Summary:
Zip code 70634, serving the DeRidder, LA area, is home to two high schools within the Beauregard Parish school district, which holds a solid 3-star rating and ranks in the 62nd percentile statewide.
DeRidder High School (grades 8-12, 621 students) is the stronger performer, consistently earning a 2-star rating and showing an upward trend in state rankings over the past two years. It boasts a 91.5% graduation rate, well above the state average, and excels in Biology with 65% proficiency, outperforming both the district and state. In contrast, East Beauregard High School (grades 6-12, 417 students) has dropped to a 1-star rating and is on a downward trajectory. While its middle school students (grades 6-8) perform well above state averages, this success does not carry over to high school End-of-Course exams, where proficiency plummets—only 28% are proficient in U.S. History compared to the state's 55%. Both schools share a critical challenge: chronic absenteeism rates (23.5% at DeRidder, 24.7% at East Beauregard) exceed the state average of 22.5%, a red flag linked to lower academic outcomes.
Interestingly, East Beauregard has a lower student-teacher ratio (14:1) than DeRidder (18.3:1), suggesting potential for more individual attention, yet its overall performance is weaker. This indicates that challenges like curriculum alignment for high school courses or its higher poverty rate (54.92% free/reduced lunch) may be more impactful than class size alone. For parents, DeRidder High offers stronger and more consistent academic results, while East Beauregard shows promise in early grades but struggles to transition students to high school rigor. Both schools maintain impressively low dropout rates of 1.2%, significantly below the state's 3.1%.
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