Summary:
The three public schools serving Port Barre, Louisiana—Port Barre Elementary School, Port Barre Middle School, and Port Barre High School—are all part of the St. Landry Parish district, which holds a 3-star rating and ranks in the 50th percentile statewide, indicating average performance. The standout is Port Barre Elementary, the only school in the city to earn a 4-star rating for the 2025-2026 school year, ranking in the 70th percentile. It excels in LEAP proficiency with 75% in both Math and ELA, and 63% in Social Studies—all well above district and state averages—despite 73.77% of its students being economically disadvantaged. Its chronic absenteeism rate of 19% is excellent, far below the district rate of 31.2%.
In contrast, Port Barre Middle School shows a clear drop-off, earning a 3-star rating. While its Math (62%) and ELA (70%) scores are at or above state averages, Social Studies proficiency plummets to 46%, 9 points below the state average, with 6th grade being a particular weak point at just 26% proficiency in that subject. Chronic absenteeism rises to 23.1%, slightly above the state average. Port Barre High School is the most challenged, with a 2-star rating and a steady decline in ranking over three years. It faces a dual crisis: a 42.2% chronic absenteeism rate—nearly double the district and state averages—and inconsistent academic performance, excelling in Algebra I (68%) and English I (68%) but struggling in Geometry (46%), English II (59%), and critically in U.S. History (37%).
The data reveals a pattern of declining engagement and performance as students progress through the system. The elementary school’s strong culture and low absenteeism are not sustained at the middle and high school levels, where the high school’s disengagement is a primary driver of its low state ranking. The district’s overall mediocrity is pulled down by its secondary schools, making Port Barre Elementary a clear outlier of success in an otherwise average-performing area.
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