Choudrant High School

Choudrant High School is a small, high-performing public school in the rural community of Choudrant, Louisiana, serving 421 students in grades 6 through 12. This school stands out as an academic powerhouse, consistently ranking in the top 4% of all Louisiana high schools over the past decade, and it is a standout within the Lincoln Parish district, which itself ranks in the top 20% statewide.

Choudrant’s academic performance is exceptional, with a 90% proficiency rate in Mathematics and a 92% proficiency rate in English Language Arts—roughly 30 percentage points higher than the state average. This elite performance far outpaces nearby schools like West Ouachita High School (73% in Algebra I) and Ruston High School (106th in state ranking). The school also boasts a perfect 0.0% dropout rate for five consecutive years, a stark contrast to Union Parish High School’s 2.4% dropout rate. Additionally, Choudrant excels in supporting all students, ranking 14th in the state for its effectiveness with low socio-economic status students, demonstrating a strong ability to close achievement gaps.

While Choudrant’s academic record is stellar, its chronic absenteeism rate has risen from a low of 2.5% in 2021-2022 to 16.6% in 2023-2024, though it remains well below the state average of 22.5% and has improved to 11.7% in 2024-2025. This small school’s success highlights the power of a community-focused environment, with a student-teacher ratio of 14.2:1 that fosters personalized learning. The data also reveals a significant disparity in educational quality within the region, as Choudrant dramatically outperforms its larger district-mate, Ruston High, in every academic metric, while Union Parish High, just 20 miles away, struggles with proficiency rates often 50-60 percentage points lower. This underscores that a school’s individual culture and leadership can be a more powerful factor than its district’s overall ranking.