Summary:
Zip code 70520, serving the Carencro area of Louisiana, is home to two public schools within the Lafayette Parish school district: Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary (grades PK-5) and Carencro Middle School (grades 6-8). The district itself holds a 4-star rating and ranks in the 77th percentile statewide, but the two schools present very different pictures of student success.
Carencro Bob Lilly Elementary is the clear standout, outperforming the middle school in nearly every academic metric. The elementary school achieved 60% proficiency in math and 59% in ELA, compared to the middle school's 39% and 56%, respectively. The elementary school also boasts a healthier school environment, with a chronic absenteeism rate of 20.6%—below both the district (24.0%) and state (22.5%) averages. In contrast, Carencro Middle School faces a critical challenge with a 40.9% chronic absenteeism rate, nearly double the district average, which is a strong predictor of lower academic performance. The middle school's state ranking has also fallen to the 13th percentile, while the elementary school ranks in the 38th percentile.
Despite these struggles, Carencro Middle School has a notable bright spot: 100% of 8th graders scored proficient on the Algebra I End-of-Course exam, far exceeding district (71%) and state (65%) averages. The middle school also reports a very low dropout rate of 0.7%. However, the sharp decline in performance from elementary to middle school—particularly in math, where 5th-grade proficiency drops from 58% to 42% in 6th grade—suggests the transition is a major hurdle. Both schools serve high-poverty populations, with 69% of elementary and 78% of middle school students eligible for free or reduced lunch, underscoring the need for targeted support to bridge the gap between these two schools.
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