High Schools in Concordia Parish

Concordia Parish, Louisiana, is home to two public high schools, Vidalia High School and Ferriday High School, serving grades 9-12 in a rural area with significant socioeconomic challenges.

Vidalia High School is the stronger academic performer in the parish, consistently outperforming its counterpart on LEAP End-of-Course exams and showing an upward trend in its state ranking, moving from the 30th to the 39th percentile. However, it faces a major challenge with a chronic absenteeism rate of 31.3%, well above the state average, which likely hinders its potential. In contrast, Ferriday High School struggles significantly with academic proficiency, ranking in the bottom 14% of Louisiana high schools and showing a declining trend. Its test scores are critically low, especially in Geometry (16% proficient) and U.S. History. Despite this, Ferriday boasts a higher graduation rate (89.9%) than both Vidalia (80.0%) and the state average, creating a notable paradox where lower test scores do not correspond to lower graduation rates.

The Concordia Parish district ranks in the middle of the pack statewide, but this average masks a deep divide between its two schools. Ferriday serves a student population with a 95.5% free/reduced lunch rate, compared to Vidalia's 81.32%, highlighting a strong link between poverty and academic outcomes. While Vidalia is on an upward trajectory, Ferriday's challenges are deepening, suggesting that the district needs to provide targeted, differentiated support to each school rather than a uniform approach. For parents, this means Vidalia offers a more academically rigorous environment with room for improvement in attendance, while Ferriday excels at graduating students but requires significant academic intervention to boost proficiency.