Ferriday Junior High School

Ferriday Junior High School is a public middle school in Ferriday, Louisiana, serving around 250 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Concordia Parish school district, which is ranked 61 out of 118 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Despite its small class sizes, with a student-teacher ratio ranging from 9 to 12.3 students per teacher, Ferriday Junior High School significantly underperforms compared to the state averages on standardized tests. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 38% of students were proficient or better in math, and 47% were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 60% and 70% statewide, respectively. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 13.6% to 24.6% in recent years, and dropout rates higher than the state average.

Interestingly, the only nearby middle school in the same district, Vidalia Junior High School, outperforms Ferriday Junior High School on academic measures, suggesting the challenges faced by Ferriday Junior High School are specific to the school and not solely district-wide. With an extremely high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 92.28% to 95.2%, Ferriday Junior High School serves a predominantly low-income student population, which often correlates with lower academic achievement. Addressing these socioeconomic factors and implementing evidence-based practices to improve student engagement and outcomes should be the top priorities for the school and district.