Summary:
The city of Loachapoka, Alabama is home to two schools: Loachapoka Elementary School and Loachapoka High School. Both schools serve students from the Lee County district and face significant academic challenges, with Loachapoka Elementary consistently ranking in the bottom half of Alabama elementary schools on state assessments. However, Loachapoka High School maintains a relatively high 4-year graduation rate of 90.0%, which is above the state average.
Loachapoka Elementary School has struggled with low performance, with only 15.79% of 3rd graders proficient or better in math in the 2024-2025 school year, compared to the state average of 45.47%. Both schools also have high chronic absenteeism rates of 14.8%, well above the state average. Despite the academic challenges, the schools have relatively small class sizes, with Loachapoka Elementary having a 12.5 student-teacher ratio and Loachapoka High School having a 9.8 ratio, both lower than the state average.
The high rates of economic disadvantage, as evidenced by the schools' extremely high rates of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch (88.54% for the elementary school and 97.78% for the high school), likely contribute to the academic struggles faced by these schools. While the higher per-student spending at both schools, coupled with the small class sizes, suggests that funding and staffing levels are not the primary drivers of the academic performance, further analysis and targeted interventions may be needed to address the root causes of the achievement gaps.
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