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Lawtell Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
585th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 699 Louisiana Elementary Schools
Better than 16% of Louisiana elementary schools
Summary

Lawtell Elementary School in Lawtell, LA, serves 567 students from Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade and is part of the St. Landry Parish school district, where the majority of students (86%) come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Academic performance at Lawtell Elementary is significantly below both district and state averages, with proficiency rates in math (44%), English language arts (55%), and social studies (33%) all trailing behind. A particularly concerning trend is the sharp decline in student achievement as they move into upper grades—for example, math proficiency drops from 60% in 4th grade to just 20% in 8th grade. This "middle school cliff" is more severe here than at nearby schools like Chataignier Elementary School, which serves a similar grade span but achieved 56% proficiency in 8th grade math. On a positive note, 5th grade English language arts stands out as a bright spot, with 64% of students proficient—the highest rate for any grade or subject at the school. Chronic absenteeism, while a challenge at 19.5%, is actually lower than the district average of 31.2% and comparable to rates at high-performing peers like Richard Elementary School (21.6%).

When compared to nearby schools, Lawtell's performance gap is striking. Richard Elementary School, located just 9 miles away in the Acadia Parish district, serves a similar grade range but earns a 4-star rating with 77% math and 84% ELA proficiency. While Richard has a lower rate of economic disadvantage (49%), its success suggests that factors like district leadership and school culture play a major role in outcomes. For parents considering Lawtell, it's important to know that the school has held a 1-star rating for six consecutive years, and that the transition to middle school is a critical area where students need extra support to keep up with peers in surrounding districts.

567
Students ?
14.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$13,473
Per pupil spending ?
86.2%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 1010 School Rd.
       Lawtell, LA  70550

(337) 543-2315

District: St. Landry Parish


Students who attend Lawtell Elementary School usually attend:

High:    Northwest High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
63.7%
White:
22.6%
Hispanic:
10.2%
more
 See top rated Louisiana elementary schools

 Compare Lawtell Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Declining — 31st percentile in 2016 → 16th in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Louisiana average (45% vs 62% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (16th percentile)
!Ranking has slipped — down 15 percentile points since 2016
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school45%
District avg55%
Louisiana avg62%
Elementary school
585th of 699
Louisiana public elementary schools ?
Bottom 16%▼ down 15 pts since 2016
From bottom 31% (2016) to bottom 16% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Louisiana Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
363rd of 464
Louisiana public middle schools ?
Bottom 22%▼ down 9 pts since 2016
From bottom 30% (2016) to bottom 22% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Louisiana Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
13th of 14Elementary Schools in the St. Landry Parish
55th of 119St. Landry 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202620.9585 of 69916.3%★☆☆☆☆
202523.3542 of 66618.6%★☆☆☆☆
202425.6527 of 67521.9%★☆☆☆☆
202317.3635 of 73013.0%★☆☆☆☆
202223.5576 of 72720.8%★☆☆☆☆
202126.3537 of 72926.3%★☆☆☆☆
201939.0480 of 73134.3%★★☆☆☆
201833.3472 of 72835.2%★★☆☆☆
201743.7456 of 73938.3%★★☆☆☆
201637.8511 of 74231.1%★★☆☆☆
201540.2513 of 79235.2%★★☆☆☆
201425.6627 of 77719.3%★☆☆☆☆
201342.2484 of 77237.3%★★☆☆☆
201236.4520 of 76431.9%★★☆☆☆
201142.8480 of 76637.3%★★☆☆☆
201047.7435 of 73640.9%★★☆☆☆
200949.6432 of 73841.5%★★☆☆☆
200856.8355 of 74352.2%★★★☆☆
200760.9314 of 72556.7%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202629.4421 of 55624.3%★☆☆☆☆
202530.9377 of 50124.8%★☆☆☆☆
202433.1352 of 50930.8%★★☆☆☆
202330.6423 of 57025.8%★☆☆☆☆
202230.7425 of 56224.4%★☆☆☆☆
202139.8330 of 56441.5%★★☆☆☆
201944.5339 of 55939.4%★★☆☆☆
201845.8320 of 54741.5%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
201822.6244 of 28113.2%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202629.0509 of 68826.0%★☆☆☆☆
202532.9462 of 63327.0%★☆☆☆☆
202430.4470 of 63526.0%★☆☆☆☆
202321.3592 of 70516.0%★☆☆☆☆
202226.1555 of 70120.8%★☆☆☆☆
202137.6451 of 70536.0%★★☆☆☆
201939.8458 of 68433.0%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202624.2567 of 69318.2%★☆☆☆☆
202526.7527 of 66120.3%★☆☆☆☆
202426.3537 of 67420.3%★☆☆☆☆
202315.9648 of 72310.4%★☆☆☆☆
202226.0564 of 72422.1%★☆☆☆☆
202133.8489 of 71932.0%★★☆☆☆
201936.4494 of 69729.1%★☆☆☆☆
201842.5425 of 68237.7%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202620.9582 of 69015.7%★☆☆☆☆
202517.5571 of 64110.9%★☆☆☆☆
202422.5539 of 65117.2%★☆☆☆☆
202318.3607 of 71314.9%★☆☆☆☆
202219.8596 of 71216.3%★☆☆☆☆
202129.9506 of 70428.1%★☆☆☆☆
201935.6497 of 69628.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
201922.1277 of 33316.8%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
20267.2489 of 5022.6%☆☆☆☆☆
20257.0422 of 4312.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202418.9398 of 4348.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.3492 of 5185.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202222.6452 of 51712.6%★☆☆☆☆
202125.1437 of 52216.3%★☆☆☆☆
201941.7347 of 51732.9%★★☆☆☆
201837.7373 of 51627.7%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202622.9363 of 46421.8%★☆☆☆☆
202530.9320 of 44728.4%★☆☆☆☆
202421.1372 of 44917.1%★☆☆☆☆
202337.8292 of 46537.2%★★☆☆☆
202248.4242 of 46047.4%★★☆☆☆
202136.0300 of 45934.6%★★☆☆☆
201944.2262 of 44941.6%★★☆☆☆
201834.0276 of 41132.8%★★☆☆☆
201749.2248 of 43743.2%★★☆☆☆
201637.7303 of 43530.3%★★☆☆☆
201537.4331 of 48231.3%★★☆☆☆
201426.2370 of 47021.3%★☆☆☆☆
201336.4312 of 45731.7%★★☆☆☆
201233.4320 of 44227.6%★☆☆☆☆
201142.8278 of 41232.5%★★☆☆☆
201047.6247 of 40839.5%★★☆☆☆
200943.2276 of 42535.1%★★☆☆☆
200861.9175 of 41357.6%★★★☆☆
200761.2174 of 39656.1%★★★☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202633.1248 of 36231.5%★★☆☆☆
202545.0180 of 34447.7%★★☆☆☆
202429.2254 of 33323.7%★☆☆☆☆
202352.4150 of 36058.3%★★★☆☆
202256.9134 of 36062.8%★★★☆☆
202162.1102 of 35271.0%★★★★☆
201952.7148 of 33856.2%★★★☆☆
201853.4130 of 31358.5%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
201825.2132 of 17022.4%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202639.2282 of 45037.3%★★☆☆☆
202537.2270 of 41534.9%★★☆☆☆
202428.9317 of 41523.6%★☆☆☆☆
202346.2252 of 44443.2%★★☆☆☆
202259.7175 of 44160.3%★★★☆☆
202149.1234 of 44146.9%★★☆☆☆
201947.2232 of 41844.5%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202626.0354 of 45822.7%★☆☆☆☆
202530.9315 of 43727.9%★☆☆☆☆
202427.5337 of 44424.1%★☆☆☆☆
202341.2269 of 45941.4%★★☆☆☆
202250.7223 of 45851.3%★★★☆☆
202141.5262 of 45542.4%★★☆☆☆
201942.2263 of 43038.8%★★☆☆☆
201849.9220 of 40345.4%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202613.9398 of 44610.8%★☆☆☆☆
202529.2300 of 41427.5%★☆☆☆☆
202417.1372 of 42612.7%★☆☆☆☆
202332.3304 of 44331.4%★★☆☆☆
202232.6298 of 44232.6%★★☆☆☆
202130.4315 of 44228.7%★☆☆☆☆
201941.1255 of 41839.0%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202235.2137 of 20633.5%★★☆☆☆
202129.1155 of 21026.2%★☆☆☆☆
201927.7152 of 20224.8%★☆☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202635.1237 of 34531.3%★★☆☆☆
202543.1199 of 31637.0%★★☆☆☆
202426.6263 of 32017.8%★☆☆☆☆
202330.9270 of 35223.3%★☆☆☆☆
202257.6162 of 36255.2%★★★☆☆
202121.6312 of 35812.8%★☆☆☆☆
201941.7225 of 35035.7%★★☆☆☆
201848.9189 of 33844.1%★★☆☆☆
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)
Elementary school
Female (2026)26th percentile+10 vs school
African American (2026)24th percentile+8 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)18th percentile~ school
Special Education (2019)17th percentile-18 vs school
Male (2026)16th percentile~ school
Disabled (2018)13th percentile-22 vs school
White (2026)3rd percentile-14 vs school
Middle school
Female (2026)37th percentile+16 vs school
Special Education (2022)33rd percentile-14 vs school
African American (2026)31st percentile+10 vs school
White (2026)31st percentile+10 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)23rd percentile~ school
Disabled (2018)22nd percentile-10 vs school
Male (2026)11th percentile-11 vs school
By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts55%-15 vs state
Science47%-12 vs state
Mathematics44%-18 vs state
Social Studies33%-22 vs state

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What people are saying
by a parent
Wednesday, May 17, 2017

Open Quote In one year, they have managed to change my child's attitude from loving school to hating to go. They have a bullying problem, and the kid who complains gets punishment. They sent the bully's parent to our house to speak to me. Luckily, we were on the same page, but it could have ended badly since she was armed with a handgun. My child complains that she can't pay attention on tests because the teacher leaves the room at that time and the kids get noisy. Every bit of the homework seemed to be standardized test preparation. The kid's reading skills seemed to get worse over the course of this year. They could be a tad more professional over there. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Lawtell Elementary School

Students who attend Lawtell Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Northwest High School

Students at Lawtell Elementary School are 64% African American, 23% White, 10% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 567 students attended Lawtell Elementary School.

Lawtell Elementary School ranks in the bottom 16.3% of Louisiana elementary schools.

Rate Lawtell Elementary School!



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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.

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