The top reported proficiency rate is 14% in Science. The lowest is 0% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Howard School
Howard School is not a conventional school district. It operates as a single campus within Lincoln Parish, and publicly reported information identifies it as an alternative school located on the grounds of Louisiana Methodist Children’s Home, serving students who have been referred or who live in the residential program. The district itself consists of only this one school, covering second grade through twelfth grade. Any parent or resident looking at Howard School is looking at a specialized setting designed for students whose needs are not met in a traditional public school environment.
The enrollment is very small, with roughly half of the students in ninth grade or above. The student body is split nearly evenly between white and Black students, with a very small number of Hispanic students and a small number of students identifying as two or more races. Information on how many students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, receive special education services, or are English learners was not available in the data we reviewed. Given the alternative nature of the school, these gaps may reflect the way the population is categorized rather than an omission, but a family would need to ask the school directly about the supports available.
The most recent state assessment data available for Howard School comes from the 2014-15 school year, which is now several years old. In that year, the share of students scoring at proficient or advanced levels was very low across all subjects and grade levels tested. In math, the sixth-grade group tested had no students reaching proficiency; for seventh and eighth grades, the proficiency rate was in the single digits. In English language arts, the seventh-grade rate was in the low single digits, and the eighth-grade rate was in the low teens. Science and social studies results for eighth grade were similarly low. The school has a high rate of chronic absenteeism, placing it in the bottom quarter among Lincoln Parish’s two districts. No graduation rate was reported, which is likely because the school serves a small, transient alternative population.
A parent should weigh this data with caution. Howard School is not a typical district; its mission centers on serving students in a residential treatment context, and standard academic benchmarks may not reflect the school’s actual program or progress. The state testing information is dated, and the school’s academic performance as measured by those tests is well below what one would see in a regular public school. That said, the purpose of an alternative school is different, and the available data does not capture the therapeutic and supportive services that may be in place.
For a family considering Howard School, the most important step is to speak directly with the school about its current academic offerings, the qualifications of its teaching staff, the specific pathways available for high school students, and how it measures student growth given the particular circumstances of its population. The district’s own profile emphasizes its residential and referral-based model. Without more current information on curriculum, graduation pathways, or postsecondary planning, a parent or guardian cannot fully assess what their child’s experience would be. This is a specialized environment that fits a narrow set of student needs, and the available evidence strongly suggests that typical district-level comparisons do not apply.
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