The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Social studies.
Original Research by School Decision on Booker T. Washington High
Booker T. Washington High is a regular public high school in Shreveport, Louisiana, serving grades nine through twelve within the Caddo Parish school system. The student body is composed overwhelmingly of Black students, with a very small share of White and Hispanic students. A large majority of students come from low-income households, as measured by the share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school is not a charter or magnet school; it is a traditional, neighborhood-based high school.
The most recent state test results available for this school come from the 2016-17 school year, and they cover seventh and eighth grade assessments rather than high school exams. Because the data does not reflect the current grade band, a parent should treat these scores as historical context rather than a current measure of high school performance. In that school year, on Louisiana’s LEAP assessments, the share of students scoring proficient or above was very low across nearly every subject and grade. In eighth-grade English language arts, just under one in five students met the proficiency bar. In eighth-grade social studies, roughly one in twelve students did. In all other tested subjects and grades—seventh and eighth grade math, seventh grade English, seventh and eighth grade science, and seventh grade social studies—proficiency rates were below one in ten, with many groups recording no proficient scores at all. These are weak academic results, and any parent considering the school would want to follow up directly with the school or district to understand current high school performance, graduation rates, and any improvement efforts underway. Notably, no high school state assessment data, graduation rate, or college readiness indicators were available in the data reviewed.
The school itself is located in a historically significant city that has faced persistent economic headwinds. Shreveport has seen steady population decline, a shrinking industrial base following oil-sector job losses and the closure of a major General Motors plant, and a poverty rate that affects a substantial portion of residents. Housing in the immediate area is very affordable: home values are far below national and state medians, and rents are modest. The city is car-dependent, with a sprawling layout; the school sits on Milam Street in a residential part of town. Major employers include Barksdale Air Force Base, healthcare facilities, and a mix of logistics and retail operations. The district, Caddo Parish Public Schools, did not appear in the research to have recently undertaken major publicized changes or initiatives that would alter the school’s day-to-day operations—a parent may want to ask the school directly about curriculum shifts, program offerings, or any recent reforms.
For a family weighing this school, the picture is constrained by missing data. There is no information on course access, Advanced Placement or dual-enrollment offerings, career and technical education pathways, discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, or staffing ratios. The school’s academic profile from the one available year is low, and without current high school results, it is difficult to gauge the present reality. The student population is highly homogeneous by race and socioeconomic status, which may be a consideration for some families. A parent would be wise to visit the school, speak with administrators about current graduation outcomes and academic supports, and look beyond the available data to understand the full environment.
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