Carroll High School

Carroll High School in Monroe, LA, is a public high school serving 577 students in grades 9-12 within the City of Monroe School District, where over 92% of students qualify for free or reduced lunch. The school faces significant challenges, ranking in the bottom 10% of Louisiana high schools (8th percentile), with academic proficiency rates on LEAP exams dramatically lower than nearby schools—for example, only 27% of students were proficient in Algebra I, compared to 80% at Neville High School and 73% at West Ouachita High School.

The most critical issue is a chronic absenteeism crisis: at 49.4%, it is more than double the district average (23.3%) and far exceeds rates at higher-performing schools like Sterlington High School (14.2%). However, a comparison with Wossman High School, located just 1.74 miles away with a nearly identical poverty rate (90%), shows that high poverty is not an insurmountable barrier—Wossman achieves significantly higher test scores (57% vs. 18% in Algebra I in 2024-2025) and a much higher state ranking (34th percentile). This suggests that school-specific factors like instructional quality and culture play a major role.

Despite these struggles, there are some positive notes: Carroll’s graduation rate was 85.5% in 2023-2024, above the state average, and its dropout rate was just 2.0%, well below the state’s 3.1%. The school also shows a glimmer of hope with its Special Education students, who ranked in the 22nd percentile statewide—the school’s highest-performing subgroup and a significant improvement from the previous year. While the school effectively keeps students enrolled, the disconnect between graduation rates and low academic proficiency raises questions about college and career readiness.