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Rankings updated: Louisiana rankings were updated on September 12, 2026 with the addition of grade 3-8 science and High School Civics test scores

West Jefferson High School

Public Grades 9-12

251^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 329 Louisiana High Schools

Better than 24% of Louisiana high schools

Summary

West Jefferson High School in Harvey, LA, is a large traditional public high school serving 1,438 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Jefferson Parish school district. The school has faced persistent challenges, reflected in a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger over the past decade, with a student body where 62.87% qualify for free or reduced lunch. A significant concern is the critically high chronic absenteeism rate of 45.4% in the 2024-2025 school year, which is more than double the district and state averages and far exceeds nearby schools like Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies (7.3%) and Jefferson RISE Charter School (17.2%).

Academically, West Jefferson struggles with proficiency rates in core subjects like Algebra I and English I that are consistently 15-30 percentage points below the state average. For instance, only 27% of students were proficient in English I compared to 66% statewide. The graduation rate of 64.5% is also well below the district (77%) and state (85%) averages, and notably lower than other large nearby schools like John Ehret High School (87.6%). However, there is a surprising bright spot: West Jefferson consistently outperforms the state and district in U.S. History, with 60% of students proficient in 2025-2026 versus 55% statewide, suggesting that when students are engaged, they can achieve at or above state levels.

Comparing West Jefferson to nearby charter schools serving even higher percentages of low-income students reveals that the challenges are not solely about poverty. Young Audiences Charter High School and Jefferson RISE, with 86-87% low-income students, achieve graduation rates of 91-93% and chronic absenteeism rates of 14-17%, dramatically better than West Jefferson. This suggests that school culture and engagement strategies play a critical role. The contrast is stark within the same district, where Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies, just 1.5 miles away, is a top-3 school in the state, highlighting extreme educational inequality in the area.

1,438

Students ?

18.6

Student/teacher ratio ?

$13,027

Per pupil spending ?

62.9%

Free/discounted lunch ?

2200 Eighth Street
Harvey, LA 70058-4099

(504) 368-6055

District: Jefferson Parish

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

47.9%

African American:

41.2%

White:

6.7%

See top rated Louisiana high schools

Compare West Jefferson High School to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 19th percentile in 2016 → 24th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2016

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Louisiana average (41% vs 62% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (24th percentile)

!Graduation rate below the Louisiana average (64% vs 85%)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school41%

District avg56%

Louisiana avg62%

251^st of 329

Louisiana public high schools ?

Bottom 24%▲ up 5 pts since 2016

From bottom 19% (2016) to bottom 24% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Louisiana High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

10^th of 15High Schools in the Jefferson Parish

58^th of 119Jefferson Parish among Louisiana districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	22.6	251 of 329	23.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.4	245 of 329	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.9	248 of 333	25.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	28.8	233 of 321	27.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.4	241 of 326	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	16.0	268 of 322	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	20.8	254 of 313	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	19.6	250 of 302	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	38.9	219 of 297	26.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	30.9	240 of 297	19.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	36.2	244 of 312	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	31.8	252 of 309	18.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	26.8	269 of 312	13.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	31.2	256 of 310	17.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	19.0	276 of 300	8.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2010	14.6	274 of 297	7.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2009	13.0	273 of 301	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	11.3	270 of 291	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2007	25.4	243 of 290	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	35.3	163 of 261	37.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	34.3	165 of 256	35.5%	★★☆☆☆
2024	47.4	125 of 260	51.9%	★★★☆☆
2023	52.1	107 of 252	57.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	46.9	126 of 256	50.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	34.6	156 of 243	35.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	37.5	148 of 233	36.5%	★★☆☆☆

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2025	20.1	20 of 23	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	46.3	29 of 62	53.2%	★★★☆☆
2025	50.9	27 of 59	54.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	52.5	24 of 50	52.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	53.4	15 of 34	55.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	66.1	8 of 40	80.0%	★★★★☆
2019	44.6	14 of 27	48.1%	★★★☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	23.9	246 of 312	21.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	24.9	241 of 308	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	238 of 308	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.9	236 of 308	23.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.1	232 of 311	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.5	249 of 288	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.0	239 of 292	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	22.3	106 of 128	17.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.3	95 of 120	20.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	26.5	90 of 113	20.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	21.7	90 of 107	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.6	81 of 103	21.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.3	82 of 92	10.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	18.9	68 of 78	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆

Homeless

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2025	48.9	12 of 22	45.5%	★★★☆☆
2024	40.6	15 of 25	40.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	33.1	18 of 23	21.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	25.4	245 of 324	24.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	30.5	228 of 323	29.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	29.3	237 of 328	27.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.5	230 of 321	28.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	32.6	224 of 322	30.4%	★★☆☆☆
2021	24.6	223 of 285	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.1	232 of 301	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	22.6	244 of 315	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.5	226 of 313	27.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	27.2	231 of 315	26.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.0	217 of 306	29.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	27.6	218 of 301	27.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.1	234 of 292	19.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	21.6	232 of 291	20.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2019	16.7	29 of 30	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	20.9	156 of 182	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	38.3	101 of 170	40.6%	★★☆☆☆
2024	37.0	105 of 165	36.4%	★★☆☆☆
2023	56.1	46 of 138	66.7%	★★★☆☆
2022	41.6	76 of 139	45.3%	★★☆☆☆
2021	28.5	93 of 135	31.1%	★★☆☆☆
2019	18.9	104 of 122	14.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Louisiana percentile	Rating
2026	24.8	206 of 248	16.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	38.0	168 of 245	31.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	18.9	220 of 248	11.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.2	215 of 249	13.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	16.1	226 of 250	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	5.9	240 of 245	2.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	15.3	231 of 249	7.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

English Language Learner (2026)53rd percentile+30 vs school

Homeless (2025)45th percentile+20 vs school

African American (2026)38th percentile+14 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)24th percentile~ school

Male (2026)23rd percentile~ school

Female (2026)21st percentile-3 vs school

Hispanic (2026)17th percentile-7 vs school

White (2026)17th percentile-7 vs school

Special Education (2026)14th percentile-9 vs school

Asian (2025)13th percentile-12 vs school

Multi-racial (2019)3rd percentile-16 vs school

By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?

U.S. History60%+5 vs state

Civics49%-13 vs state

Biology45%-15 vs state

Algebra I38%-27 vs state

English II38%-29 vs state

Geometry31%-26 vs state

English I27%-39 vs state

2.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★0

4★0

3★1

2★0

1★1

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What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, August 7, 2023

Teachers, Principals and all staff, Ana 🙏🏻 good Job Close Quote

by a student
Wednesday, October 14, 2009

West Jefferson High School use to be a great school. Until after 2007, ever since then education, safety, teachers caring, had gone down. The only thing that went up was the violence in students and teachers. All the good teachers at West Jefferson left slowly after 2008. The new principle now is terrible, she has no idea what is going on. Plus West Jefferson is now below standards in testing scores. They spend more time babying freshman then teaching students. The teachers and guidance councilors that are left are like the students, ignorant, selfish, and violent. I have never met so many teachers that were illiterate and unqualified for a job. Some teachers will even tell you they are not going to teach you because they are not getting payed enough. I have had so many classes were we would sit and do nothing because they are so unorganized. Now I am suffering in collage because West Jefferson did not teach me a thing. Close Quote

Schools Near West Jefferson High School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				LEAP Mathematics (2026)				LEAP English Language Arts (2026)				LEAP Science (2026)				LEAP Social Studies (2026)				LEAP Algebra I (2026)	LEAP Geometry (2026)	LEAP English II (2026)	LEAP U.S. History (2026)	LEAP English I (2026)	LEAP Biology (2026)	LEAP Civics (2026)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	LEAP Mathematics 6th Grade	LEAP Mathematics 7th Grade	LEAP Mathematics 8th Grade	LEAP Mathematics All Grades	LEAP English Language Arts 6th Grade	LEAP English Language Arts 7th Grade	LEAP English Language Arts 8th Grade	LEAP English Language Arts All Grades	LEAP Science 6th Grade	LEAP Science 7th Grade	LEAP Science 8th Grade	LEAP Science All Grades	LEAP Social Studies 6th Grade	LEAP Social Studies 7th Grade	LEAP Social Studies 8th Grade	LEAP Social Studies All Grades	LEAP Algebra I End of Course	LEAP Geometry End of Course	LEAP English II End of Course	LEAP U.S. History End of Course	LEAP English I End of Course	LEAP Biology End of Course	LEAP Civics End of Course	Total
West Jefferson High School	Public	9-12	2200 Eighth Street	Harvey	70058	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(504) 368-6055	1,438	77	18.6	62.9%	96 (6.7%)	592 (41.2%)	689 (47.9%)	27 (1.9%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (2.2%)	22.6	251^st of 329 public high schools	23.7%		26.4	245^th of 329 public high schools	25.5%	6																	38.0	31.0	38.0	60.0	27.0	45.0	49.0	$13,027
Jcfa	Public, Charter	9-12	475 Manhattan Blvd	Harvey	70058	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 410-3121	127	11	11.6	80.3%	20 (15.7%)	72 (56.7%)	31 (24.4%)	1 (0.8%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.6%)	17	272^nd of 329 public high schools	17.3%		28.1	235^th of 329 public high schools	28.6%	37																	39.0		50–55%	42.0		34.0	36.0	$27,810
Thomas Jefferson High School for Advanced Studies	Public, Magnet	6-12	910 Gretna Blvd	Gretna	70053	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	No	Yes	No	Yes	(504) 363-4300	527	25	21.0	51.0%	139 (26.4%)	162 (30.7%)	100 (19.0%)	101 (19.2%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.2%)	95.8	4^th of 329 public high schools	98.8%		98	3^rd of 329 public high schools	99.1%	1	96.0	100.0		99.0	100.0	100.0	94–99%	≥ 96%	97.0	≥ 97%	99.0	98.0	94.0	≥ 97%	96.0	96.0	98.0	99.0	100.0	99.0	93–98%	100.0	≥ 96%	$13,482
John Ehret High School	Public	9-12	4300 Patriot St.	Marrero	70072	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	No	No	No	Yes	(504) 340-7651	1,850	96	19.2	74.5%	284 (15.4%)	993 (53.7%)	412 (22.3%)	104 (5.6%)	8 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (2.6%)	21.4	260^th of 329 public high schools	21.0%		20.9	258^th of 329 public high schools	21.6%	2																	34.0	36.0	56.0	36.0	46.0	46.0	44.0	$12,441
Walter L. Cohen High School	Public, Charter	9-12	3575 Baronne St.	New Orleans	70115	Orleans Parish	Walter L. Cohen High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 503-1400	413	40	10.3	77.7%	15 (3.6%)	251 (60.8%)	141 (34.1%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	21.6	259^th of 329 public high schools	21.3%		12.4	286^th of 329 public high schools	13.1%	27																	51.0	38.0	56.0	38.0	42.0	33.0	45.0	$22,647
Sophie B. Wright Institute of Academic Excellence	Public, Charter	6-12	1426 Napoleon Avenue	New Orleans	70115	Orleans Parish	Sophie B Wright Institute of Academic Excellence	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 304-3916	534	29	18.4	86.3%	1 (0.2%)	499 (93.4%)	29 (5.4%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)								(n/a)
Jefferson RISE Charter School	Public, Charter	6-12	3645 Lapalco Blvd.	Harvey	70058	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 328-9799	764	43	17.7	86.9%	185 (24.2%)	426 (55.8%)	124 (16.2%)	15 (2.0%)	5 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.2%)	43	183^rd of 329 public high schools	44.4%		42.4	192^nd of 329 public high schools	41.6%	9	41.0	44.0	34.0	39.0	58.0	54.0	50.0	55.0	32.0	58.0	44.0	44.0	41.0	60.0	43.0	48.0	55.0	39.0	62.0	57.0	65.0	52.0	63.0	$18,994
Joseph A. Cuillier Senior Career Center	Public	9-12	1429-B Ames Boulevard	Marrero	70072	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	No	No	No	No	(504) 340-6963	0	9	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Young Audiences Charter High School	Public, Charter	9-12	1000 Burmaster St.	Gretna	70053	Jefferson Parish	Jefferson Parish	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 304-6332	643	29	22.2	86.5%	84 (13.1%)	416 (64.7%)	116 (18.0%)	5 (0.8%)	3 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (2.8%)	39.2	198^th of 329 public high schools	39.8%		26.9	243^rd of 329 public high schools	26.1%	45																	59.0	52.0	69.0	31.0	52.0	53.0	62.0	$12,956
The NET Charter High School	Public, Charter	8-12	1614 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd	New Orleans	70113	Orleans Parish	The NET Charter High School	Yes	No	No	Yes	(504) 267-9060	213	7	31.6	77.0%	12 (5.6%)	174 (81.7%)	20 (9.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.4%)								(n/a)

Frequently Asked Questions about West Jefferson High School

What district is West Jefferson High School in?

Jefferson Parish

How many students attend West Jefferson High School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,438 students attended West Jefferson High School.

What schools feed into West Jefferson High School?

West Jefferson High School is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Geraldine Boudreaux Elementary School
Elementary : McDonogh 26/Homedale Elementary School
Elementary : Shirley Johnson/Gretna Park Elementary School
Elementary : Terrytown Elementary School
Elementary : William Hart Elementary School
Middle : Livaudais Middle School

Is West Jefferson High School a good school?

West Jefferson High School ranks in the bottom 23.7% of Louisiana high schools.

What is the racial makeup of West Jefferson High School?

Students at West Jefferson High School are 48% Hispanic, 41% African American, 7% White, 2% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

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Schools in Harvey, LA

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Latest Louisiana data All new data »

2025–26 LEAP test scoresJul 6, 2026

2023–24 dropout ratesFeb 24, 2026

2023–24 school spending dataDec 1, 2025

2023–24 through 2024–25 graduation ratesNov 22, 2025

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Louisiana Dept of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.