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How has Castor High School changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
417
Combined
DISTRICT 286 · STATE 527
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BIENVILLE PARISH·NCES 220021000092
Castor High School
140 Front Street, Castor, LA 71016 · (318) 544-7271 · Bienville Parish
GRADES PK–12COMBINED43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL417 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 80% 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.
- BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- AThree-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
9.3:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 8.4:1 · STATE 52.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
53%
223 students
DISTRICT 76% · 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 | 20 | 5% |
| Kindergarten | 34 | 8% |
| Grade 1 | 31 | 7% |
| Grade 2 | 34 | 8% |
| Grade 3 | 36 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 24 | 6% |
| Grade 5 | 31 | 7% |
| Grade 6 | 24 | 6% |
| Grade 7 | 37 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 35 | 8% |
| Grade 9 | 20 | 5% |
| Grade 10 | 26 | 6% |
| Grade 11 | 37 | 9% |
| Grade 12 | 28 | 7% |
This year's kindergarten class (34) is about the same size as its 8th grade class (35).
Student demographics
20%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 54% · 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
54.0%
LA avg 41.8% . +13.0pp since 2022
Math
56.0%
LA avg 34.2% . +16.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the LEAP 2025, Louisiana's statewide test, about 54 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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 13 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 16 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 54.0% | 56.0% |
| 2024-25 | 48.0% | 41.0% |
| 2023-24 | 48.0% | 45.0% |
| 2022-23 | 41.0% | 40.0% |
% Mastery+, all students and all tested grades.
Source: LEAP 2025. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
42.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
45.9%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% typical for Louisiana schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Louisiana's top nor bottom 10%.
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 Castor High School
Castor High School's state test result (42.7% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castor High School this school | 417 | 53.5% | 42.7% |
| Saline High School Saline | 303 | 55.4% | 45.8% |
| Florien High School Florien | 399 | 56.4% | 30.7% |
| Starks High School Starks | 284 | 46.1% | 17.2% |
| Elizabeth High School Elizabeth | 337 | 62.9% | 34.8% |
| Pine Prairie High School Pine Prairie | 757 | 58.4% | 33.3% |
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 Castor High School ranks
Among K-12 schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 42.7% | #9 of 55 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #2 of 55 ▲ 13 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.0% | #7 of 55 ▲ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +14.5pp | #4 of 53 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 417 | #22 of 81 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.3:1 | #9 of 54 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 19.8% | #36 of 54 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 53.5% | #54 of 62 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -29.1% | #4 of 44 |
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
417
-62 (-13%) vs 2020
+16% since 1990-91, when it was 361
Student : Teacher
9.3:1
was 12.0:1
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 | 417 | 44.8 | 9.3:1 | 53% (223) |
| 2023-24 | 445 | 43 | 10.3:1 | 44% (197) |
| 2022-23 | 457 | 41.1 | 11.1:1 | 51% (235) |
| 2020-21 | 479 | 40 | 12.0:1 | 35% (170) |
| 2017-18 | 588 | 43.8 | 13.4:1 | 45% (263) |
| 2015-16 | 567 | N/A | N/A | 47% (267) |
| 2010-11 | 490 | 38 | 12.9:1 | 48% (233) |
| 2000-01 | 454 | 32 | 14.2:1 | 54% (245) |
| 1990-91 | 361 | 27 | 13.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Castor High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 29% (588 to 417); teachers up 2% (43.8 to 44.8).
About Castor High School
Castor High School is a small combined-grade school in Bienville Parish, located in Castor, Louisiana. Students in pre-K through 12 attend the school, which enrolls 417 students. The average among combined schools in Louisiana is roughly 527 students; this school is 21% smaller than that.
The district, Bienville Parish, operates 7 schools serving 1,799 students.
The large majority of students at Castor High School, 89%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 7% Black and 3% multiracial. Among all residents of Bienville Parish, the White share is about 55%. By the diversity index, Castor High School comes in at 20%.
Staffing totals 44.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 9.3:1. For comparison, combined schools in Louisiana average 52.1:1. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 53%. That is 20 points below the 73% average for public schools in Bienville Parish.
allk12 grades Castor High School an A-. The grade compares the school only with Louisiana public K-12 schools, because each state gives its own test.
Predicted from its free or reduced-price lunch share, Castor High School would score about 45.9%. It scores 42.7%, 3.2 points below that figure.
In the county around the school, Bienville Parish, median household income is about $35,011, roughly 13% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 22%. Castor High School is among the 9 public schools in Bienville Parish.
The closest public school to Castor High School is Ringgold High School, about 7.8 miles away. Other public schools within ten miles number 2. Among 6 nearby schools that report test results, Castor High School ranks 2nd on proficiency.
Locale data from NCES put Castor High School in rural territory far from an urban area (Rural: Remote).
Castor High School had 479 students in 2020-21 and 417 in 2024-25, a 13% decrease. The ratio was 12.0:1 in 2020-21 and 9.3:1 in 2024-25.
To ask about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater, start a discussion on this page. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Bienville Parish at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
12,638
Census ACS
Median income
$35,011
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
13%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
22%
Below federal line
Schools in county
9
1,799 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bienville Parish
- Saline High SchoolCombined · 303 students
- Crawford Elementary SchoolElementary · 278 students
- Arcadia High SchoolHigh · 248 students
- Ringgold High SchoolHigh · 219 students
- Ringgold Elementary SchoolElementary · 195 students
- Gibsland-Coleman High SchoolCombined · 139 students
Nearby schools
- Ringgold High School7.8 mi · 219
- Ringgold Elementary School7.8 mi · 195
- Saline High School12.8 mi · 303
- Central Elementary School16.4 mi · 427
- Ware Youth Center17.0 mi · 37
- Red River Elementary School17.9 mi · 568
Frequently asked questions
About Castor High SchoolHow large is Castor High School?
Castor High School enrolls approximately 417 students in grades PK-12.
What grades does Castor High School serve?
Castor High School serves grades PK-12.
How many teachers does Castor High School have?
Castor High School employs 45 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 9.3:1.
How diverse is Castor High School?
Castor High School reports a student body of 89% White, 7% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Castor High School?
Castor High School is overseen by Bienville Parish in Bienville Parish.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.