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Ponchatoula High School

Public Grades 9-12
188th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 329 Louisiana High Schools
Better than 43% of Louisiana high schools
Summary

Ponchatoula High School is a large public high school in Ponchatoula, LA, serving 2,067 students in grades 9-12 as part of the Tangipahoa Parish school district, where over half of its students qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Ponchatoula High stands out as a relative "bright spot" within its district, consistently outperforming nearby schools like Hammond High Magnet School, Loranger High School, and Independence High Magnet in nearly every academic subject. For example, its English II proficiency rate is significantly higher than these peers. However, the school still falls below state averages in all subjects, and its graduation rate has been volatile, ranging from 74.9% to 80.7% in recent years. A major challenge is chronic absenteeism, which, while improved from a pandemic peak of 65%, remains critically high at 28.3%—nearly double the state average and far above high-performing nearby schools like Mandeville High School (18.0%) and Albany High School (18.0%). Additionally, the school has a high student-teacher ratio of 17:1, suggesting larger class sizes compared to these neighboring schools.

On a positive note, Ponchatoula High has shown a remarkable one-year improvement in academic performance for its Hispanic student population, jumping from the 23rd to the 40th percentile. The school also faces structural disadvantages compared to schools in nearby districts like St. Tammany Parish and Livingston Parish, which have lower poverty rates and stronger overall performance. For parents, the key takeaway is that while Ponchatoula High is a solid choice within its district, addressing chronic absenteeism and supporting its large population of low-income students remain critical areas for improvement.

2,067
Students ?
17.0
Student/teacher ratio ?
$10,974
Per pupil spending ?
56.3%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
 19452 Highway 22 East
       Ponchatoula, LA  70454

(985) 386-3514

District: Tangipahoa Parish

Racial breakdown:

White:
51.3%
African American:
33.8%
Hispanic:
8.4%
more
 See top rated Louisiana high schools

 Compare Ponchatoula High School to nearby high schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 49th percentile in 2016 → 43rd in 2026
Strengths
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Tangipahoa Parish
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Louisiana average (56% vs 62% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2016
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school56%
District avg48%
Louisiana avg62%
188th of 329
Louisiana public high schools ?
Bottom 43%▼ down 7 pts since 2016
From bottom 49% (2016) to bottom 43% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Louisiana High Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
1st of 7High Schools in the Tangipahoa Parish
89th of 119Tangipahoa 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202642.2188 of 32942.9%★★☆☆☆
202540.5198 of 32939.8%★★☆☆☆
202441.8203 of 33339.0%★★☆☆☆
202341.4197 of 32138.6%★★☆☆☆
202246.1183 of 32643.9%★★☆☆☆
202137.4205 of 32236.3%★★☆☆☆
201942.6190 of 31339.3%★★☆☆☆
201855.6135 of 30255.3%★★★☆☆
201761.9138 of 29753.5%★★★☆☆
201656.2150 of 29749.5%★★★☆☆
201560.5142 of 31254.5%★★★☆☆
201458.1141 of 30954.4%★★★☆☆
201354.0173 of 31244.6%★★☆☆☆
201265.7109 of 31064.8%★★★☆☆
201166.1107 of 30064.3%★★★☆☆
201071.763 of 29778.8%★★★★☆
200956.1139 of 30153.8%★★★☆☆
200867.288 of 29169.8%★★★★☆
200775.455 of 29081.0%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202636.0162 of 26137.9%★★☆☆☆
202531.5176 of 25631.3%★★☆☆☆
202434.9169 of 26035.0%★★☆☆☆
202334.6163 of 25235.3%★★☆☆☆
202233.0170 of 25633.6%★★☆☆☆
202133.9160 of 24334.2%★★☆☆☆
201929.8171 of 23326.6%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202630.151 of 6217.7%★☆☆☆☆
202536.134 of 5942.4%★★☆☆☆
202426.140 of 5020.0%★☆☆☆☆
202313.934 of 340.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202233.230 of 4025.0%★☆☆☆☆
202155.214 of 3863.2%★★★☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202644.5177 of 31243.3%★★☆☆☆
202543.7182 of 30840.9%★★☆☆☆
202445.2182 of 30840.9%★★☆☆☆
202340.1196 of 30836.4%★★☆☆☆
202245.1181 of 31141.8%★★☆☆☆
202142.2177 of 28838.5%★★☆☆☆
201940.7191 of 29234.6%★★☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202641.472 of 12843.8%★★☆☆☆
202527.592 of 12023.3%★☆☆☆☆
202422.894 of 11316.8%★☆☆☆☆
202321.291 of 10715.0%★☆☆☆☆
202227.182 of 10320.4%★☆☆☆☆
202129.865 of 9229.3%★★☆☆☆
201932.157 of 7826.9%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202636.0209 of 32435.5%★★☆☆☆
202529.6231 of 32328.5%★☆☆☆☆
202429.8235 of 32828.4%★☆☆☆☆
202331.3227 of 32129.3%★☆☆☆☆
202233.4220 of 32231.7%★★☆☆☆
202128.6210 of 28526.3%★☆☆☆☆
201933.6207 of 30131.2%★★☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202641.1180 of 31542.9%★★☆☆☆
202537.7192 of 31338.7%★★☆☆☆
202438.9197 of 31537.5%★★☆☆☆
202340.7186 of 30639.2%★★☆☆☆
202245.3163 of 30145.8%★★☆☆☆
202133.8206 of 29229.5%★☆☆☆☆
201943.6174 of 29140.2%★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202625.356 of 7020.0%★☆☆☆☆
202518.258 of 6612.1%★☆☆☆☆
202413.259 of 636.3%☆☆☆☆☆
202324.944 of 5012.0%★☆☆☆☆
202222.143 of 478.5%★☆☆☆☆
202127.234 of 3912.8%★☆☆☆☆
201928.526 of 3013.3%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202646.986 of 18252.7%★★★☆☆
202541.796 of 17043.5%★★☆☆☆
202427.1124 of 16524.8%★☆☆☆☆
202242.072 of 13948.2%★★☆☆☆
202128.991 of 13532.6%★★☆☆☆
201930.879 of 12235.2%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankLouisiana percentileRating
202641.2151 of 24839.1%★★☆☆☆
202541.1155 of 24536.7%★★☆☆☆
202436.9174 of 24829.8%★★☆☆☆
202335.8179 of 24928.1%★☆☆☆☆
202245.5150 of 25040.0%★★☆☆☆
202125.7205 of 24516.3%★☆☆☆☆
201935.9181 of 24927.3%★☆☆☆☆
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)
Special Education (2026)53rd percentile+10 vs school
Hispanic (2026)44th percentile~ school
Female (2026)43rd percentile~ school
Male (2026)43rd percentile~ school
White (2026)39th percentile-4 vs school
African American (2026)38th percentile-5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)35th percentile-7 vs school
Multi-racial (2026)20th percentile-23 vs school
English Language Learner (2026)18th percentile-25 vs school
By subject vs Louisiana (2025-2026) ?
Civics70%+8 vs state
English II66%~ state avg
Biology58%~ state avg
Algebra I55%-10 vs state
Geometry50%-7 vs state
English I50%-16 vs state
U.S. History41%-14 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about Ponchatoula High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 2,067 students attended Ponchatoula High School.

Ponchatoula High School ranks 188th of 329 Louisiana high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

Students at Ponchatoula High School are 51% White, 34% African American, 8% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races.

Rate Ponchatoula High School!



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Latest Louisiana data All new data »
2025–26 attendance dataNewOct 13, 2026
2025–26 LEAP test scoresJul 6, 2026
2023–24 dropout ratesFeb 24, 2026
2023–24 school spending dataDec 1, 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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