, with a share of students meeting the bar similar to fourth-grade math. Fifth-grade reading then declined somewhat from that level. Science scores followed a similar grade-level pattern, with fourth grade outperforming third and fifth. Overall, when looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school’s proficiency index places in the top quartile among the three districts in Johnson County, though it is important to keep in mind that this is a small comparison set. The fully reported data means a parent can see these grade-by-grade results and may want to ask the school specifically about early literacy support in third grade and how the school sustains the stronger results seen in fourth grade.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to report. Information on special education enrollment and English learner status was not available in the data provided. No information on discipline, staffing levels, or chronic absenteeism was available either. The district brief did not identify any recent major changes, facility projects, or curriculum adoptions that would be relevant to a family considering this school.
For a family considering Westside Elementary, the core picture is a small, rural elementary school serving a high-poverty community in a town with a long history of economic decline but very low housing costs. Academic performance is strongest in fourth grade across subjects, while third grade represents a dip that a parent will want to understand better. The school is part of a small district and a tiny countywide comparison set, so there is limited nearby context to draw on. A family moving to this area should expect a quiet, low-amenity setting and should seek a direct conversation with the school about its approach to early reading and how it supports students across the elementary years.
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