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How has Bell City High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
785
Combined
DISTRICT 363 · STATE 527
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALCASIEU PARISH·NCES 220033000217
Bell City High School
7161 Highway 14 East, Bell City, LA 70630 · (337) 217-4500 · Calcasieu Parish
GRADES PK–12COMBINED42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL785 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 52% of Louisiana public K-12 schools
- A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- C+Three-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Louisiana public K-12 schools
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
63 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 8.6:1 · STATE 52.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
310 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 70%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other combined schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 14 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 40 | 5% |
| Grade 1 | 53 | 7% |
| Grade 2 | 67 | 9% |
| Grade 3 | 50 | 6% |
| Grade 4 | 68 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 65 | 8% |
| Grade 6 | 67 | 9% |
| Grade 7 | 63 | 8% |
| Grade 8 | 68 | 9% |
| Grade 9 | 63 | 8% |
| Grade 10 | 67 | 9% |
| Grade 11 | 48 | 6% |
| Grade 12 | 52 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (40) is 41% smaller than its 8th grade class (68).
Student demographics
22%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 59% · STATE 65% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
LEAP 2025 2025-26 . % Mastery+English Language Arts
47.0%
LA avg 41.8% . +1.0pp since 2022
Math
39.0%
LA avg 34.2% . -2.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the LEAP 2025, Louisiana's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 39 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Louisiana schools, those numbers are about 42 and 34. Reading and writing scores are up about 1 points since 2022, while math scores are down about 2 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 47.0% | 39.0% |
| 2024-25 | 52.0% | 37.0% |
| 2023-24 | 49.0% | 38.0% |
| 2022-23 | 46.0% | 41.0% |
% Mastery+, all students and all tested grades.
Source: LEAP 2025. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of LA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
41.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.0%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 42% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 56% typical for Louisiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bell City High School
Bell City High School's state test result (41.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bell City High School this school | 785 | 39.5% | 41.7% |
| Hathaway High School Jennings | 566 | 44.7% | 40.8% |
| Lacassine High School Lacassine | 587 | 41.9% | 33.7% |
| Quitman High School Quitman | 695 | 42.2% | 41.5% |
| Starks High School Starks | 284 | 46.1% | 17.2% |
| Stanley High School Logansport | 405 | 53.8% | 29.3% |
Matched among Louisiana K-12 schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bell City High School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.7% | #10 of 55 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #13 of 55 ▲ 5 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #17 of 55 ▼ 8 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -0.5pp | #18 of 53 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 785 | #2 of 81 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.4:1 | #33 of 54 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.1% | #35 of 54 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.5% | #61 of 62 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +3.3% | #5 of 9 |
Ranked against other public K-12 schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
785
+38 (+5%) vs 2020
+103% since 1990-91, when it was 387
Student : Teacher
12.4:1
was 17.4:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 785 | 63 | 12.4:1 | 39% (310) |
| 2023-24 | 815 | 59.9 | 13.6:1 | 37% (303) |
| 2022-23 | 819 | 48.3 | 17.0:1 | 43% (350) |
| 2020-21 | 747 | 43 | 17.4:1 | 50% (374) |
| 2017-18 | 760 | 45.6 | 16.6:1 | 46% (347) |
| 2015-16 | 691 | N/A | N/A | 45% (309) |
| 2010-11 | 638 | 44 | 14.5:1 | 52% (329) |
| 2000-01 | 483 | 34 | 14.2:1 | 41% (196) |
| 1990-91 | 387 | 34 | 11.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bell City High School.
Since 2017-18: students up 3% (760 to 785); teachers up 38% (45.6 to 63).
About Bell City High School
At 7161 Highway 14 East in Bell City, Louisiana, Bell City High School operates as a medium-sized combined-grade school. Classes run from pre-K through 12, and the school has 785 students. The average for combined schools in Louisiana is about 527 students, so this school is 49% above average.
Bell City High School is one school in Calcasieu Parish, a system of 56 schools with 27,851 students.
About 88% of the student body at Bell City High School is White. The rest of enrollment is 4% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 3% Black. Census estimates put the White share of Calcasieu Parish's population at about 66%. The school's diversity index is 22%, meaning two students picked at random have a 22% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
With 63 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Bell City High School was 12.4:1. This ratio sits 39.7 below the 52.1:1 average for combined schools in Louisiana. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 39%. It compares with 59% for public schools in Calcasieu Parish.
Measured against Louisiana public K-12 schools, Bell City High School receives a B-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Bell City High School trails its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests by 14.3 points (41.7% versus 56.0%), a bottom-10% result in Louisiana on BeatsExpectations.
Calcasieu Parish census figures show that the median household income is $67,564, about 25% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 13% of residents are in poverty. Calcasieu Parish is home to 61 public schools and about 30,278 public school students.
Nearby, Lacassine High School is about 8.6 miles away. Within ten miles of Bell City High School, there are 3 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Bell City High School places 2nd out of 7 schools in its immediate area.
In the federal locale system, Bell City High School is coded Rural: Distant, for schools in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Enrollment climbed 5% from its 2020-21 level of 747. Staffing shifted too: the ratio moved from 17.4:1 to 12.4:1.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Bell City High School covering things like sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
Calcasieu Parish at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
207,088
Census ACS
Median income
$67,564
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
13%
Below federal line
Schools in county
61
30,278 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Calcasieu Parish
- Sulphur High SchoolHigh · 1,911 students
- Alfred M. Barbe High SchoolHigh · 1,908 students
- Sam Houston High SchoolHigh · 1,141 students
- S. J. Welsh Middle SchoolMiddle · 1,011 students
- Iowa High SchoolHigh · 1,007 students
- Moss Bluff Elementary SchoolElementary · 969 students
Other Bell City High schools
One other US public school is named Bell City High. Bell City High School is the largest of the 2.
- BELL CITY HIGHBELL CITY, MO · 91 students
Nearby schools
- Lacassine High School8.6 mi · 587
- J. I. Watson Elementary School8.8 mi · 531
- Iowa High School9.5 mi · 1,007
- Welsh Elementary School12.2 mi · 499
- Welsh High School12.3 mi · 263
- LeBleu Settlement Elementary School13.1 mi · 386
Frequently asked questions
About Bell City High SchoolHow many students attend Bell City High School?
Bell City High School enrolls approximately 785 students in grades PK-12.
Is Bell City High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Bell City High School is a combined-grade school covering grades PK-12.
How many students per teacher at Bell City High School?
Approximately 12.4:1 students per teacher at Bell City High School.
How diverse is Bell City High School?
Bell City High School reports a student body of 88% White, 4% Hispanic, 3% Black, 4% Two or more.
Is Bell City High School public or private?
Bell City High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Calcasieu Parish.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.