Summary:
In zip code 70714, there is only one middle school, Baker Middle School, which serves grades 6 through 8 in Baker, Louisiana, and is part of the City of Baker School District.
Baker Middle School is a small school with 155 students, but it faces significant academic challenges. The school ranks in the 2nd percentile among all Louisiana middle schools, placing it among the lowest-performing in the state. Test scores are critically low, especially in math, where only 9% of 6th graders and 7% of 8th graders are proficient, compared to state averages of 60% and 47%, respectively. English Language Arts proficiency is also low at 33%, less than half the state average of 70%. A high percentage of students (85.81%) qualify for free or reduced lunch, indicating widespread economic disadvantage. The student-teacher ratio is 25.8:1, suggesting larger class sizes that can make individualized instruction difficult.
Despite the academic struggles, there are a few relative bright spots. The school's chronic absenteeism rate of 20.6% is actually better than both the district average (25.8%) and the state average (22.5%). Additionally, the school's dropout rate of 1.4% is dramatically lower than the district's 7.0% rate. However, this paradox—low test scores but a low dropout rate—may indicate that students are being promoted to high school without the necessary skills. The school's state ranking has remained stuck in the bottom 4% for three consecutive years, showing a persistent lack of improvement that is a major concern for families.
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