Summary:
The city of Oak Grove, Louisiana, is served by two public schools within the West Carroll Parish school district, which holds a 2-star rating and serves a high-poverty student population where over 71% qualify for free or reduced lunch.
Oak Grove High School stands out as the top performer in the area, achieving proficiency rates in Math (80%) and English Language Arts (77%) that significantly exceed both the district and state averages. It also boasts an excellent 94.4% graduation rate and a remarkably low 0.3% dropout rate. However, the school faces a paradox with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 27.2%, nearly double the state average, which may explain its sharp drop in state ranking from the 65th to the 48th percentile. In contrast, Oak Grove Elementary School provides a solid academic foundation with a consistent 3-star rating and a strong low chronic absenteeism rate of 14.1%, though its state ranking has slowly declined over three years. A notable academic dip occurs in the middle grades at the high school, with 7th-grade ELA scores dropping 19 points from 6th grade, suggesting a challenging transition to more complex material.
Social Studies is a district-wide weakness, with Oak Grove Elementary scoring 47% proficiency (below the state average of 55%) and Oak Grove High School's U.S. History End-of-Course exam at only 45% proficiency. Despite serving a high-poverty population, Oak Grove High School's strong test scores and graduation rates point to effective teaching and leadership, making its high absenteeism rate a puzzling concern for parents to monitor.
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