Best Public Schools in Zip Code 70714

Zip code 70714 in Baker, Louisiana, is home to seven schools serving students from elementary through high school, encompassing a diverse educational landscape with a mix of traditional public and charter institutions.

For parents, the most important takeaway is the clear performance divide between charter schools and the City of Baker School District. Advantage Charter Academy stands out as the top performer, earning a 3-star rating and the highest state percentile rank (59th) in the area, with strong math scores (79% proficient) despite serving a high-poverty population. Impact Charter School and GEO Prep Baker also outperform the district schools, showing that charter models can succeed here. In contrast, Baker Middle School is the lowest-performing school, ranking in the 2nd percentile statewide with only 7-9% of students proficient in math, creating a critical challenge for the feeder pattern. Baker High School reflects these struggles with a low graduation rate (63.3%) and high chronic absenteeism (32.6%). Park Ridge Academic Magnet School is a unique case within the district, offering a small, supportive environment with the lowest student-teacher ratio (9.8:1) and low absenteeism, but its test scores are mediocre and its state ranking dropped dramatically.

Overall, the average state percentile rank for these schools is around the 20th, meaning most perform in the bottom quarter of Louisiana. Test scores in math (53% average proficiency), English (62%), and social studies (39%) all fall below state averages. While the average chronic absenteeism rate (20.8%) is slightly better than the state, it varies widely from 8.1% at Park Ridge to 32.6% at Baker High. The data shows that high poverty does not prevent success, as Advantage Charter Academy proves, and that factors like curriculum and school culture can matter more than class size alone.