Summary:
Zip code 70656 is home to a single school, Pitkin High School, an alternative school serving grades PK through 12 within the Vernon Parish district, which is ranked 20th out of 116 districts in Louisiana.
Pitkin High School stands out as a unique case. Despite being classified as an alternative school, it serves a full PK-12 grade span and demonstrates strong academic performance in key areas, often exceeding district and state averages. For instance, 71% of students are proficient in Mathematics (vs. 68% district and 62% state), and 80% are proficient in English Language Arts (vs. 78% district and 70% state). The school particularly excels in upper-grade English, with End-of-Course exams for English II (92%) and English I (88%) dramatically outperforming state averages. However, performance is inconsistent; Social Studies is a weakness, with the U.S. History End-of-Course exam at just 40%, well below the state average of 55%. The school also serves a high-need population, with 81.65% of students economically disadvantaged, and faces a chronic absenteeism rate of 30.7%, which is higher than the state average of 22.5%.
Despite these challenges, Pitkin High School has a lower dropout rate (2.7%) than the state average (3.1%), suggesting it is effective at keeping students on track to graduation. The school benefits from a low student-teacher ratio of 11.2, which may contribute to its academic successes. Year-over-year data shows significant volatility in test scores, particularly in End-of-Course exams, which could be due to small cohort sizes or the transient nature of the student population. Overall, Pitkin High School is a high-performing alternative school that excels in Math and ELA but needs to address chronic absenteeism and improve Social Studies outcomes.
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