Best Public Schools in Shreveport, LA

The city of Shreveport, Louisiana, is home to 52 public schools serving students from pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, primarily within the Caddo Parish district, which itself holds a 1-star rating and ranks in the 26th percentile statewide.

Shreveport’s schools present a stark contrast between high-performing magnet and fundamental schools and those facing significant challenges. The top performers are a group of "Magnificent Seven" schools that consistently rank in the top 5% of their school types. South Highlands Elementary Magnet School is the absolute standout, ranked 3rd out of 690 elementary schools in Louisiana with near-perfect test scores and a chronic absenteeism rate of just 1.2%. It is joined by Eden Gardens Fundamental Elementary School (4th), Fairfield Magnet School (7th), and Claiborne Fundamental Elementary School (18th). At the secondary level, Caddo Parish Magnet High School (6th) and Caddo Parish Middle Magnet School (6th) achieve near-perfect proficiency rates. In contrast, schools like AmiKiDs Caddo (last in the state for middle schools) and Fair Park Middle School (with a 74.5% chronic absenteeism rate) highlight severe struggles, particularly at the middle school level.

Key metrics reveal systemic issues. The average state rank percentile for all Shreveport schools is approximately 30.5, meaning the typical school performs worse than 70% of its Louisiana peers. Chronic absenteeism is a city-wide crisis, averaging 33.5%—well above the state average of 22.5%—and even affecting high-performing schools like Captain Shreve High School (32.8%). The average high school graduation rate is 78.4%, below the state’s 85.0%, while the dropout rate of 4.8% is higher than the state’s 3.1%. A powerful takeaway is the pronounced link between socioeconomic status and performance: the top five schools all have free/reduced lunch rates below 26%, while the bottom five all exceed 84%. However, Claiborne Fundamental Elementary School proves this is not destiny, achieving a 97th percentile rank despite 62.63% of its students being economically disadvantaged.