Summary:
The city of Iota, Louisiana, is served by three public schools within the Acadia Parish school district, which holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 75th percentile statewide, educating a total of 1,386 students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.
Iota High School stands out as the academic powerhouse, achieving the highest proficiency rates in core subjects and boasting a 94.8% graduation rate with a remarkably low 0.3% dropout rate—ten times lower than the district average. Its Algebra I proficiency (92%) and Geometry proficiency (80%) far exceed state averages. However, the school also has a concerning chronic absenteeism rate of 41.4%, nearly double the state average, creating a paradox where high-performing students coexist with a large portion of the student body missing significant school days. Iota Middle School leads in English Language Arts (ELA) and Social Studies, achieving an 85% proficiency rate in ELA across all grades, with 7th and 8th-grade ELA scores reaching 91%—the highest subject-specific scores in the city. Iota Elementary School provides a strong foundation, earning a 4-star rating for three consecutive years, and its 5th-grade math score of 90% proficient is the single highest subject score for any grade level in the city.
A notable "middle school dip" in math is evident: while Iota Elementary sends students with excellent math skills (5th grade: 90% proficient), 6th-grade math proficiency at Iota Middle School drops to 68%, a 22-percentage-point decline, though 8th-grade math recovers to 83%. Socioeconomic indicators show an inverse relationship with performance, as Iota Elementary has the highest free/reduced lunch rate (56.75%) yet achieves strong scores, while Iota High School has the lowest rate (39.05%) and the highest overall proficiency. All three schools have seen slight declines in their percentile rankings over the past three years, suggesting that while they remain strong, other Louisiana schools are improving at a faster pace.
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