Summary:
Luling, Louisiana is home to a single middle school, R.K. Smith Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 with an enrollment of 303 students and is part of the highly-rated St. Charles Parish school district, a 5-star district ranked 12th in the state.
R.K. Smith Middle School shows a mix of strengths and challenges. The school excels in 8th Grade Social Studies, with 79% of students proficient—outpacing both the district (75%) and state (61%). It also has a very low student-teacher ratio of 8.2:1, which supports small class sizes. However, its state ranking has declined from the 71st percentile (4 stars) in 2023-2024 to the 61st percentile (3 stars) in 2025-2026. While the school performs above state averages in all core subjects, it consistently trails its own high-performing district, with overall math proficiency at 76% (district: 82%) and English Language Arts at 72% (district: 78%). The school also has a high poverty rate, with 67.99% of students eligible for free or reduced lunch.
Several trends stand out. Math proficiency drops sharply as students advance: 84% in 6th grade, 75% in 7th grade, and 63% in 8th grade, a steeper decline than the district's pattern. Chronic absenteeism is 11.0%, higher than the district's 7.7%, yet the dropout rate is remarkably low at 0.5%—far below the district (1.8%) and state (3.1%). This suggests the school is effective at keeping students enrolled despite attendance issues. Additionally, Social Studies scores show a dramatic "8th grade bounce," jumping from 47% proficiency in 7th grade to 79% in 8th grade, indicating a particularly effective teacher or curriculum at that level.
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