Best Middle Schools in Ruston, LA

The two middle schools in Ruston, Louisiana, part of the highly-rated Lincoln Parish school district, serve grades 6 through 8 and offer distinct academic strengths for families to consider. I.A. Lewis School, which serves only 6th graders, stands out as the academic leader in core subjects, achieving a 70% proficiency rate in Math and a 75% proficiency rate in English Language Arts (ELA) on the 2025-2026 LEAP tests. Its ELA score matches the district average and is five points above the state average, suggesting a very strong foundational program. In contrast, Ruston Junior High School, serving 7th and 8th graders, is the most improved school, having jumped from the 38th percentile to the 58th percentile in state rankings over the past year, a remarkable 20-percentile-point leap.

Key metrics reveal a tale of two strengths. While I.A. Lewis excels in Math and ELA, it struggles significantly in Social Studies with only 44% proficiency. Conversely, Ruston Junior High is weaker in Math (66%) and ELA (68%) but is a standout in Social Studies at 62% proficiency, seven points above the state average. Both schools have favorable student-teacher ratios (12.3:1 at I.A. Lewis and 13.3:1 at Ruston Junior High) and low chronic absenteeism rates (17.0% and 16.6%, respectively), which are well below the state average of 22.5%. Ruston Junior High also boasts an exceptionally low dropout rate of 0.2%.

Interesting takeaways include the "6th grade advantage" at I.A. Lewis, where 6th graders outperform Ruston Junior High's older students in Math and ELA, suggesting a strong foundation that may face challenges during the transition to a larger school. Additionally, while both schools have absenteeism rates better than the state average, they are above the district average of 14.1%, indicating room for improvement. Overall, families can choose between I.A. Lewis's strong core academics for 6th grade and Ruston Junior High's impressive turnaround and social studies excellence for 7th and 8th graders.