The top reported proficiency rate is 15% in English language arts. The lowest is 9% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Ferriday Junior High School
Ferriday Junior High School serves sixth through eighth graders in the town of Ferriday, Louisiana, as part of the Concordia Parish school district. It is a regular public school, not a charter, and its enrollment is small for a junior high, drawing students from the surrounding community. The student body is predominantly African American, with a small share of White students and even smaller numbers of Hispanic and multiracial students. A very high proportion of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the area.
The town of Ferriday is small and has been losing population. Historically its economy rested on agriculture, timber, and a railroad that was abandoned decades ago. The community is now working to build cultural heritage tourism around its musical legacy — the Delta Music Museum and the restored Arcade Theater are downtown anchors. The built environment is that of a compact rural Louisiana town, and the nearby oxbow lakes are known for bass fishing. No major employers were readily identifiable from available information, and housing values are well below state and national benchmarks, having declined recently. The overall context is one of economic hardship and a shrinking tax base.
On state assessments, Ferriday Junior High’s results are low. On the LEAP 2025 tests, the share of students scoring at the proficient level or above was below a fifth in every subject: math, English language arts, science, and social studies. Participation in testing was universal, so the results reflect essentially the entire student body. Because the school only has one year of assessment data reported in this dataset, there is no trend to examine. No graduation rate is reported because the school does not serve high school grades; that metric applies to high schools only.
The comparison set that would normally place this school’s performance against other districts in Concordia Parish could not be generated, as there were too few districts in the county for a meaningful comparison. That means there is no external benchmark from nearby districts to gauge whether these scores are typical for the area, though the proficiency levels themselves are clearly low in absolute terms. A parent may want to ask the school or district directly about academic support programs and what steps are being taken to improve student outcomes.
Data on discipline, attendance, staffing, and course access were not available in the source materials. Information about special education enrollment and English learner status was also missing, so it is not possible to describe the school’s support for those populations. The school’s Title I status was not specified.
Ferriday Junior High is a neighborhood school in a town facing significant economic challenges. The student body is nearly universally low-income, and the academic results are weak. The school itself appears to be a standard public junior high with no special magnet or charter designation. For a family considering this school, the most important factors to investigate further are the academic support structures, the school climate, and how the school works with students who need extra help. The community context suggests that many families in Ferriday are under financial strain, and the school likely serves as a key institution for the children who attend. Without more data on programming, staffing ratios, or enrichment opportunities, it is difficult to assess what pathways are available beyond the core curriculum. A direct conversation with the school or a visit would be the best next step for anyone trying to understand what a typical day looks like and how the school addresses its challenges.
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