West Carroll Parish

The West Carroll Parish school district in Louisiana serves approximately 1,483 students across three public schools: Oak Grove Elementary School, Oak Grove High School, and Forest School, an alternative school. The district holds a 2-star rating and ranks 63rd out of 116 parishes in the state, with all schools serving a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, as indicated by free/reduced lunch rates above 70%.

Oak Grove High School is the district's academic standout, achieving 80% proficiency in Math and 77% in English Language Arts (ELA)—both well above state averages. It also boasts a 94.4% graduation rate and a 0.3% dropout rate, far better than state figures. However, it has the highest chronic absenteeism rate at 27.2%. In contrast, Oak Grove Elementary School delivers solid, consistent performance with 70% proficiency in both Math and ELA, matching or exceeding district and state averages, and it has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the district at 14.1%. Forest School presents a unique profile: despite having the lowest test scores and the highest economic disadvantage rate (80%), it achieves a 0% dropout rate and a 90.6% graduation rate, suggesting a strong focus on student retention and completion.

A key takeaway is that high poverty does not dictate poor outcomes, as Oak Grove High School outperforms state averages despite 73.2% of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch. Another notable finding is a district-wide weakness in Social Studies, where all three schools fall below the state average of 55%. Additionally, at Oak Grove High School, there is a noticeable drop in proficiency from 6th to 8th grade in Math (83% to 74%) and ELA (89% to 75%), indicating a potential challenge with the transition to more complex middle school content.