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What's the most underrated thing about Ruston Junior High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
585
Middle
DISTRICT 431 · STATE 440
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LINCOLN PARISH·NCES 220099001815
Ruston Junior High School
481 Tarbutton Road, Ruston, LA 71270 · (318) 251-1601 · Lincoln Parish
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL585 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 41.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
58%
338 students
DISTRICT 57% · STATE 70%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 289 | 49% |
| Grade 8 | 296 | 51% |
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Ruston Junior High School→Ruston High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Lincoln Parish. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
LEAP 2025 2025-26 . % Mastery+English Language Arts
42.0%
LA avg 41.8% . +2.0pp since 2022
Math
37.0%
LA avg 34.2% . +12.0pp since 2022
What this means: On the LEAP 2025, Louisiana's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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 2 points since 2022, while math scores are up about 12 points.
LEAP 2025 results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 42.0% | 37.0% |
| 2024-25 | 35.0% | 24.0% |
| 2023-24 | 38.0% | 21.0% |
| 2022-23 | 40.0% | 25.0% |
% 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
29.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
42.8%
based on LA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-13.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 30% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 43% 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 Ruston Junior High School
Ruston Junior High School's state test result (29.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruston Junior High School this school | 585 | 57.8% | 29.5% |
| Cope Middle School Bossier City | 752 | 58.5% | 33.2% |
| Slidell Junior High School Slidell | 724 | 60.6% | 32.8% |
| Broussard Middle School Broussard | 465 | 55.1% | 38.3% |
| Northwestern Middle School Zachary | 841 | 60.4% | 50.8% |
| Clearwood Junior High School Slidell | 539 | 53.2% | 32.8% |
Matched among Louisiana middle 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 Ruston Junior High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Louisiana |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 29.5% | #114 of 213 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.0% | #72 of 210 ▲ 47 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 42.0% | #103 of 213 ▲ 31 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +7.0pp | #37 of 197 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 585 | #61 of 220 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.4:1 | #93 of 195 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.5% | #66 of 195 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 57.8% | #154 of 214 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.3% | #145 of 162 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
585
+14 (+2%) vs 2020
-14% since 1990-91, when it was 682
Student : Teacher
13.4:1
was 19.0:1
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 | 585 | 43.7 | 13.4:1 | 58% (338) |
| 2023-24 | 580 | 45.8 | 12.7:1 | 54% (311) |
| 2022-23 | 558 | 33.9 | 16.5:1 | 59% (332) |
| 2020-21 | 571 | 30 | 19.0:1 | 41% (235) |
| 2017-18 | 611 | 35.2 | 17.4:1 | 40% (245) |
| 2015-16 | 566 | N/A | N/A | 70% (397) |
| 2010-11 | 491 | 44 | 11.2:1 | 67% (328) |
| 2000-01 | 619 | 40 | 15.5:1 | 57% (351) |
| 1990-91 | 682 | 35 | 19.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ruston Junior High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (611 to 585); teachers up 24% (35.2 to 43.7).
About Ruston Junior High School
In Ruston, Louisiana, Ruston Junior High School is a medium-sized middle school. The school reports 585 students in grades 7 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in Louisiana is about 440 students.
Lincoln Parish counts 5,601 students in its 12 schools, and Ruston Junior High School is one of them.
Enrollment at Ruston Junior High School is mixed, with Black students the largest group at 50%. The school is also 39% White, 8% Hispanic, and 2% multiracial. That is higher than the 37% Black share among all Lincoln Parish residents. By the diversity index, Ruston Junior High School comes in at 60%.
The school employs the equivalent of 43.7 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 13.4:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Louisiana is 41.0:1, higher than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Ruston Junior High School is 58%. That is close to the 57% average for public schools in Lincoln Parish.
Ruston Junior High School is in the bottom 10% of Louisiana schools on the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure. Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the model predicts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 42.8%. The school's actual rate is 29.5%, 13.3 points lower.
Census estimates describe Lincoln Parish this way: median household income is about $39,172, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 36%, and roughly 21% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Lincoln Parish number 14 and enroll about 6,360.
The school nearest to Ruston Junior High School is Glen View Elementary School, at a distance of about 1.1 miles. Within five miles of Ruston Junior High School, there are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 49.2%; Ruston Junior High School's is 29.5%, ranking 4th of 4.
Its location is classified as Town: Distant by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 571 in 2020-21 and 585 in 2024-25. From 2020-21 to 2024-25, the ratio fell from 19.0:1 to 13.4:1.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Ruston Junior High School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Lincoln Parish at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
48,174
Census ACS
Median income
$39,172
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
21%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
6,360 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Lincoln Parish
- Ruston High SchoolHigh · 1,212 students
- Choudrant Elementary SchoolElementary · 536 students
- Simsboro High SchoolCombined · 532 students
- Glen View Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- Choudrant High SchoolHigh · 421 students
- A. E. Phillips Laboratory SchoolElementary · 412 students
Other schools in Ruston
- Ruston High SchoolHigh · 1,212 students
- Glen View Elementary SchoolElementary · 438 students
- A. E. Phillips Laboratory SchoolElementary · 412 students
- Cypress Springs Elementary SchoolElementary · 369 students
- Ruston Elementary SchoolElementary · 359 students
- Hillcrest Elementary SchoolElementary · 326 students
Nearby schools
- Glen View Elementary School1.1 mi · 438
- Lincoln Preparatory School1.1 mi · 684
- Ruston High School1.6 mi · 1,212
- Cypress Springs Elementary School1.8 mi · 369
- A. E. Phillips Laboratory School1.9 mi · 412
- Hillcrest Elementary School2.4 mi · 326
Frequently asked questions
About Ruston Junior High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Ruston Junior High School?
Ruston Junior High School enrolls approximately 585 students in grades 07-08.
Is Ruston Junior High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Ruston Junior High School is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ruston Junior High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ruston Junior High School is approximately 13.4:1 (44 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Ruston Junior High School?
Student demographics at Ruston Junior High School are roughly 39% White, 8% Hispanic, 50% Black, 2% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Ruston Junior High School in?
Ruston Junior High School is part of Lincoln Parish.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.