Can I use Clay County's school score to choose a house?

No. Use the Clay County school score as a first-pass county screen, then verify the exact district, attendance boundary, transfer rules, and grade pathway for any address you are considering.

Does SchoolsByCounty confirm school attendance boundaries in Clay County?

No. SchoolsByCounty publishes NCES and Census-backed public-school records. Attendance zones, magnet eligibility, charter lotteries, transportation, and transfer rules must be confirmed with local districts.

How should parents compare public schools in Clay County?

Start with the 7 listed public schools and 3 district entries, then compare similar grade bands and confirm the address-level rules locally.

Clay County Schools & Education

Name: Clay County, Arkansas Education Data
Creator: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Clay County, Arkansas

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

School Score

45/100

Percentile-style score

Score Band

Midrange Signal

Graduation Rate

93.1%

National avg 87.5%

Education Statistics

Graduation Rate

93.1%

National avg 87.5%

State avg 90.3%

Per-Pupil Spending

$5,925

National avg $13,239

State avg $6,160

School Score

45/100

Percentile-style score

State avg 38/100

State Score Position

#26

of 75 counties by score

Education Data Brief: Clay County

Measured School Summary

Clay County performs at an average level with a school score of 45/100 and a solid graduation rate of 93.1%.

Funding Context

At $5,925 per pupil, Clay County operates with limited funding, which may constrain staffing, materials, and extracurricular offerings.

Neighbor Context

Its school score is 18% above the Arkansas average, and its graduation rate exceeds the state average by 2.8 percentage points, while per-pupil spending is 4% lower than the state norm.

School Data Brief

How to read Clay County before comparing districts

County-level education data is best used as a screening layer. It summarizes the local school environment, then points you toward the district and school records that matter for local review.

Local context that changes the interpretation

7 public schools and 3 districts are represented below. Use those school and district records to confirm whether the county-level context fits the neighborhoods you are actually considering.

Overall screen

45/100

Mixed county signal. Ranks #26 of 75 Arkansas counties with school score data.

Completion

93.1%

2.8 pts above the state average

Funding context

$5,925

$235 below the state average

School coverage

3 districts represented in the county school list.

Start with measured county context

This county needs a closer look at district mix, school level, and local context. Compare the score, graduation rate, and spending together rather than treating any single metric as final.

Check the local school mix

Clay County has 7 public schools across 3 districts, so school-level fit can vary inside the county.

Verify local rules

Use this page as county-level context, then confirm attendance zones, transportation, special programs, and current school boundaries with local districts.

View Public Schools Compare Counties

Parent decision brief

What Clay County school data means before you move

County averages are useful for screening, but parents choose addresses, grade pathways, and district rules. This brief turns the public data into the checks that matter before you sign a lease or mortgage.

Mixed school landscape

Clay County has enough school-level records to compare the local mix, but no single county metric should be treated as the answer. Use district shape, grade span, and data coverage together.

State position

#26

of 75 Arkansas counties with school score data. The county score is 7 points above the state average.

Data confidence

Usable

3 of 5 county signals are present, and 100% of listed schools report enrollment. Compare schools, then verify missing fields locally.

K-12 continuity check

These are the largest visible district slices in the county data. They show whether elementary, middle, and high school records appear together or whether a family needs to investigate transition points.

PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary and high visible

849 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary to high school visible

832 students

Elementary 1Middle 1High 1Other 0

3 listed schools in this county slice.

RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Elementary and high visible

616 students

Elementary 1Middle 0High 1Other 0

2 listed schools in this county slice.

District reality check

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT is the largest listed district slice, with 3 schools. County pages do not prove address assignment, so verify boundaries with local district tools.

What the data cannot tell you

NCES records do not confirm current attendance zones, private-school options, transfer approvals, program capacity, transportation, or whether a listed school is available to a specific address.

Questions to ask before choosing an address

Which district actually serves the addresses we are considering in Clay County?

Do the neighborhoods we like fall inside the same district, or are we comparing different Clay County district systems?

What changes at the elementary-to-middle and middle-to-high transitions in the district pathway we would likely use?

If we need a program not visible in the NCES flags, which district office can confirm current offerings?

Are the largest listed schools the ones our address can actually attend, or are they only county-level context?

Education Overview

About Schools in Clay County, Arkansas

This context is screened for neutral school-data wording and should be read alongside the current metrics on this page. It is not school advice.

A Solid Foundation Across Three Districts

Clay County's education system is powered by seven public schools serving 2,297 students. Three distinct school districts manage a network of three elementary schools, one middle school, and three high schools.

Piggott and Corning Anchoring the County

The Piggott and Corning districts are the largest, with Piggott serving 849 students and Corning enrolling 832. The Rector School District rounds out the county's public options with 616 students across two schools.

School Life in Clay County Towns

Education here is centered in town locales, where five of the seven schools are located. Piggott Elementary is the largest campus with 488 students, while Corning Middle School offers a more focused environment with 255 students.

School Overview

Total Schools

in Clay County

Reported Enrollment

2,297

7 schools reporting

School Districts

districts

Charter Schools

0% of total

School Level Breakdown

Elementary3

Middle1

High3

Other0

3 School Districts in Clay County

PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT

2 schools

849 students

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT

3 schools

832 students

RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

2 schools

616 students

7 Public Schools in Clay County

Sorted by reported enrollment. Every NCES public school remains listed here; no school-level profile pages are included in the current generated coverage for this county.

NCES 2022-23 public school data and FY 2022 school-finance data

Search schools

Level

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Showing 7 of 7 matching schools

Public schools in Clay County, including district, location, profile availability, grades, type, and enrollment.
School Name	Profile	District	Location	Grades	Type / Flags	Reported Enrollment
PIGGOTT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT	PIGGOTT, 72454Town: Remote	PK–6	Primary	488
RECTOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT	RECTOR, 72461Rural: Distant	PK–6	Primary	368
PIGGOTT HIGH SCHOOL	Record	PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT	PIGGOTT, 72454Town: Remote	7–12	High	361
PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	Record	CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT	CORNING, 72422Town: Distant	PK–4	Primary	349
CORNING MIDDLE SCHOOL	Record	CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT	CORNING, 72422Town: Distant	5–8	Middle	255
RECTOR HIGH SCHOOL	Record	RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT	RECTOR, 72461Rural: Distant	7–12	High	248
CORNING HIGH SCHOOL	Record	CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT	CORNING, 72422Town: Distant	9–12	High	228

PIGGOTT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT

PIGGOTT, 72454 / Town: Remote

RecordPK–6Primary488 students

RECTOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

RECTOR, 72461 / Rural: Distant

RecordPK–6Primary368 students

PIGGOTT HIGH SCHOOL

PIGGOTT SCHOOL DISTRICT

PIGGOTT, 72454 / Town: Remote

Record7–12High361 students

PARK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT

CORNING, 72422 / Town: Distant

RecordPK–4Primary349 students

CORNING MIDDLE SCHOOL

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT

CORNING, 72422 / Town: Distant

Record5–8Middle255 students

RECTOR HIGH SCHOOL

RECTOR SCHOOL DISTRICT

RECTOR, 72461 / Rural: Distant

Record7–12High248 students

CORNING HIGH SCHOOL

CORNING SCHOOL DISTRICT

CORNING, 72422 / Town: Distant

Record9–12High228 students

Education Funding Detail

Annual Per-Pupil Expenditure

$5,925

State avg $6,160

Compare Nearby Counties

Review Clay County against other counties using the same NCES-backed metrics.

Open Compare

Browse Public Schools

See school-level enrollment, grade ranges, school type, and district affiliation.

View Schools

Frequently Asked Questions

Which Arkansas counties have the highest graduation rates?

Newton County (96.3%), Cleveland County (96.1%), and Conway County (95.8%) currently lead Arkansas among counties with available NCES four-year adjusted cohort graduation-rate data. This answer is generated from the same dataset used in the county table and can change when federal data refreshes.

What is per-pupil spending like in Arkansas?

Across Arkansas counties with available NCES district-finance data, average per-pupil spending is $6,160. The highest current county values are Dallas County ($9,545), Stone County ($7,285), and Woodruff County ($7,079). Compare counties in the table before treating the statewide average as representative of a local district.

How should I read the school score in Clay County?

Clay County has a school score of 45/100, which is a midrange measured signal in this county-level index. This score is calculated from available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance data, with school-level records shown separately below.

What is the graduation rate in Clay County?

The high school graduation rate in Clay County is 93.1%, which is above the national average of 87.5%. This figure is based on NCES district-level data for public high schools in the county.

How much does Clay County spend per student?

Clay County spends $5,925 per pupil annually on public education, based on NCES district finance data. Current operating spending per fall enrollment, including instruction, support services, administration, transportation, and operations. It excludes capital outlays and debt service in the SchoolsByCounty methodology.

Frequently Asked Questions

Schools in Clay County, Arkansas — FAQ

What does the school system look like in Clay County, Arkansas?

What are the major school districts in Clay County, Arkansas?

What is the school experience like in Clay County?

Counties with Similar School Profile

Cross County

Arkansas

-1 pts

44/100

School score

Ouachita County

Arkansas

-2 pts

43/100

School score

Boone County

Arkansas

+3 pts

47/100

School score

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated May 13, 2026Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

Data Sources

Education data sourced from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data and School District Finance Survey. School scores are derived composite metrics based on available NCES graduation-rate and school-finance signals.

Data is informational only. Coverage varies by county and reporting year. Not for use as the sole basis for educational decisions.

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