1
Parents: what's one thing you'd want the WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL administration to hear?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
593
High
DISTRICT 388 · STATE 510
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WATSON CHAPEL SCHOOL DISTRICT·NCES 051393001140
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL
4000 CAMDEN ROAD, PINE BLUFF, AR 71603 · (870) 879-3230 · Jefferson County
GRADES 09–12HIGH32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL593 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.0:1
66 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.7:1 · STATE 8.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
347 students
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 70%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 123 | 21% |
| Grade 10 | 148 | 25% |
| Grade 11 | 162 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 160 | 27% |
Student demographics
19%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 22% · STATE 61% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within WATSON CHAPEL SCHOOL DISTRICT. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
ATLAS 2024-25 . % Proficient (Level 3+4)English Language Arts
9.2%
AR avg 34.9% . -3.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the ATLAS, Arkansas's statewide test, about 9 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level. The Arkansas average is about 35 of 100. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2023.
ATLAS results by year
| School year | English Language Arts |
|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 9.2% |
| 2023-24 | 12.5% |
% Proficient (Level 3+4), all students and all tested grades.
Source: ATLAS. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of AR schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
9.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.1%
based on AR schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-28.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 9% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 38% typical for Arkansas schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL's state test result (9.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL this school | 593 | 58.5% | 9.2% |
| HALL HIGH SCHOOL - WEST SOI LITTLE ROCK | 495 | 64.6% | 17.4% |
| PARKVIEW MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE ROCK | 1,072 | 68.2% | 28.0% |
| ESTEM HIGH SCHOOL LITTLE ROCK | 676 | 61.7% | 29.9% |
| MARION JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL MARION | 588 | 76.5% | 16.6% |
| SYLVAN HILLS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL SHERWOOD | 721 | 53.1% | 23.1% |
Matched among Arkansas high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 9.2% | #264 of 272 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 9.2% | #273 of 280 ▼ 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 593 | #77 of 310 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.0:1 | #132 of 245 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 19.4% | #185 of 246 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.5% | #165 of 273 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.0% | #77 of 133 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
593
+54 (+10%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 735
Student : Teacher
9.0:1
was 14.2:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 593 | 66.1 | 9.0:1 | 59% (347) |
| 2023-24 | 639 | 47.4 | 13.5:1 | 100% (639) |
| 2022-23 | 497 | 43.1 | 11.5:1 | 100% (497) |
| 2020-21 | 539 | 38 | 14.2:1 | 100% (539) |
| 2017-18 | 652 | 49.1 | 13.3:1 | 19% (125) |
| 2015-16 | 646 | 46 | 14.0:1 | 66% (426) |
| 2010-11 | 723 | 51 | 14.2:1 | 54% (394) |
| 2000-01 | 778 | 49 | 15.9:1 | 31% (244) |
| 1990-91 | 735 | 45 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL.
About WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL
Located in PINE BLUFF, Arkansas, WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL is a mid-sized high school. The school counted 593 students in 2024-25, covering grades 9 through 12.
In WATSON CHAPEL SCHOOL DISTRICT, 4 schools enroll a combined 1,552 students.
A large majority of enrollment at WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL is Black, at 90%. After that, the student body is 6% White and 3% Hispanic. Among all residents of Jefferson County, the Black share is about 57%. The diversity index for WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL is 19%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The school lists 66.1 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.0:1. The average for high schools in Arkansas is about 8.8:1. WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL has a free or reduced-price lunch rate of 59%. The 77% average for public schools in Jefferson County is 18 points higher.
Given its lunch-eligibility share, the predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results for WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL is 38.1%. It actually posts 9.2%, which is 28.9 points lower and in the bottom 10% of Arkansas schools.
Looking at the county, Jefferson County, median household income comes to about $51,096, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 20% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 15%. The county has 28 public schools and about 8,520 students.
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL's nearest public school is WATSON CHAPEL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL (about 0.1 miles). There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. On state test proficiency, WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL ranks 7th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
By NCES locale, the school is Town: Distant, or in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
The school's enrollment increased 10% from 2020-21 to 2024-25. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 9.0:1, from 14.2:1.
This community page is for conversations about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
64,802
Census ACS
Median income
$51,096
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
8,520 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in WATSON CHAPEL SCHOOL DISTRICT
- COLEMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 426 students
- WATSON CHAPEL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLMiddle · 334 students
- EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 199 students
- L. L. OWEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLCombined
Other schools in PINE BLUFF
- PINE BLUFF HIGH SCHOOLHigh · 688 students
- PINE BLUFF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLMiddle · 610 students
- FRIENDSHIP ASPIRE ACADEMY HAZEL ST PINE BLUFFElementary · 469 students
- COLEMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 426 students
- THIRTY-FOURTH STREET ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 399 students
- MATTHEWS ELEMENTARY SCHOOLElementary · 367 students
Nearby schools
- WATSON CHAPEL JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL0.1 mi · 334
- EDGEWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL1.4 mi · 199
- COLEMAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.1 mi · 426
- SOUTHWOOD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL2.2 mi · 345
- FRIENDSHIP ASPIRE ACADEMY HAZEL ST PINE BLUFF2.5 mi · 469
- FORREST PARK GREENVILLE PRESCHOOL2.7 mi · 204
Frequently asked questions
About WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOLHow many students attend WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL?
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL enrolls approximately 593 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL serve?
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL serves grades 09-12.
How many teachers does WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL have?
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL employs 66 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.0:1.
How diverse is WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL?
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL reports a student body of 6% White, 3% Hispanic, 90% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL in?
WATSON CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL is part of WATSON CHAPEL SCHOOL DISTRICT.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.