The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Math. The lowest is 36% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Yellville-summit Elem. School
Yellville-Summit Elementary School serves kindergarten through fourth grade in the small Ozark county seat of Yellville, Arkansas. It is a public school within the Yellville-Summit School District and is the only elementary school for the district’s youngest students. The school is open, non-charter, and not a magnet; no Title I status was reported. For a school covering only these early grades, the enrollment is modest in size.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year under Arkansas’s ATLAS system, the school’s results show a clear split between subjects. In mathematics, a majority of third graders and a majority of fourth graders scored at the proficient or advanced level. Science proficiency was also at roughly that level in both tested grades. English language arts was a softer area: in grade three fewer than half of students reached proficiency, and in grade four about one-third did. A parent considering this school may want to ask the principal or teachers about how literacy instruction is structured and whether there are targeted supports in place for early reading. The school’s overall proficiency index across all tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint when compared with the other district in Marion County.
Student demographics reflect a very high degree of economic need. Nearly every student qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of students who are American Indian or Alaska Native, two or more races, Black, or Hispanic. No data was reported for students with disabilities or English learners, so a parent with a child in one of those groups would want to confirm directly with the school what services and staffing are available. The school is housed in a single building on Panther Avenue; the building itself serves as the only elementary campus in a district that also includes a middle and high school.
Yellville itself is a rural community set in the Ozark Mountains along Crooked Creek, a popular smallmouth bass stream. The town square is anchored by the Marion County Courthouse, and the economy blends small manufacturing, county government, and tourism connected to Bull Shoals Lake and the Buffalo National River. Major employers include a few local manufacturers and the school district itself. In July 2024 the town experienced severe flash flooding that damaged homes and bridges; recovery efforts were ongoing as of the most recent local reporting. Home values in the area are somewhat below the statewide median, reflecting the rural and lower-income character of the region. No major new housing developments were identified in available sources, and the population has been stable at a modest size.
No data on discipline, staffing ratios, chronic absenteeism, or course access was available in the source material, so it is not possible to speak to school climate or non-academic supports from this record. The district brief turned up no recent referendums, curriculum changes, or property tax shifts that would affect a family’s decision. Because the school serves only through fourth grade, there is no graduation rate to report, and state testing does not apply to kindergarten through second grade.
For a family looking at this school, the strengths are clear: math and science achievement are solid for an early elementary school in a rural, high-poverty setting. The biggest question marks are reading proficiency in both tested grades and the lack of publicly available information on special education or English learner programs. The school’s size and small-town setting mean classes are likely to be intimate, and the community is tight-knit. A parent who values a traditional rural school environment and wants to confirm that literacy instruction gets the same emphasis as math would be well served to visit and talk with the staff.
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