Summary:
Zip code 71292 in West Monroe, Louisiana, is home to a single high school, West Ouachita High School, which serves grades 8 through 12 with an enrollment of 968 students as part of the Ouachita Parish school district.
West Ouachita High School is a strong academic performer that consistently exceeds state averages in core subjects like Algebra I and Biology, where proficiency rates are 8 points higher than the state. The school boasts a high graduation rate of 92.7% and a very low dropout rate of just 1.0%, both significantly better than Louisiana's averages. However, the school has experienced a notable decline in test scores from the 2024-2025 to the 2025-2026 school year, with drops of 11 points in Biology and 10 points in English II, causing its state ranking to slip from a 4-star to a 3-star rating (131st out of 325 schools). Despite this, the school still outperforms the district in several subjects, including Geometry and Biology, though it falls slightly behind in Algebra I and U.S. History.
An interesting paradox is that while West Ouachita High School has excellent graduation and dropout metrics, its chronic absenteeism rate of 23.1% is slightly above the state average of 22.5%, suggesting that addressing attendance could help reverse the recent test score declines. The school's strongest relative performance is in STEM subjects, while U.S. History is a clear weakness, scoring below both the district and state averages. Overall, this is a solid school with a history of high achievement, but recent trends indicate a need for renewed focus on academic consistency and student attendance.
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