Caldwell Parish High School, Columbia LA

Original Research by School Decision on Caldwell Parish High School

Caldwell Parish High School is the only public high school in the Caldwell Parish district, serving grades nine through twelve from its location in Columbia, Louisiana. Columbia is the parish seat, a very small town on the Ouachita River that has experienced long-term population decline and emphasizes its preserved historic character. The school itself is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet.

The state testing data presented in this report covers LEAP 2025 results for grades three through eight. Because Caldwell Parish High School serves only grades nine through twelve, those results do not reflect the academic performance of its own students. Louisiana administers end-of-course exams at the high school level, and those results were not available in the data provided. Parents seeking a picture of how students at this school perform on state assessments will need to obtain that information directly from the school or district, as this report cannot speak to high school proficiency rates.

The student body is small, with enrollment distributed roughly evenly across the four grade levels. A majority of students are white, with a Black student population of about one in seven and a small Hispanic share. More than half of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a majority of families face economic challenges. No data was reported on special education populations or English learner status, so the school's support structure for those students is not visible from this information.

There were no high school graduation rate figures provided, which is a notable gap for a school that is meant to prepare students for graduation. Parents should ask about the school's four-year graduation rate and whether it meets state benchmarks.

The housing market in the area is relatively affordable, with home values well below state and national medians. Columbia itself is a town that has been shrinking for decades, and no major new developments were mentioned in publicly available sources. The town's civic anchors include a museum, a riverwalk, and historic sites, but it remains a quiet, rural community. The district's parent-relevant changes were searched for and not found, so no recent referenda, curriculum shifts, or other lasting changes can be reported.

No information was provided about program offerings such as Advanced Placement courses, dual enrollment, career and technical education pathways, or extracurriculars. Without that detail, a family cannot assess the breadth of academic options available. The school's website was not included in the data, but that would be a logical next step for anyone wanting to know what courses and activities are offered.

Caldwell Parish High School serves a small, economically disadvantaged student body in a rural parish seat with a declining population. The available data offers little direct evidence of academic outcomes for its own grade band. A family considering this school should contact the school directly for high school assessment results, graduation rates, and program details before forming a judgment about fit.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

State test results and graduation outcomes.

Graduation rate (ACGR)

>=95%Cohort of 84 students · Class of 2021

The federal source publishes a banded range instead of an exact rate when the graduating cohort is small enough that an exact number could risk identifying individual students.

How this school compares to all schools in this state

Each dot is one school’s SY 2020-21 graduation rate, binned by integer rate. Taller columns mean more schools at that rate. This school is highlighted.

355 schools plotted. 10 additional schools' rates are federally suppressed and not shown. Data: EDFacts SY 2020-21.

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · district not reported

▼ 14 pts below state median

Grade 435%

School 35% · district not reported

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 516%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 3 pts below state median

Grade 620%

School 20% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 719%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median

Grade 816%

School 16% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median

Grade 426%

School 26% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 529%

School 29% · district not reported

even with state median

Grade 631%

School 31% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 746%

School 46% · district not reported

▲ 14 pts above state median

Grade 838%

School 38% · district not reported

▲ 11 pts above state median

Science

Grade 36%

School 6% · district not reported

▼ 9 pts below state median

Grade 421%

School 21% · district not reported

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 516%

School 16% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median

Grade 620%

School 20% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 732%

School 32% · district not reported

▲ 10 pts above state median

Grade 815%

School 15% · district not reported

even with state median

Social studies

Grade 39%

School 9% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 423%

School 23% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 522%

School 22% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 612%

School 12% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 719%

School 19% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 817%

School 17% · district not reported

▲ 2 pts above state median

This schoolCaldwell Parish, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.