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North Central High School

Public Grades 7-12

295^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 325 Louisiana High Schools

Better than 9% of Louisiana high schools

Summary

North Central High School in Washington, LA, is a small, rural public school serving 220 students in grades 7 through 12 within the St. Landry Parish district, where nearly 89% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

North Central is currently facing significant challenges, with its state ranking falling from the 55th percentile in 2019 to the 9th percentile (0 stars) in 2025-2026, placing it among the lowest-performing high schools in Louisiana. The most alarming issue is a chronic absenteeism rate of 49.8%—nearly double the district average and more than double the state average—which has spiked sharply from 29.9% the previous year. This attendance crisis likely explains poor outcomes on high school End-of-Course exams, where proficiency rates are dramatically lower than nearby schools: only 20% of students are proficient in Algebra I (compared to 68% at Port Barre High School and 75% at Bunkie Magnet High School), and just 17% in Geometry (versus 71% at Bunkie Magnet). The school does show a relative strength in English Language Arts, with 71% of all students proficient, but this is undermined by a collapse in math performance.

Interestingly, North Central has an enviably low student-to-teacher ratio of 6.1:1, the lowest among nearby schools, which should allow for personalized instruction—yet this advantage is not translating into academic success. The contrast with Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts, located just 15 miles away in the same district and serving a similar demographic (71% low-income), is stark: Magnet Academy is a 5-star school ranking in the 94th percentile. This comparison suggests that North Central's struggles are not solely due to poverty but point to deeper systemic issues, with the attendance crisis being the most critical problem requiring urgent intervention.

220

Students ?

6.1

Student/teacher ratio ?

$30,626

Per pupil spending ?

88.6%

Free/discounted lunch ?

6579 Hwy. 10
Washington, LA 70589

(337) 623-4239

District: St. Landry Parish

Feeder schools for North Central High School:

Elementary:	Palmetto Elementary School
	Washington Elementary School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

85.0%

White:

13.2%

Hispanic:

1.8%

See top rated Louisiana high schools

Compare North Central High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 28th percentile in 2016 → 9th in 2026

Strengths

✓Small classes — about 6 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Louisiana average (41% vs 63% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (50% vs 22% Louisiana)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school41%

District avg55%

Louisiana avg63%

Middle school

279^th of 452

Louisiana public middle schools ?

Bottom 38%▲ up 13 pts since 2016

From bottom 25% (2016) to bottom 38% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Louisiana Middle Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

High school

295^th of 325

Louisiana public high schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 19 pts since 2016

From bottom 28% (2016) to bottom 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Louisiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 7High Schools in the St. Landry Parish

58^th of 116St. Landry Parish among Louisiana districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Middle school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	42.1	279 of 452	38.3%	★★☆☆☆
2025	41.8	272 of 447	39.1%	★★☆☆☆
2024	24.3	355 of 449	20.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.1	351 of 465	24.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.7	356 of 460	22.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.4	373 of 459	18.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	14.8	389 of 449	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.5	361 of 411	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	19.1	365 of 437	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	30.7	327 of 435	24.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	20.5	405 of 482	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	13.4	423 of 470	10.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	13.2	410 of 457	10.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.3	360 of 442	18.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	21.4	369 of 412	10.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	17.9	373 of 408	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	54.2	146 of 344	57.6%	★★★☆☆
2025	57.7	125 of 344	63.7%	★★★☆☆
2024	39.5	207 of 333	37.8%	★★☆☆☆
2023	32.7	241 of 360	33.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	25.2	276 of 360	23.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	25.3	273 of 352	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.6	266 of 338	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	26.3	247 of 313	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2018	19.2	149 of 170	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	44.7	260 of 434	40.1%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.7	260 of 415	37.3%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.5	264 of 415	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	29.9	333 of 444	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.4	308 of 441	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	27.4	326 of 441	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	11.1	392 of 418	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	47.8	245 of 450	45.6%	★★☆☆☆
2025	49.6	223 of 437	49.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	28.1	331 of 444	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.0	361 of 459	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	24.4	355 of 458	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	24.6	351 of 455	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	17.8	368 of 430	14.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	331 of 403	17.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	38.3	281 of 435	35.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	22.3	349 of 426	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.2	334 of 443	24.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.9	383 of 442	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.9	391 of 442	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	15.3	364 of 418	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2021	21.9	308 of 358	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	9.6	334 of 350	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	23.1	284 of 338	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆

High school ranking

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	9.0	295 of 325	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.3	285 of 329	13.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.9	244 of 333	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	13.1	272 of 321	15.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	39.5	198 of 326	39.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.3	238 of 322	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	55.3	141 of 313	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	55.2	136 of 302	55.0%	★★★☆☆
2017	36.3	233 of 297	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	43.2	213 of 297	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	37.3	242 of 312	22.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	32.0	250 of 309	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	54.0	171 of 312	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2012	38.1	230 of 310	25.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	40.4	217 of 300	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	22.3	258 of 297	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	35.0	223 of 301	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	30.8	221 of 291	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	36.0	212 of 290	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	17.9	222 of 260	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.7	202 of 256	21.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	44.3	138 of 260	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2023	24.6	193 of 252	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	41.5	146 of 256	43.0%	★★☆☆☆
2021	40.0	137 of 243	43.6%	★★☆☆☆
2019	71.5	45 of 233	80.7%	★★★★☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	13.1	272 of 313	13.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	25.6	237 of 308	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.0	225 of 308	26.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	17.9	260 of 308	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	50.1	165 of 311	46.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	19.6	236 of 288	18.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	45.7	178 of 292	39.0%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	10.5	295 of 321	8.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	17.4	273 of 323	15.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.0	229 of 328	30.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	15.9	271 of 321	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	40.9	191 of 322	40.7%	★★☆☆☆
2021	31.7	203 of 285	28.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	66.6	89 of 301	70.4%	★★★★☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	7.9	290 of 311	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	11.3	277 of 313	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.3	222 of 315	29.5%	★★☆☆☆
2023	9.0	276 of 306	9.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	34.1	198 of 301	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2021	44.9	169 of 292	42.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	62.7	108 of 291	62.9%	★★★☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2025	12.7	160 of 170	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Middle school

African American (2026)58th percentile+19 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)46th percentile+7 vs school

Female (2026)40th percentile~ school

Male (2026)35th percentile-3 vs school

White (2021)14th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2018)12th percentile~ school

High school

African American (2026)15th percentile+5 vs school

Female (2026)13th percentile+4 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)8th percentile~ school

Male (2026)7th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)6th percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts71%~ state avg

Mathematics52%-10 vs state

English I50%-16 vs state

Social Studies43%-12 vs state

English II36%-31 vs state

Algebra I20%-45 vs state

Geometry17%-40 vs state

★

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Schools Near North Central High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				LEAP Mathematics (2026)			LEAP English Language Arts (2026)			LEAP Social Studies (2026)			LEAP Algebra I (2026)	LEAP Geometry (2026)	LEAP English II (2026)	LEAP U.S. History (2026)	LEAP English I (2026)	LEAP Biology (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	LEAP Mathematics 7th Grade	LEAP Mathematics 8th Grade	LEAP Mathematics All Grades	LEAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	LEAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	LEAP English Language Arts All Grades	LEAP Social Studies 7th Grade	LEAP Social Studies 8th Grade	LEAP Social Studies All Grades	LEAP Algebra I End of Course	LEAP Geometry End of Course	LEAP English II End of Course	LEAP U.S. History End of Course	LEAP English I End of Course	LEAP Biology End of Course	Total
North Central High School	Public	7-12	6579 Hwy. 10	Washington	70589	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 623-4239	220	36	6.1	88.6%	29 (13.2%)	187 (85.0%)	4 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9	295^th of 325 public high schools	9.2%		13.3	285^th of 329 public high schools	13.4%	10	51.0	52.0	52.0	69.0	77.0	71.0	52.0	29.0	43.0	20.0	17.0	36.0		50.0		$30,626
Washington Career & Technical Education Center	Public	9-12	605 Buhot Street	Washington	70589	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	No	(337) 826-7360	0	16	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Port Barre High School	Public	9-12	846 Saizan St.	Port Barre	70577	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 585-7256	354	34	10.5	64.4%	282 (79.7%)	63 (17.8%)	5 (1.4%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	42.8	193^rd of 325 public high schools	40.6%		50.5	172^nd of 329 public high schools	47.7%	21										68.0	46.0	59.0	37.0	68.0	56.0	$17,514
Magnet Academy for Cultural Arts	Public	7-12	1100 E Leo Street	Opelousas	70570	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 942-6195	289	28	10.3	71.3%	108 (37.4%)	157 (54.3%)	9 (3.1%)	9 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)	88.1	19^th of 325 public high schools	94.2%		86.1	23^rd of 329 public high schools	93.0%	4		81.0		84.0	88.0	86.0	80.0	77.0	78.0	86.0	71.0	89.0	79.0		87.0	$16,376
Northwest High School	Public	9-12	3746 Hwy. 104	Opelousas	70570	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 543-2255	575	41	13.9	79.8%	122 (21.2%)	424 (73.7%)	25 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	26.7	245^th of 325 public high schools	24.6%		36.8	211^th of 329 public high schools	35.9%	34										49.0	43.0	59.0		47.0	43.0	$15,276
Opelousas Senior High School	Public	9-12	1014 Judson Walsh Drive	Opelousas	70570	St. Landry Parish	St. Landry Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 942-5634	698	58	12.0	84.2%	29 (4.2%)	631 (90.4%)	25 (3.6%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	16.7	271^st of 325 public high schools	16.6%		17.4	270^th of 329 public high schools	17.9%	1										36.0	26.0	52.0		48.0	41.0	$13,932
Ville Platte High School	Public	9-12	210 West Cotton Street	Ville Platte	70586	Evangeline Parish	Evangeline Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(337) 363-3387	419	36	11.7	84.0%	82 (19.6%)	313 (74.7%)	11 (2.6%)	5 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	28.6	236^th of 325 public high schools	27.4%		27.2	240^th of 329 public high schools	27.1%	4										48.0	64.0	54.0	25.0	49.0	43.0	$17,719
Bunkie Magnet High School	Public	7-12	435 Evergreen Street	Bunkie	71322	Avoyelles Parish	Avoyelles Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(318) 346-6216	669	35	19.0	63.2%	309 (46.2%)	316 (47.2%)	8 (1.2%)	6 (0.9%)	4 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	25 (3.7%)	67.4	101^st of 325 public high schools	68.9%		54.9	153^rd of 329 public high schools	53.5%	52	62.0	67.0	64.0	62.0	61.0	62.0	43.0	40.0	41.0	75.0	71.0	77.0	51.0	71.0	66.0	$15,677

Frequently Asked Questions about North Central High School

What district is North Central High School in?

St. Landry Parish

Is North Central High School a good school?

North Central High School ranks in the bottom 9.2% of Louisiana high schools.

What is the racial makeup of North Central High School?

Students at North Central High School are 85% African American, 13% White, 2% Hispanic.

What schools feed into North Central High School?

North Central High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Palmetto Elementary School
Elementary : Washington Elementary School

How many students attend North Central High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 220 students attended North Central High School.

Rate North Central High School!

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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Louisiana Dept of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.