Summary:
The city of Elton, Louisiana, is served by two public schools—Elton High School (grades 6-12) and Elton Elementary School (grades PK-5)—both part of the Jefferson Davis Parish school district, which holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 71st percentile statewide.
Elton Elementary School stands out as the stronger performer overall, particularly in academic growth and student engagement. It consistently exceeds state averages in Mathematics and Social Studies, with a remarkable 84% proficiency in 5th-grade English Language Arts—well above the state average of 73%. Its chronic absenteeism rate of just 13.5% is dramatically lower than both the district (24.8%) and state (22.5%) averages, indicating a highly engaged student body. In contrast, Elton High School shows a "Jekyll and Hyde" pattern: it excels in Biology and English II, consistently beating state averages, but struggles significantly in U.S. History (35% proficiency vs. 55% state) and Geometry (54% proficiency vs. 57% state). The high school also faces a high chronic absenteeism rate of 28.3%, which likely contributes to its academic challenges.
Key metrics reveal a notable disconnect between the two schools. Despite serving a higher percentage of economically disadvantaged students (63.35% free/reduced lunch), Elton Elementary achieves better academic results and far better attendance than Elton High School (57.96% free/reduced lunch). Both schools have favorable student-teacher ratios (12.8:1 at the elementary, 14.2:1 at the high school). The high school's dropout rate of 0.7% is significantly lower than the state average of 3.1%, a positive sign. However, the elementary school's strength in Math and Social Studies does not carry over to the high school, suggesting a need for better curriculum alignment or that adolescent challenges are undoing the strong foundation built in earlier grades.
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