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What's the one class at J. I. Watson Elementary School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
531
Elementary
DISTRICT 395 · STATE 453
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALCASIEU PARISH·NCES 220033000274
J. I. Watson Elementary School
201 E First St, Iowa, LA 70647 · (337) 217-4670 · Calcasieu Parish
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL531 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% of Louisiana public elementary schools
- B-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.
- B+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 elementary schools
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 14.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
393 students
DISTRICT 63% · STATE 70%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 49 | 9% |
| Kindergarten | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 1 | 78 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 85 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 94 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 69 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (84) is 22% larger than its 5th grade class (69).
Student demographics
59%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% . -2.0pp since 2022
Math
39.0%
LA avg 34.2% . +10.0pp 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 down about 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 10 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 47.0% | 39.0% |
| 2024-25 | 44.0% | 35.0% |
| 2023-24 | 29.0% | 31.0% |
| 2022-23 | 49.0% | 29.0% |
% 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
30.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.0%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 J. I. Watson Elementary School
J. I. Watson Elementary School's state test result (30.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| J. I. Watson Elementary School this school | 531 | 74.0% | 30.5% |
| Winnfield Primary School Winnfield | 485 | 73.6% | 24.8% |
| Many Elementary School Many | 613 | 73.4% | 31.0% |
| Franklinton Primary School Franklinton | 567 | 75.7% | 20.5% |
| Roseland Montessori Roseland | 412 | 74.5% | 23.2% |
| Crowville School Winnsboro | 409 | 74.1% | 15.2% |
Matched among Louisiana elementary 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 J. I. Watson Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana | In Calcasieu Parish |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.5% | #317 of 583 | #18 of 30 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #232 of 582 ▲ 34 | #16 of 31 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.0% | #221 of 587 ▲ 33 | #19 of 31 ▼ 1 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +4.0pp | #160 of 540 | #9 of 29 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 531 | #222 of 714 | #10 of 35 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #240 of 655 | #16 of 31 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 58.7% | #187 of 655 | #7 of 31 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.0% | #357 of 705 | #14 of 34 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.7% | #372 of 436 | #28 of 29 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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
531
+78 (+17%) vs 2020
-57% since 1990-91, when it was 1,237
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
was 13.3:1
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 | 531 | 42 | 12.7:1 | 74% (393) |
| 2023-24 | 524 | 42.1 | 12.4:1 | 73% (384) |
| 2022-23 | 522 | 33.7 | 15.5:1 | 72% (375) |
| 2020-21 | 453 | 34 | 13.3:1 | 92% (416) |
| 2017-18 | 557 | 33.5 | 16.6:1 | 51% (285) |
| 2015-16 | 592 | 59 | 10.0:1 | 50% (295) |
| 2010-11 | 945 | 69 | 13.7:1 | 72% (682) |
| 2000-01 | 1,255 | 79 | 15.9:1 | 56% (708) |
| 1990-91 | 1,237 | 66 | 18.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for J. I. Watson Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (557 to 531); teachers up 25% (33.5 to 42).
About J. I. Watson Elementary School
J. I. Watson Elementary School is an elementary school with a street address in Iowa, Louisiana. Classes run from pre-K through 5, and the school has 531 students.
The 56 schools in Calcasieu Parish enroll 27,851 students altogether, J. I. Watson Elementary School among them.
J. I. Watson Elementary School's enrollment has no majority group, and White students are the largest at 46%. It is also 44% Black, 5% Hispanic, and 4% multiracial. Calcasieu Parish's residents are about 66% White, 19 points above the school's share. The chance that two students picked at random at J. I. Watson Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 59%.
The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 12.7:1, with 42 full-time-equivalent teachers. The average ratio among elementary schools in Louisiana is 14.0:1, higher than at this school. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 74% of enrollment. For comparison, public schools in Calcasieu Parish average 59%.
allk12 grades J. I. Watson Elementary School a B-. The grade compares the school only with Louisiana public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
J. I. Watson Elementary School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 30.5% is within a point of the 31.0% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Census estimates describe Calcasieu Parish this way: median household income is about $67,564, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 25%, and roughly 13% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Calcasieu Parish number 61 and enroll about 30,278.
The shortest distance from J. I. Watson Elementary School to another public school is about 0.7 miles, to Iowa High School. The ten-mile area around J. I. Watson Elementary School holds 5 other public schools. Nearby schools with test data average 41.1% proficiency; J. I. Watson Elementary School posts 30.5%.
The federal government classifies J. I. Watson Elementary School's location as Rural: Fringe.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment up 17%, from 453 to 531.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
Nearby schools
- Iowa High School0.7 mi · 1,007
- LeBleu Settlement Elementary School5.0 mi · 386
- Lacassine High School5.4 mi · 587
- Bell City High School8.8 mi · 785
- Washington/Marion Magnet High School9.7 mi · 597
- Lake Charles Charter Academy10.1 mi · 951
Frequently asked questions
About J. I. Watson Elementary SchoolHow large is J. I. Watson Elementary School?
J. I. Watson Elementary School enrolls approximately 531 students in grades PK-05.
Is J. I. Watson Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
J. I. Watson Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades PK-05.
How many students per teacher at J. I. Watson Elementary School?
Approximately 12.7:1 students per teacher at J. I. Watson Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at J. I. Watson Elementary School?
At J. I. Watson Elementary School, the student body is approximately 46% White, 5% Hispanic, 44% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is J. I. Watson Elementary School public or private?
J. I. Watson Elementary 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.