Summary:
Zip code 70514 in Baldwin, Louisiana, is home to a single high school, West St. Mary High School, which serves grades 9 through 12 with a total enrollment of 276 students and is part of the St. Mary Parish school district.
West St. Mary High School presents a complex picture for parents. On one hand, the school excels at keeping students on track to graduate, boasting a very high graduation rate of 94.1% and an exceptionally low dropout rate of just 0.7%, both significantly better than state averages. The school also maintains a favorable student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1, suggesting smaller class sizes. However, academic proficiency on state assessments is a major concern. While English I proficiency (64%) is a bright spot, matching the district average, performance in other core subjects is low. For instance, only 42% of students are proficient in Algebra I, and just 17% are proficient in U.S. History, rates that fall well below both district and state averages. The school also faces challenges with chronic absenteeism, which sits at 26.7%, higher than the district and state averages.
Despite these academic struggles, there is a positive trend: the school's state ranking has steadily improved over the past three years, moving from the 20th percentile to the 28th percentile. This upward trajectory, combined with the school's clear strength in student retention and support, suggests that West St. Mary High School is working to address its challenges. For parents, the key takeaway is a school that successfully graduates nearly all of its students but is still working to raise academic achievement to meet state standards, particularly in math and history.
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