Best Middle Schools in Zip Code 70448

This analysis covers four middle schools in zip code 70448 (Mandeville, LA), which serve grades 4-8 and are part of the highly-rated St. Tammany Parish school district, a district that ranks in the 84th percentile statewide.

Mandeville Junior High School stands out as the academic leader, earning a consistent 5-star rating and achieving the highest Social Studies proficiency (84%) while tying for the highest ELA proficiency (89%). In contrast, Gayle Sloan Middle School is the efficiency champion, boasting the lowest chronic absenteeism rate in the set at just 9.0%—less than half the district average—and the lowest free/reduced lunch rate (21.71%). The two upper elementary/middle schools (grades 4-6), Lake Harbor Middle School and Gayle Sloan, average an impressive 88% Math proficiency, outperforming the two junior high schools (grades 7-8), which average 78%. However, L.P. Monteleone Junior High School shows a concerning "8th grade slump," with Math proficiency dropping from 83% in 7th grade to just 58% in 8th grade, and it also has the highest chronic absenteeism rate (21.8%) in the zip code.

A key takeaway is the inverse relationship between resources and performance: L.P. Monteleone has the best student-teacher ratio (9.1:1) but the lowest test scores, while Mandeville Junior High achieves top scores with a higher ratio (11.1:1). This suggests that socioeconomic factors and instructional quality may be more influential than class size alone. The data also reveals a strong feeder school effect, with the 4-6 grade schools producing high-achieving students, but only Mandeville Junior High appears to maintain that standard, while L.P. Monteleone shows a significant drop-off. Overall, these schools perform well above state averages, but parents should note the stark differences in chronic absenteeism and grade-level performance between the two junior high schools.