Ascension Parish

Ascension Parish is a highly-ranked Louisiana school district serving over 20,000 students across 32 public schools, including 19 elementary, 8 middle, and 5 high schools, and it is a district of stark contrasts where top-tier schools in Prairieville and St. Amant coexist with struggling schools in Donaldsonville.

The district's standout performers are concentrated in the northern and central areas. Dutchtown High School leads the high schools, ranking 12th in the state with a 93.9% graduation rate, closely followed by St. Amant High School (94.9% graduation rate) and the newer Prairieville High School. At the elementary level, Bullion Primary School is the highest-ranked in the district, achieving over 90% proficiency in Math and ELA with a 0.0% chronic absenteeism rate. Prairieville Primary School and Oak Grove Primary School are also elite, while Bluff Middle School is the top middle school. In contrast, Donaldsonville High School ranks in the 35th percentile with a 91% free/reduced lunch rate and 25% chronic absenteeism, while Lowery Middle School and Lowery Elementary School are the lowest-ranked in their categories, all with proficiency rates well below 60%.

A key takeaway is that socioeconomic status is a powerful predictor of performance, with high-poverty schools like Donaldsonville Primary School (26.4% chronic absenteeism) facing the greatest challenges. Interestingly, the lowest-performing schools often have the most favorable student-teacher ratios, indicating that class size alone is not a solution. A district-wide weakness is Social Studies, where proficiency rates lag behind Math and ELA. Additionally, a "middle school dip" is evident, with 8th-grade math scores consistently lower than 6th and 7th grades at schools like Prairieville Middle School and Galvez Middle School, suggesting a systemic challenge in math preparation for high school.