The top reported proficiency rate is 26% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Tensas Elementary School
Tensas Elementary School serves students from prekindergarten through fifth grade in St. Joseph, Louisiana, a small rural town that is the parish seat of Tensas Parish, the least-populous parish in the state. The school is part of the Tensas Parish school district, which covers this single small community and the surrounding agricultural area. The town itself has experienced steady population decline over decades, and the region's economic base remains tied to agriculture, with local government and a nearby state park providing additional employment. The community has grappled with aging infrastructure, including a major water system replacement project, and a court-appointed fiscal administrator has overseen town finances.
The elementary school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet. Its enrollment is small for a PK-5 school, reflecting the shrinking local population. The student body is predominantly Black, with a much smaller share of white students and a handful of students identifying as Hispanic or multiracial. An overwhelming majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating the school serves a community with very high economic need. Federal data on the share of students receiving special education services or classified as English learners was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those supports.
On state assessments administered through Louisiana's LEAP 2025 program, the school's proficiency rates fall below statewide averages across the subjects tested. In English language arts, roughly one-quarter of students scored at the proficient or advanced level. In math, the rate was in the same range, though the state reported this figure as a bracketed range rather than a single point. Science proficiency was lower, with roughly one in eight students meeting the bar. Social studies proficiency was also low, though the state changed the cut scores for that test in the most recent year, so direct comparison with prior years is not possible. Participation rates were complete, with all students tested. Because this is the only year of data available for this school in the dataset, there is no trend to report; these numbers represent a single snapshot.
The school does not serve high school grades, so there is no graduation rate to examine. Data on chronic absenteeism and discipline were not reported in the available records.
The surrounding Tensas Parish contains only one school district, so no comparison with other local districts was possible for the academic measures typically used in such comparisons. In practical terms, there is no other public school system in the parish against which to benchmark.
For a family considering this school, the picture is straightforward. The school is the only public elementary option in a very small, declining rural community with high poverty and limited economic opportunity. The academic results indicate that most students are not reaching proficiency benchmarks on state tests, which is an important factor for any parent weighing the school's academic program. The community's challenges with population loss and infrastructure may affect the broader environment students grow up in. A parent considering this school should seek additional information about classroom instruction, support services, and any initiatives the school is undertaking to improve student outcomes, as well as the availability of early childhood programming given the prekindergarten offering.
See more original research from School Decision →